Is The City of Mesa Making The Mark In WhatWorksCities? Apply + Get Certified

18 months ago Mesa City Manager Chris Brady, shown grinning in the image to the left, signed the city’s Open Data Management Policy in October 2015 in an article by the Sunlight Foundation
The story [excerpts and links provided farther along in this post] received a whopping 17 views and no likes, shares, tweets linked-in or otherwise.
The published - and little-noticed story - stated that When What Works Cities partners Sunlight and the Center for Government Excellence began work with Mesa — the first city to officially sign on to the $42 million dollar Bloomberg Philanthropies program — city leaders had a clear vision for advancing open data in their community. . .  Is the City of Mesa now ready to get certified that it's clear that they are headed down a path that will establish them as a leader in open data for mid-sized cities.

“I strongly believe that data and evidence are the fuel that will continue to power the positive momentum we’ve created as we work to grow Mesa into an even better place to live work and raise a family,” said Mayor John Giles in the city’s press release at that time featured in the image to the right, and as usual starts off with that we-are-excited thing: “We are excited that Mesa is a leader in open data for Arizona.”  One might ask how's it going, Mister Mayor?

How does Mesa measure up now?

There's now a certification to prove that leadership compared with the following statement made in the story last year:  BLOOMBERG PHILANTHROPIES’ WHAT WORKS CITIES CERTIFICATION RECOGNIZES AND CELEBRATES U.S. LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, WITH A POPULATION OF 30,000 OR MORE, THAT ARE LEADING THE NATION IN THE USE OF DATA AND EVIDENCE TO INCREASE GOVERNMENT EFFECTIVENESS AND IMPROVE SERVICES FOR RESIDENTS.

By rewarding achievements and providing a clear path to excellence, What Works Cities Certification supports local leaders in leveraging what works to deliver unprecedented results for their residents.We encourage all cities to take the first step in the direction of understanding where they stand and what their next steps are to making, even more, progress for their communities. Please take a minute to let us know you’re interested in joining us by submitting your Statement of Interest by May 1.

 

HOW CERTIFICATION WORKS

When a city applies for What Works Cities Certification, its practices and policies are assessed across a number of criteria aligned with the What Works Cities Standard.
For each criterion assessed, a local government earns points that reflect the presence and caliber of each policy or practice. A team from Results for America, along with its assembled experts, will conduct the assessments in on-site visits. Only local governments that are certified will be announced publicly.
Based on the total number of points earned, a local government can achieve one of three Certification tiers:

SILVER

Local governments are good at understanding data, tracking process, and using data and evidence to make decisions.

Local governments work across at least two components of the What Works Cities Standard

GOLD

Local governments are great at understanding data, tracking progress, and using data and evidence to inform decisions.

Local governments work across at least three components of the What Works Cities Standard

PLATINUM

Local governments set the precedent in understanding data, tracking progress, and using data and evidence to inform decisions.

Local governments work across all components of the What Works Cities Standard

 

The city’s Open Data Management Policy, signed by City Manager Chris Brady last October 2 years ago, affirms Mesa’s commitment to joining the open data movement. Meeting the majority of Sunlight’s open data policy guidelines - it firmly establishes processes for the collection and release of quality data, It takes major steps to ensure that data release is timely and is prioritized based on city priorities and public feedback.

It also mandates an annual open data report and review process — an activity that will be fundamental in the effort to achieve the policy’s ultimate goals.
A mayor, whether working in a big city or a small one, sees needs every day that would benefit from the investment of public resources. With such opportunities essentially unlimited but resources quite constrained, how should a leader respond?
A comprehensive answer to this question was recently presented when Bloomberg Philanthropies' What Works Cities initiative lanched a certification program that provides much-needed clarity by identifying and endorsing clear, expert-tested indicators of the capacity to use data effectively.

HOW TO APPLY

What Works Cities Certification is currently open to all U.S. cities with a population of 30,000 or more. Certified cities will be announced annually, and any cities that do not initially qualify can reapply every other year. Cities earning Certification must reapply at a minimum every three years to maintain Certification status.

If your city is interested in beginning your journey to becoming What Works Cities Certified, we invite you to get started. Please contact certification@whatworkscities.org with any questions.

The What Works Cities Standard
What Works Cities leaders make powerful, public commitments  to achieving better results for  their residents by using data and evidence when making budget  and policy decisions;
What Works Cities leaders collect and use data and tools to measure progress and engage residents  along the way;
What Works Cities leaders consistently review and reflect on the data and evidence they have to learn  and make improvements; and
What Works Cities leaders use  data and evidence to inform  major decisions and take action  to improve outcomes.

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Mesa embraces open data with new portal and policy

Friday, March 4, 2016 11:40

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