Seven cities recognised for exceptional and equitable use of data

Seven new cities have been awarded What Works Cities Certification for “exceptional” use of data, including the first recipients from South America.

The programme was launched in 2017 by Bloomberg Philanthropies and is led by Results for America. It is open to any city in North, Central or South America with a population of 30,000 or more and aims to “set a standard of excellence for data-informed, well-managed local government”.

This includes using data to inform policy decisions, allocate funding, improve services, evaluate programme effectiveness, and engage residents.

To date, 62 cities have been certified, with Buenos Aires, Argentina; Córdoba, Argentina; Fortaleza, Brazil; Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil; and Montevideo, Uruguay becoming the first five South American cities to receive certification.

In the US, Carlsbad, CA, and Charleston, SC, also received certification.

The seven cities all met new equity and outcomes-based certification requirements introduced last year.

“Under the new criteria, these cities have shown that they’re not just leading with data – they’re using data to make lives better by prioritising equity and resident wellbeing,” said Rochelle Haynes, Managing Director of What Works Cities Certification.

Outcomes

A city that achieves 51 to 67 percent of the 43 What Works Cities criteria receives Silver certification, and 68 to 84 percent is required for Gold.

Of the seven new cities, Buenos Aires and Fortaleza received Gold certification and the others received Silver.

Buenos Aires reported reducing its infant mortality rate by 39 percent after analysing healthcare data of pregnant women and using it to improve primary services. Fortaleza credits the use of data-informed solutions with helping to cut traffic fatalities by 57 percent in the past decade.

In addition to the seven newly certified cities, seven that were previously certified advanced to Gold: Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Henderson, NV; San Antonio, TX; Scottsdale, AZ; South Bend, IN; and Syracuse, NY.

Seven other cities were re-certified: Arlington, TX; Cambridge, MA; Memphis, TN; Seattle, WA; and Washington, DC, at the Gold level, and Bellevue, WA, and Denver, CO, at the Silver level.

Cities that meet 85 percent of the criteria receive Platinum certification. To date, there are two Platinum cities: Los Angeles and Louisville.