Program will help 100 international cities set a new standard of excellence for using data to make policy decisions, evaluate the impact of public services, and improve residents’ lives
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The pandemic’s official global toll surpasses 6 million known virus deaths.
Though many global coronavirus trends are rapidly improving as countries emerge from surges driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, the grimmest metric hit a tragic milestone on Monday.
Four ways to make data work better for residents
Every single government in the world, from small cities and counties to federal giants, is somewhere on a data journey. The farther they go, the more they’re set up to deliver effective, equitable public services.
The US still isn’t getting Covid-19 data right
As the Omicron wave recedes in the United States, public health officials are faced with a new round of decision-making on the best way for the country to move forward.
Podcast #75 – “Did you get my email?”: A conversation on collaboration
When tackling society’s big challenges, we often find ourselves collaborating with other departments or organizations external to our own. But as any siloed government employee will tell you, building the relationships needed to rise to the occasion, and sustaining...
U.S. Covid-19 Infections Top One Million After Holiday Backlog
More than one million new Covid-19 infections were reported in the U.S., a sign of the rapid spread of the Omicron variant that public-health experts said is only partially captured by official data.
Podcast #74 – Data Science: Easy as P.I.E.
Governments are often on the hook for some of society’s most pressing challenges. How can city leaders find novel and flexible solutions to address these issues and improve the lives of residents? In a world filled with ever more complex technology, leaders are...
Laredo, TX Case Study
The Center for Government Excellence (GovEx) worked with Laredo to establish a data governance structure, increase internal access to data, create data standards for collection and definitions of data, and address staff concerns about data quality, all with a focus on elevating the City’s data practice long term and building staff capacity to take on this work.
Grand Rapids, MI Case Study
Grand Rapids entered into GovEx/WWC engagement to advance its ability to deliver results for its residents by establishing data management practices, in order to bring data and evidence into the decision-making process to increase equity and the quality of life in the City, enabling progress towards the City’s goals and connecting with the community in the process.
Podcast #73 – Saving for the Future with Lansing SAVE
How can cities and their partners help families start saving money for their children’s future college or career training expenses? Since 2013, Lansing, Michigan has been tackling this innovative opportunity with the Lansing SAVE Initiative, a program providing all...
Podcast #72 – Framing Results with the Results Framework
Accountable, transparent government is something we all strive for in public service. But how do we make this aspiration a reality? It's not enough to simply collect results from the programs and initiatives we launch - we need to turn these results into meaningful...
Podcast #71 – A Year in Review: The Economic Mobility Policy Forum
Today, we're joined by the Economic Mobility Forum's Policy Fellows as they wrap up a year of research and discussion at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Applied Public Research. The Policy Forum is a community of practice focused on connecting forum members...
Podcast #70 – Forging Ahead Despite COVID-19
The disruptive effects of COVID-19 were widespread, but that didn't prevent the City of Paterson, NJ from moving forward on mayoral priorities. Today, we join Mayor Andre Sayegh, Chief Data Officer Harsha Mallajosyula, and Business Administrator Kathleen Long to...
Podcast #69 – COMIT: A Maternal Vaccination Policy Tracker by JHU
Is it safe for pregnant women to get vaccinated against COVID-19? What if they're breast feeding? The answer, it turns out, is hard to find, and it depends a lot on where in the world you live. Today, we're looking at COMIT (COvid Maternal Immunization Tracker), a...
Podcast #68 – The eSchools+ Initiative
Today, we're joined by the creators of the eSchools+ Initiative, a program designed to address inequity caused by school closures through connecting parents and teachers with school reopening data and research. We'll explore the initiative's conception and the unique...
Podcast #67 – Love Your Block in Lancaster, PA
In today’s episode, we’ll discuss the Love Your Block program in the City of Lancaster. Love Your Block is a Cities of Service initiative that connects city leaders with residents to help them organize neighborhood improvements, cleanups, and other volunteer-led...
Podcast #66 – Baltimore’s CleanStat Initiative
In today's episode, we discuss our engagement with the City of Baltimore and its CleanStat program. We'll also look at how the city relied on this initiative to care for residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Podcast #65 – Knowledge Management in City Government
We know that collecting and analyzing data generates insights. But how can we transform those moments of insight into enduring knowledge that guides the organization, even when priorities and staff change? In today’s episode, we discuss Knowledge Management - the work...
Covid-19 Data Is a Mess. We Need a Way to Make Sense of It.
Our Johns Hopkins University Centers for Civic Impact Executive Director Beth Blauer along with Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo, associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, wrote an op-ed in The New York Times on November 23, 2020.
Podcast #64 – GovEx Engagement with Rochester, MN
Today, we take a look at GovEx's engagement with the City of Rochester, MN to support their affordable housing initiative. We'll look at where the initiative came from, explore how Rochester collected and leveraged its data, and cover valuable takeaways for other...