Madison Selected to Join National What Works Cities Initiative

Fifty-Five Cities Now Committed to Making Government More Effective Using Data and Evidence

Mayor Paul Soglin announced today that Madison has been selected as one of 16 new cities to participate in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Work Cities initiative – one of the largest-ever philanthropic efforts to enhance the use of data and evidence in the public sector. Madison will receive technical assistance from world-class experts to build capacity to address local issues.

Madison’s selection comes as the growing national movement, launched in April 2015, reaches a critical benchmark: 55 mid-sized U.S. cities are now working to better use data and evidence to improve services for residents, inform local decision-making and engage citizens. All together, these 55 cities come from 33 states, represent 19 million residents, and have annual budgets exceeding $63 billion. The initiative will partner with 100 cities on a rolling basis through 2018.

"I am excited about this opportunity and the work ahead through this partnership," said Mayor Soglin. "This work will help us to connect city services with achieving the outcomes that matter most to our residents. We know there is still great work to be done in making Madison a place where everyone has access to the resources to be upwardly mobile. Our selection into this program will help to focus city services in the context of achieving outcomes that are critical to this vision."

"We are thrilled to welcome these new cities to the initiative, furthering our mission to help cities leverage data and evidence to improve their residents’ lives," said Simone Brody, Executive Director of What Works Cities. "We’re proud to add the commitment of these 16 new and innovative cities to this national movement."

With support from a consortium of partners, these cities are identifying more effective ways to evaluate programs and improve performance; use resources to serve their communities; and address a range of social challenges – from tackling poverty to increasing resident engagement. Another key benefit is joining What Works Cities’ growing national network of local leaders and global experts actively sharing best practices for outcomes-focused government.

Madison and the following cities are the latest to publicly commit to enhancing their use of data and evidence to improve services, inform local decision-making and engage residents: Albuquerque, NM; Birmingham, AL; Boulder, CO; Des Moines, IA; Fort Worth, TX; Hartford, CT; Knoxville, TN; Lincoln, NE; Nashville, TN; Olathe, KS; Portland, OR; Salt Lake City, UT; South Bend, IN; Syracuse, NY; and Virginia Beach, VA.

Through the partnership, Madison will complete work on two projects in early 2017.
 

Relaunch of Open Data Program: Enhance practices surrounding open data to release meaningful information on a timely basis in order to make municipal data more accessible and engage residents around government priorities and services.

Madison will establish and improve performance management programs to set, track and share progress toward priority goals, strengthen accountability, and achieve better results.

In the past 18 months, What Works Cities has stimulated the largest movement of cities and city leaders across the country sharing lessons and best practices to improve the effectiveness of government. The initiative has inspired 90 U.S. mayors to better use data and evidence to improve services and has engaged over 1,700 city employees on performance management, analytics, and other leading practices. What Works Cities has produced 130 resources that cities around the world are using to improve their communities and drive better outcomes for residents.

The consortium of leading organizations assembled by Bloomberg Philanthropies and delivering a program of support to cities includes the Behavioral Insights Team, the Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University, the Government Performance Lab at the Harvard Kennedy School, Results for America and the Sunlight Foundation.

The 16 new cities join the following 39 cities as What Works Cities: Anchorage, AK; Baltimore, MD; Buffalo, NY; Bellevue, WA; Boston, MA; Cambridge, MA; Cape Coral, FL; Chattanooga, TN; Charlotte, NC; Denton, TX; Denver, CO; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Greensboro, NC; Gresham, OR; Independence, MO; Jackson, MS; Kansas City, KS; Kansas City, MO; Las Vegas, NV; Lexington, KY; Little Rock, AR; Louisville, KY; Mesa, AZ; Milwaukee, WI; Naperville, IL; New Orleans, LA; Providence, RI; Raleigh, NC; San Francisco, CA; San Jose, CA; Seattle, WA; Scottsdale, AZ; Saint Paul, MN; Tacoma, WA; Topeka, KS; Tulsa, OK, Victorville, CA; Waco, TX; and Wichita, KS.

To receive updates on the What Works Cities initiative, please visit www.whatworkscities.org.