GovEx Year In Review 2024
Staff of the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University
The Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University supports and coaches public sector leaders and their teams to build data-driven operations that use data, research, and analytics to better understand pressing municipal concerns, engage residents, and deliver high-impact solutions and advancements.
In 2024 we continued our tradition of delivering high-quality programming, expert insights, and groundbreaking research across levels of government.
Here are the highlights of our year:
Advancing Data-Driven Leadership
We started 2024 by bringing GovEx’s expertise on data and Artificial Intelligence to the national stage.
Our founder Beth Blauer offered Congressional testimony on how AI can transform government operations and the importance of building a data-literate workforce.
GovEx Executive Director Amy Edwards’ testimony outlined a practical, four-pronged approach to developing a modern data workforce: assessing data and AI knowledge, building core data skills, recruiting diverse data talent, and sustaining a data-driven culture.
GovEx Founder Beth Blauer testifies before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in January, 2024.
This year GovEx also expanded its reach and network through Amy’s service in several key organizations and committees. In September she was appointed to the U.S. Open Government Federal Advisory Committee and earlier in December she joined Women Leaders in Data & AI following her nomination for the group’s Changemaker in the Field of Data award.
In July, Amy joined the United Nations’ Quality of Life Initiative forum to offer insights on how cities are using data to innovate and improve public services. She shared her expertise on how cities can leverage rapidly developing AI opportunities to better serve their residents.
GovEx Executive Director Amy Edwards Holmes speaks at the United Nations’ Quality of Life Initiative forum.
Mayors at the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance convening in June
At GovEx, fostering data-driven leadership remains the heart of our mission. This year, we proudly advanced our work coaching mayors and their teams through the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance. In its third year, the program welcomed 23 mayors from nine countries. As 2024 comes to a close, these leaders and their teams are hard at work crafting citywide data strategies and implementing resident impact projects, ensuring their strategic planning translates into tangible, data-driven outcomes for their communities.
Similarly, our coaches supported the eighth class of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative through the Initiative’s Data track. Participants in this program learn how to use data to set goals, improve performance, monitor and evaluate progress, and communicate results to make city operations more effective, efficient, and equitable.
Forging New Partnerships
GovEx and NAPA leadership gather to celebrate new partnership
In March we formalized an exciting new partnership with the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), solidifying a longstanding collaboration rooted in a shared mission to help governments address critical challenges impacting residents. Together, we are working to bring about innovative, data-driven solutions and elevate the discourse around the importance of data and AI in the public sector.
Looking ahead to 2025, we are excited to join the newly established Johns Hopkins University School of Government and Policy. This move emphasizes our commitment to developing and supporting data-driven current and future leaders. Earlier this December we had the privilege of meeting with the school’s inaugural dean, William Howell, during our annual staff retreat.
Driving Global Conversations
In May, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the federal Digital Accountability and Transparency (DATA) Act, a landmark in advancing government transparency and the nation’s first open data law. The event brought together champions of the legislation and local-level data practitioners to reflect on its legacy and explore the future of open data in governance. GovEx Executive Director, Amy Edwards Holmes, who hosted the event played several key roles in creating, passing, and implementing the law in 2014.
And, in October we marked the first anniversary of City AI Connect, our global platform for advancing the use of Generative AI in government. Over the past year, nearly 730 public servants from 373 cities and 41 countries have joined the community, fostering deep conversations about innovation and the responsible use of AI in government.
Senator Mark Warner at GovEx’s celebration of the 10th anniversary of the DATA Act in May.
This year has been an exciting and impactful one for GovEx. We are eager to build on this momentum in 2025 as we celebrate our 10th anniversary. Over the next year, we’ll continue to deliver the programs and cutting edge research that have defined our work for the last decade.
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