Expert Advisors
GovEx has a team of expert advisors who work one-on-one with city leaders and staff to improve cities’ data practices.
Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance
GovEx leads the central City Data Alliance curriculum, called the City Data Alliance Accelerator, which will help mayors and their selected senior team:
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- Lead confidently with data, including knowing how to integrate data practices into daily routines and decision making.
- Invest in the right people, practices, and platforms, including how to attract and retain new data talent, invest in existing talent, and prioritize the investments that can advance data practices in cities.
- Empower people to be part of the solution, including how to ask internal and external stakeholders to come to the table with data and effectively communicate with staff and residents using data.
By the end of the Accelerator, cities are expected to publicly launch a citywide data strategy: a three-year vision and actionable plan designed to advance the city’s use of data and improve resident outcomes. Its core components include data governance, quality, use, and transparency, and commitments and plans to:
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- Strengthen the data skills and capacity of its workforce with the leadership of a centralized data team by upskilling current staff and attracting and retaining employees with strong data skills.
- Establish standards for collecting and using disaggregated demographic data.
- Articulate a data use protocol to consistently capture and evaluate how the city is using data to modify programs and direct resources to better serve residents.
- Demonstrate the value of the citywide data strategy through an applied resident impact project.
Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative Data and Evidence Track
The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, located at the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, equips mayors and senior city officials to tackle complex challenges in their cities and improve the quality of life of their residents. GovEx leads the coaching and training for mayors in the Initiative’s Data and Evidence Track, helping them learn to use data to solve key problems, improve performance, and optimize public resources.
In 2023, GovEx supported 18 cities across two cohorts of teams participating in the Data Track. Each city focused on using data and performance management practices to address an enduring problem that residents care about – issues ranging from improving transit access, revitalizing neighborhoods, building safe communities, and improving service delivery.
Mayors must know which data they need and how best to use it to improve outcomes for their residents. Developing data-informed systems and practices can enable cities to more effectively and equitably allocate resources, analyze problems, inform decisions, and manage performance to achieve better results, ultimately improving city residents’ lives.
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City Impact
GovEx has a track record of working with cities to implement strategies and policy interventions that lead to equitable outcomes and transform the standard of living for residents.
Baltimore
GovEx’s work in Baltimore, the organization's home base, includes many evidence-based governance projects through four mayoral administrations.