Leading Change: Strategies for Achieving and Sustaining Your City’s Data Capacity

WWC Summit 2017

What Works Cities is a helps local governments improve residents' lives by using data and evidence effectively to tackle pressing challenges. Launched by Bloomberg Philanthropies in April 2015, What Works Cities is one of the largest-ever philanthropic efforts to enhance cities’ use of data and evidence. Cities across the country are more effectively driving change and delivering results for residents by participating in our What Works Cities Certification program, the national standard of excellence for data-driven, well-managed local government. The program is open to any city with a population of 30,000 or more.

What does it take to build a best in class evidence-based city?

Obviously, it requires investing in technical skill sets, codifying policies, building infrastructure, and clear processes for continued action. While these technical components are indispensable, they are insufficient.

Within instances of success, we’ve observed a dogged commitment to accountability, continuous improvement, staff empowerment, and authentic trust building. We’ve observed the need for an appreciation of incrementalism balanced with disruptive thinking. We’ve observed the power of valuing stakeholder feedback, developing empathy, leveraging adaptive change approaches, and communicating a compelling, highly visible vision internally and externally.

Pulling from the lessons of success, we created modules based on human-centered design to help city governments lay the groundwork for embedded and sustaining data practices. While this engagement supports individual growth, it is also designed to build the catalytic capabilities of the team as an accelerant for organizational change.