Public Spend Forum (PSF), one of our sister sites, has taken a look at eight civic tech companies whose solutions “hold great promise for improving the way we live, work and engage within the public sector.”

These emerging government technology contractors are featured in this PSF outlook for the year ahead, and the solutions focus on everything from monitoring stormwater to building better municipal websites to giving first responders on-demand, real-time information on how to respond to people with mental illnesses and other conditions.

StormSensor

This vendor’s solution helps monitor stormwater quality and gives local governments a resource to navigate the legislation and compliance issues surrounding the implementation, use and upkeep of the systems.

StormSensor CEO Erin Rothman said sewage overflow is a $32 billion problem in the U.S. and her company’s sensors help monitor the situation.

What PSF says:

“Municipalities are required to inspect every catch basin in the nation at least once annually, which is quite a lift for under-resourced local governments. StormSensor solves the problem with easier site management and access to reams of data that is required to pass inspections.”

CoProcure

This website helps governments evaluate which technologies to buy for their specific problems.

What PSF says:

“Cooperative purchasing programs deliver value when public agencies join to procure solutions that solve common problems. When applied to technology, cooperative purchasing helps organizations save time, money and resources.”

ProudCity

This vendor helps municipalities and agencies build and maintain websites that can easily serve the public.

What PSF says:

“ProudCity uses a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model to help organizations build effective websites, online forms, and payments. Even web design novices can quickly and cost-effectively launch their digital presence through ProudCity’s on-boarding process, or take advantage of its self-managed approach to get started right away.”

CityGrows

This provider tackles the permitting process with a free, cloud-based platform.

What PSF says:

“The CityGrows cloud permitting platform lets constituents apply for permits online, track applications and make payments in a transparent fashion to build healthy relationships between citizens and city hall.”

RideAlong

This website helps first responders with information about vulnerable people and how to de-escalate tense situations.

What PSF says:

RideAlong helps “cities and counties better serve individuals with mental illness, chemical dependencies, homelessness and intellectual disabilities. They accomplish this mission by giving city workers (police officers, medical, and emergency professionals, etc.) on-demand and real-time information to prepare them for interactions with vulnerable citizens, which helps to de-escalate volatile situations and better serve their communities.”

Distil Networks

This provider offers cybersecurity to ensure that people seeking government services of any kind have a trustworthy website.

What PSF says:

“Distil brands itself as the ‘global leader in bot detection and mitigation,’ claiming to block 99.9% of bad bots to protect an organization’s web properties from scraping, brute force attacks, competitive data mining, account hijacking, unauthorized vulnerability scans, spam, man-in-the-middle attacks, and click fraud.”

RiskIQ

This vendor also deals with cyberattacks and related issues.

What PSF says:

“RiskIQ’s threat management suite allows enterprises to gain unified insight and control over web, social and mobile exposures, which is especially critical for public sector organizations seeking to serve citizens wherever they are on the web.”

Skylight

This company aids governments in the digital transformation of their services with a blend of design, technology and procurement.

What PSF says:

“Skylight helps public sector organizations with digital services delivery, digital procurement and digital transformation. The company is on the leading edge of the transition from large scale “waterfall” style procurement technology approaches to a more modular approach of micropurchasing.”