News and Impact

Data Points Podcast

Latest News, Press Releases, and Impact Stories

Lessons from the COVID data wizards

Lessons from the COVID data wizards

Data dashboards have been an important part of pandemic response and planning. What have their developers learnt about communicating science in a crisis?

Four ways to make data work better for residents

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.

Laredo, TX Case Study

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, 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.

Covid-19 Data Is a Mess. We Need a Way to Make Sense of It.

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.

Banish the thumb drive: a call for better internal data sharing

Banish the thumb drive: a call for better internal data sharing

Some people’s pet peeve is loud chewing; others hate the Oxford comma. Here’s mine: thumb drives.  First of all, can we choose one name for these things? They’re also referred to as “flash drives,” “jump drives,” and “USB drives,” plus a few other names. Let’s choose...

4 Tips to a Clear and Friendly Dashboard

4 Tips to a Clear and Friendly Dashboard

A city dashboard’s primary goal is to give citizens a clear, user-friendly tool to see how well their city is doing. When designing your dashboard, always keep in mind how easy it would be for the average citizen to use. If you include too many factors into your...

So you want to start a data academy…

So you want to start a data academy…

Data can be powerful. But to really harness your data, you need people skilled in analysis, data management, and data-informed decision-making. Many cities are taking that lesson to heart and launching their own data academies to help employees learn to use data better.

GovEx Releases New Smart Cities Guide As Part of Research Collaborative

GovEx Releases New Smart Cities Guide As Part of Research Collaborative

Smart cities projects have proliferated in recent years, and this guide captures some of the best examples around the country along with resources and guidance to help cities understand the foundations of data practices that are necessary for any successful smart cities initiative.