Expanded role for Boston’s research and data chief

The City of Boston has appointed Shin-pei Tsay (pictured) as its new Chief Research and Data Officer, extending her leadership role beyond the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics to oversee citywide research and data operations.

The announcement was made by Chief Innovation Officer Santiago Garcés, who praised Tsay’s ability to integrate design, data, and governance into practical results for residents.

“Great data and research allow us to embrace the possibility of Boston,” he said. “With Shin-pei’s leadership across data, design, and governance, we can make city services more efficient and reliable, drive equity, and learn together.”

Tsay will lead Boston’s research and data teams within the Innovation and Technology Cabinet, while continuing as Executive Director of New Urban Mechanics. The dual role is intended to connect the city’s experimentation in civic innovation with the systematic use of data and evidence across departments.

Tsay first joined Boston’s government in 2024, when she was named Executive Director of New Urban Mechanics. Speaking to Cities Today following that appointment, she emphasised the importance of creating solutions that are “both human-centred and scalable,” noting that innovation must link experimentation to systemic change.

At the time, she described New Urban Mechanics as “a space to nurture ideas and give them the oxygen to grow into programmes that work for Boston residents.” The office, she said, should be committed to “democratising innovation and making sure it isn’t just for a few but embedded across the city.”

Her new responsibilities build on this vision. By combining research and data governance with civic experimentation, Boston aims to strengthen its ability to measure the effectiveness of programmes, scale initiatives across departments, and ensure that policies remain focused on equity and inclusion.

Before joining Boston, she was global policy director for Cities and Sustainability at Uber, founder of the social-impact organisation Make Public, and executive director of the Gehl Institute, a non-profit focused on public space and equity. She has also taught at Columbia University and Parsons School of Design.

By uniting Boston’s data and analytics teams with its civic innovation office under Tsay, city officials hope to accelerate the development of data-driven, human-centred policies that deliver measurable improvements for residents.

Image: City of Boston