March 28, 2017Article

Governing: Certifying Data-Driven Government

by Stephen Goldsmith

Local/ What Works Cities/ 2017/

A mayor, whether working in a big city or a small one, sees needs every day that would benefit from the investment of public resources. With such opportunities essentially unlimited but resources quite constrained, how should a leader respond?

A comprehensive answer to this question was recently presented when Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Works Cities initiative lanched a certification program that provides much-needed clarity by identifying and endorsing clear, expert-tested indicators of the capacity to use data effectively.