Mayors join Bloomberg alliance for advanced use of city data

Twenty-two cities across North, Central, and South America are participating in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ inaugural City Data Alliance which is focused on advanced uses of data in local government.

“These local governments are already leaders in using data to transform public services and deliver more for residents, especially those who’ve been left behind,” said James Anderson, who leads Government Innovation at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “The COVID-19 pandemic revealed how central data is to government that works. The Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance will help these cities detect problems earlier, manage resources more effectively, and target resources to those who need them.”

$60 million investment

Through a $60 million investment from Bloomberg Philanthropies, mayors from each city will receive coaching to build their leadership skills around using data. Senior staff from each city will also get further training around a particular data capacity, such as performance management, procurement, evaluation, or data as a service.

The US cities taking part are: Baltimore, MD; Baton Rouge, LA; Charleston, SC; Chattanooga, TN; Detroit, MI; Riverside, CA; Rochester, MN, San Antonio, TX; Scottsdale, AZ.; South Bend, IN; Tempe, AZ; and Tulsa, OK.

They are joined by Guadalajara and San Pedro Garza García, Mexico; Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza, Brazil; Buenos Aires and Rosario, Argentina;  Kitchener and Regina, Canada; Montevideo, Uruguay; and Renca, Chile.

A total of 100 cities are expected to join the City Data Alliance over the next two years.

Data in action

Examples of projects include Tulsa, OK, which has introduced 54 indicators that are reviewed annually to measure, track and reduce inequalities. Tulsa is also overhauling its budget process towards a data-driven system that will fund programmes and services according to the outcomes they achieve.

Sandra Masters, Mayor of Regina, says data is the foundation of the city’s push to achieve net-zero by 2050. City leaders recently conducted an energy inventory to better understand the biggest drivers of energy consumption. That data set a baseline for an Energy and Sustainability Framework which the city council approved unanimously in March.

“We have benchmarking data now in terms of our energy use in municipal facilities, but also for the entire community, and we’ve got mathematical modelling for how to get to net-zero emissions by 2050,” Masters said. Where Regina needs to improve, she says, is in using data to create “a constant feedback loop to be continuously addressing where we’re falling short and what mitigating plans we come up with to deal with the challenges identified.”

Towards a city-wide data strategy

In San Pedro Garza García, Mayor Miguel Treviño says his city has “already seen great results, even with small-scale implementation of data-led processes.” For example, the city’s tax collection agency boosted revenue by identifying which kinds of incentives make property owners more likely to pay their property taxes on time. A data-driven approach to police deployment has reduced police response times from five minutes to less than three, according to the city.

“I have made it clear to my team that all decisions need to be driven by data and evidence,” Treviño said.

“This group was hand-selected because they’ve already demonstrated they’re committed to using data to drive impacts in their communities,” commented Beth Blauer, Associate Vice Provost for Public Sector Innovation at Johns Hopkins University and a leader of the new programme. “But the reality is that no city has fully integrated this practice across all of their work.

“The City Data Alliance will define the future together with these mayors who already have been pushing the field forward. The objective is not just to help cities, but to help the field demonstrate what having a comprehensive citywide data strategy means, and what it means to have a workforce that’s able to deliver on it.”