Expanded role for Boston’s research and data chief

Boston has appointed Shin-pei Tsay as Chief Research and Data Officer while she continues to lead the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics (MONUM).

The dual role consolidates the city’s innovation, design, and analytics functions, with the aim of scaling experimental projects, strengthening equity, and embedding data into decision-making across departments.

Tsay told Cities Today that the expanded remit will help Boston move beyond “static open data portals and rote dashboards” towards more action-oriented, resident-centred approaches.

“All of this helps us close the gap between what we understand to be the problem and what we want to do,” she said. “It allows us to try new things ...