The City of Houston is using data and emerging tech to improve the quality of life for citizens, share information with the public, drive economic growth, and build a more inclusive society.

• Go to Houston Smart City Vision

There is a growing movement across the country to share the ever-increasing amount of data governments generate to increase transparency and provide citizens, businesses and researchers with information they can use to develop innovative solutions for the public good. In 2015, the City adopted an Open Data policy to support these efforts. To date, the City of Houston has published over 200 datasets to the Open Data Portal and catalogued more than 1,200 datasets in this effort.

• Go to Open Data Portal
• Go to City of Houston Open Data Policy (AP 8-7, .pdf)

The goal of the Mayor’s Office of Innovation is to create lasting and substantial improvements in the way the City operates.

Our core values are:

1. Insight – Utilize data and facts to guide business decisions
2. Improvement – Collaborate with City departments to do business more efficiently
3. Innovation – Identify new, inventive ways to solve City challenges

Jesse Bounds, Director of Innovation (832) 393-9095

Jesse leads the Mayor’s Office of Innovation that is helping modernize the way the City serves its people. Prior to his current role, Jesse served in various capacities for the City’s executive office, as an Operations Analyst and Assistant Chief of Staff to Mayor Bill White, and more recently as a Liaison to Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZ) in Mayor Parker’s Office of Economic Development. He is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and led many successful projects across the City result in measurable increases in service quality and efficiency. Jesse received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Houston and his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Studies from the University of St. Thomas. In his free time, he enjoys running and spending time with his wife, Gloria and their two sons.

Nate Thompson, Innovation Advisor (832) 393-8804

Nate works with the Innovation team on a variety of projects aimed at helping the city use data and emerging technologies to better serve its citizens. Leading up to his current role, Nate served as an Implementation Specialist with the Houston Astros, responsible for the end-to-end management and communication of external & internal projects for technology solutions. Prior to joining the Astros, Nate worked with the Cleveland Indians where he was responsible for managing, researching and implementing emerging technologies that supported organizational efforts to improve customer experiences and internal operations. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a BBA in Marketing and earned an MBA from St. Thomas University in Miami, FL. In his free time, Nate enjoys exploring the multitude of culinary, sports & entertainment events Houston has to offer.

The TECH Map
Welcome to the Technology and Entrepreneur Community of Houston (TECH) Map! Powered by the University of Houston, this map was developed to represent the growing innovation ecosystem across the Greater Houston area. Please visit UH Tech Map website for full functionality.

HTX TechList Description

• HTX TechList is the leading resource for in-depth information about Houston startups, investors, hubs, and corporations. By combining business intelligence, crowdsourcing, and a team of professional analysts, we are able to provide the most up to date information and insights on all stakeholders in the Houston startup ecosystem.
• HTX TechList is a free to use tool that we invite all Houston startups, investors, and startup development organizations to be a part of.