Baltimore launches data academy for city staff

The new Baltimore Data Academy is an online training programme open to all city employees, developed in partnership with the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University.

The initiative, which has been described as pioneering in local government, aims to increase data literacy and skills throughout the organisation.

“From the beginning of my term as Mayor, equity and transparency have been vital in the progression and expansion of our city,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “The new Baltimore Data Academy will provide our city employees an opportunity to acquire and sharpen their data skills to more efficiently serve our residents while building their own careers.”

The first two courses available are ‘Fundamentals of Data Literacy’, which introduces staff to basic data concepts, and ‘Interpreting Data with Greater Accuracy and Insight’, which supports employees in interpreting and communicating with data.

Model for other cities

“We’ve been very intentional about who each course is designed for, and we started by building courses specifically for employees who may have little or no familiarity with data concepts,” said Chief Data Officer Justin Elszasz. “We want city employees to be more informed citizens while building career skills, and investing in folks like our frontline workers or workers who may have had fewer educational opportunities in life was a no-brainer.”

In the first two weeks of the programme, over 100 employees registered for at least one of the courses and over 30 courses were completed, according to the city.

“The launch of the Baltimore Data Academy puts Baltimore at the forefront of cities around the world working to integrate effective data practices into their work. Baltimore’s leadership recognises the importance of ensuring that all city employees can interpret, communicate, and lead with data,” said Amy Holmes, Executive Director of the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University.

“We anticipate that this effort, the first of its kind, will be a model for other cities to ensure that using data in service of the public is central to every employee’s work.”

Employees can enrol for the courses via Workday Learning, the city’s new learning management system. They will receive a certification upon completion and the course will be recorded on their employee transcript.

Earlier this month, Baltimore launched its first Public Safety Accountability Dashboard. The data tool aims to increase transparency and enable the public to better hold agencies accountable on their public safety efforts.