Bloomberg Philanthropies yesterday awarded Baltimore a certification in recognition of the city’s use of data to inform policy and funding decisions.
What Works Cities Certification was given to 10 cities, bringing the total number of cities recognized to 50.
The certification program was launched in 2017 to assess cities on their data-driven practices, such as whether they use data to evaluate the effectiveness of city programs, allocate funding, or engage residents.
It also measures whether cities are transparent about their use of data and evidence.
Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration has focused on increasing data-driven approaches through programs like the Mayor’s Action Plan Tracker – a tool that allows residents to see the progress the administration is making on its goals.
Other tools like Open Baltimore – the city’s public data portal – and the Department of Housing and Community Development’s CoDe map – which provides citywide housing data – give residents access to data and increase transparency.
“We recognize the immense potential that strategic data usage has for helping us track our progress and maximize the performance of our city agencies,” said Mayor Scott in a statement.
“I have been a consistent champion of improving the way we use data to inform both day-to-day operations and long-term decision-making processes,” he said.
Cities are given a Platinum, Gold, or Silver certificate based on their level of data sophistication.
Baltimore was given a Silver certification, along with Miami, Chicago, Denver, Durham, N.C., Rochester, N.Y., Buffalo, N.Y., Salinas, Calif., Long Beach, Calif., and Evanston, Ill.
Cities that participate in certification are given a custom assessment of their strengths and opportunities for improvement.
After the assessment, What Works Cities partners provide coaching, training, and technical assistance to help city leaders improve their data and evidence practices.
In recent years, there has been a growing movement of cities using data to inform decisions.
According to a report by the Monitor Institute by Deloitte, in collaboration with the What Works Cities initiative, the number of cities monitoring and analyzing their progress towards goals has more than doubled, from 30 percent to 75 percent, since 2015.
And the percentage of cities with a platform to display data to residents has more than tripled.
Further, more cities are using data-driven approaches to monitor and respond to emergencies such as the COVID-19 crisis, the report shows.
The report demonstrates how efficient use of data increases transparency and builds residents’ trust.
“The most effective mayors use data to define problems and craft bold new solutions, and this milestone of 50 certified cities highlights the critical progress local governments are leading across the country,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and former mayor of New York City, in a statement.
“By building a culture of data-driven decision-making, these cities will be more resilient and better equipped to fight climate change, protect public health, increase economic mobility, and much more,” he said.
