Challenges surrounding climate change, transportation, housing and civic technology will be addressed by 17 research partnerships starting in February.

A new program launched by the civic tech company CityInnovate, called STIR Labs, seeks to match state and local government agencies with nearby universities that can help solve upcoming challenges, such as economic recovery.

San Francisco city procurement officials are experimenting with a new chatbot for internal use that is expected to clarify one of government’s most confusing processes. After a soft launch on Jan. 1, the Office of Contract Administration is now honing a digital assistant designed for use by workers across the city-county government who want to buy IT products, but aren’t sure how. Her name is PAIGE. She speaks with a…