22 mayors kick off Bloomberg Philanthropies’ City Data Alliance program

City leaders have become more sophisticated in their use of data in decision making, improving services and supporting residents, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, mayors from 22 cities across North, Central and South America, including 12 U.S. mayors, are meeting this week in Baltimore to kick off their participation in the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ City Data Alliance, with the goal of building on their foundation and learning together what the next level of data-driven local government looks like.

In a statement, James Anderson, who leads government innovation at Bloomberg Philanthropies, said, “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. 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.”

The 12 U.S. cities participating in this inaugural cohort of the program are Baltimore; Baton Rouge, La.; Charleston, S.C.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Detroit; Riverside, Calif.; Rochester, Minn.; San Antonio; Scottsdale and Tempe, Ariz.; South Bend, Ind.; and Tulsa, Okla. Other cities are Buenos Aires and Rosario, Argentina; Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza, Brazil; Guadalajara, Mexico; Kitchener, Ontario; Regina, Saskatchewan; Montevideo, Uruguay; Renca, Chile; and San Pedro Garza García, Mexico.

A total of 100 cities will join the city Data Alliance over the next two years. According to Bloomberg Philanthropies, through a $60 million investment, mayors from each city will receive executive education and expert coaching to build their leadership skills around using data. Afterward, senior staff from each city will get further training around a critical data capacity, such as performance management, procurement, evaluation or data as a service.

“This group was hand-selected because they’ve already demonstrated they’re committed to using data to drive impacts in their communities,” Beth Blauer, associate vice provost for public sector innovation at Johns Hopkins University and a leader of the new program, said in a statement…“The goal is to get to a place where cities are using data and evidence to know whether or not their investments are paying off, whether they’re being smart about program development, service design, and all of the things data has the power to do. It’s going to be a very exciting time because these mayors who are so accomplished will be the ones leading the way.”

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said, “We are at an important inflection point in our development of the city of Tulsa’s data capabilities,” Bynum says. “We have developed buy-in with our senior leadership team, with our department directors, and with the residents of Tulsa in the value of using data for our city government in making decisions and improving performance of city services. But we’re ready to take that work to the next level. And our participation in this Alliance will continue that work.”

The application period for the second cohort of the program will open later this year. Visit the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Day Alliance page for more information.