There is a sea change underway in cities across the United States. In municipalities large and small, mayors have become innovators and city leaders have become visionaries as they embrace policies and programs based on data and evidence. Throwing aside the status quo of “what has always been done,” these city leaders are reaching for new tools with the capacity to deliver better results for their residents. Whether it’s using data to make city roads safer, to reduce infant mortality, or to clean up city blight, U.S. mayors are energized by the possibilities of data and evidence-driven decision-making.
They are testifying that these data-driven approaches are working. At the same time, a dynamic and rapidly expanding conversation about data and evidence is exploding around the country. In just the past few months, tens of thousands of people have engaged on the issue on Twitter via the #WhatWorks hashtag – a conversation that continues to grow every day.
The desire for progress in this area was made especially clear by the more than 100 midsized cities that rushed to apply in just 30 days this past spring to participate in What Works Cities, a Bloomberg Philanthropies initiative designed to help cities expand their use of data and evidence. This summer, What Works Cities named the first eight cities to participate. Additional cities will be named this winter and others will join on a rolling basis through to 2017.