Dive Brief:

• Ford's e-scooter subsidiary Spin announced a year-long mobility data fellowship to help nonprofits leverage data-gathering tools to advance safe infrastructure projects.
• Through a partnership with transportation analytics platform StreetLight Data and mobility data platform Populus, Spin will supply select nonprofits with toolkits that include a speed gun for tracking vehicle speeds, a time lapse camera, a bike-ped counter and access to Streetlight Data and Populus' Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms. The tools will enable nonprofits to gather and monitor transportation data, and use that data to support infrastructure project proposals and goals.
• Interested nonprofits are required to submit details on how the toolkit would assist in a street re-design project. Spin will consider organizations with at least two years of history and a track record of project execution. Applications will be accepted through Nov. 15. 

Dive Insight:

This partnership illustrates a unique approach to encouraging the use of mobility data in project proposals and execution, especially when seeking funding or approval from cities and private partners. By targeting nonprofits, the fellowship strategically places its tools in the hand of nonprofit advocates that will support and pursue safety and infrastructure goals shared by Spin and its partners.

This announcement follows recent progress in Spin's Streets program, designed to work with communities in making streets more "safe, livable and just." Earlier this month, Spin contracted with Team Better Block to transform an intersection in Salt Lake City, making it more "visible" and "user-friendly" for scooter riders and cyclists. Just last week in Denver, the company participated in an annual Park(ing) day event and displayed multimodal parklets that were conceptualized by local urbanists and citizens.

StreetLight Data and Populus are no strangers to encouraging micromobility and community engagement, either. StreetLight Data is consistently improving its analytics offerings to increase insights into the vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian data that planners collect, while Populus has released a host of mobility tools to assist data-sharing between bike and scooter operators and cities.

By partnering with these platforms, Spin says it hopes to see "data used even more widely in pursuit [of] safe and livable streets."