The City of South Bend will use a $1 million award from the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge to help residents in need.
The city will partner with the University of Notre Dame’s Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society to develop an artificial intelligence model that will predict when residents need essential services. The plan is to know when residents need services before they ask for them through the city's 311 service.
“Through Notre Dame’s Lucy Family Institute, and in partnership with the City of South Bend, we are developing responsible, human-centered technologies that help anticipate community needs, strengthen how essential services are delivered, and empower communities, organizations and individuals,” said Nitesh Chawla, the Frank M. Freimann Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at Notre Dame and Lucy Family Director for Data & AI Academic Strategy, in a press release.
Chawla also leads the university’s data, AI and computing initiative.
The city's idea is among 24 others from cities in 20 countries. More than 600 ideas were submitted and 50 finalists were chosen.
“These Mayors Challenge finalists stand out because they’re not just thinking creatively — they’re designing solutions that reckon with the complexity of implementation and the urgency of their residents’ needs,” said James Anderson, who leads the government innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “Their proposals reflect a new standard for public sector achievement: ambitious, yes, but also grounded, disciplined, and ripe for real impact.”
South Bend Mayor James Mueller said partnerships like this one help transform communities.
“By integrating new technologies with our frontline teams, we can spot problems earlier, act sooner and achieve better outcomes that will build greater trust with our residents,” he said in a statement.
Learn more about the Mayors Challenge here.
