Office of Innovation and Technology
| Office of Innovation and Technology (OIT) | |
|---|---|
| Type | City executive office (central IT agency) |
| Led by | Chief Information Officer Melissa Scott (as of March 2026) |
| Part of | Office of the Chief Administrative Officer cluster |
| FY27 General Fund | About $159.6 million (adopted appropriation to the Mayor, Office of Innovation and Technology) |
| Senior team | Chief Enterprise Officer, Chief Technology Officer, Chief Security Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief of Staff |
| Key projects | Project OPAL, 311 mobile app, citywide AI policy, digital equity |
The Office of Innovation and Technology (OIT) is the central technology agency of the City of Philadelphia. It "provides the digital infrastructure, systems, and services that enable secure, efficient, and effective government operations," sets the City's information-technology strategy and oversees major technology projects and cybersecurity for City government.[1] Its head is the Chief Information Officer, Melissa Scott, a longtime OIT employee who joined the City in 2015 and was appointed by Mayor Cherelle Parker.[2] OIT is in the cluster supervised by the Chief Administrative Officer, and its funding is appropriated in the budget ordinance as part of the Mayor's office.[3]
1 Functions
OIT runs the City's networks, data centers and enterprise applications and provides services ranging from geographic information systems (GIS), data analytics and software development to multimedia design and the PHL GovTV channel.[1] It also leads the City's digital equity initiative and supports the 311 contact center's technology (see Philly311) and the City's open-data work (see Open Data and Transparency Tools). Because it serves all departments, from the Police Department to the Free Library, its decisions affect the whole government.
2 Resident-facing projects
In its March 2026 testimony to Council, OIT described several FY27 projects:
- A new 311 mobile app with mobile-first reporting, photo upload and location services, scheduled to launch in August 2026 and described as the City's first in-house built mobile application.[1]
- Expansion of PHL GovTV live streaming beyond the studio into neighborhoods and events.
- A H.O.M.E. mobile application to give residents a single place to find housing resources under the Mayor's Housing Opportunities Made Easy initiative.
- The 2026 Access Philly app consolidating event schedules and information for the city's 2026 events, including the nation's 250th anniversary celebrations.
3 AI governance and cybersecurity
OIT reported that the City's AI policy was published on March 24, 2026 after review by OIT, security, legal, ethics, integrity and labor stakeholders. Every AI tool must undergo a review process that includes a security evaluation, governance committee approval, risk assessment and operational clearance, with ongoing monitoring involving OIT, IT Security and the Law Department; the stated principles are ethical use, governance frameworks and data security, and employees are told AI should augment, not replace, their work.[1] A Chief Security Officer leads cybersecurity, and OIT is accelerating replacement of older PCs because they cannot support modern protections. The Fiscal Year 2027 budget lists technology as a core-support investment area, with $8.7 million in new core-support operating investments including technology.[4]
4 Digital equity
OIT runs the Power Up Tour, a program to distribute 500 free laptops and hotspots, 50 laptops to pre-registered residents in each of the ten Council districts; 367 had been distributed as of the testimony. Its Power Up Philly Community Tech Expo targeted 1,600 residents with training and laptops through more than 70 community partners, and the Digital Equity team won more than $2 million from the Pennsylvania Broadband Authority to expand capacity at 22 Parks and Recreation centers.[1] The Office for People with Disabilities works alongside OIT on digital accessibility.
5 Budget and internal systems
Alongside the Finance Department, OIT and the CAO are driving Project OPAL, the replacement of the City's accounting, contracting and procurement systems, targeted to go live in July 2027.[5] OIT is also supporting the Board of Pensions and Retirement's pension payroll modernization and Revenue's water-billing system replacement.[6] It runs workforce upskilling: in 2025-26 it held 116 training sessions for 1,014 employees on productivity tools.[1] The adopted FY27 appropriation to the Mayor for OIT was about $159.6 million, which includes personnel costs of about $38.3 million.[3] Large IT contracts follow the process in Procurement Department. The City Controller audits technology contracts and security as it does other City operations.
See also: Philly311, Open Data and Transparency Tools, Chief Administrative Officer, Right-to-Know Law and Public Records.
References
- Office of Innovation and Technology, "Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Testimony," March 31, 2026 (phlcouncil.com).
- National CIO Review, "The City of Philadelphia appoints new Chief Information Officer" (nationalcioreview.com).
- City of Philadelphia, Fiscal Year 2027 Appropriation Ordinance, item 2.4, in The Mayor's Operating Budget in Brief for Fiscal Year 2027 (phila.gov).
- City of Philadelphia, The Mayor's Operating Budget in Brief for Fiscal Year 2027, Introduction (phila.gov).
- Office of the Director of Finance, "Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Testimony," March 25, 2026 (phlcouncil.com).
- Board of Pensions and Retirement and Department of Revenue, "Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Testimony," March 2026 (phlcouncil.com).