Pittsburgh Review

The city of Pittsburgh has announced that it has gained What Works Cities certification silver status due to its “exceptional use of data to guide decision-making and improve residents’ lives," according to the City of Pittsburgh website.

The certification program has been in existence since April 2017, with cities of 30,000 people or more being eligible to participate. They are awarded silver, gold or platinum certification.

“Receiving Silver Certification from the Bloomberg What Works Cities program is a meaningful recognition of the hard work many of our colleagues across multiple departments have executed over the past two years," Director of Innovation and Performance Heidi Norman told the City of Pittsburgh website. “It is also an announcement to the residents of Pittsburgh that their municipal government cares deeply about the data collected, how it is governed, secured, and shared -- all towards twin goals of vastly improved performance and transparency about our operations and services provided to the community.

The certification was described as the national standard of excellence in data-driven city governing. It evaluates cities on their management through measuring which city leaders incorporate data and evidence into making decisions. The certification is a Bloomberg Philanthropies initiative led by Results for America. It has been given to 55 cities across the country since 2017.

“It is a tremendous honor to be among just 55 cities across the country to receive the What Works Cities certification,” Mayor Ed Gainey said, according to the city's website. “This certification is an acknowledgment of good governance and great teamwork across multiple departments. Our work is just beginning, and we are excited to continue building towards gold certification in the coming year.” 

The certification involves the assessment of cities based on “data-driven decision-making practices,” including whether they use data for goals and tracking process, allocating funding, evaluating program effectiveness and achieving outcomes from contracts. It also measures transparency among cities concerning data and evidence. Cities that are certified must receive a city assessment highlighting their unique strengths and how to improve. Partners from What Works Cities provide coaching, training and other assistance to help cities improve.

This past year, the city of Pittsburgh has used data in a number of ways, including creating neighborhood plans in Homewood, Manchester-Chateau and Hazelwood neighborhoods focused on economic development, equity and sustainability. Pittsburgh has also aimed to coordinate with partners in the region to centralize data, collaborate and share governance practices, ever since the Department of Innovation and Performance was established in 2014. Also, 3-1-1 data has helped gather information about how well city services are working.

A report by the Monitor Institute at Deloitte last fall, in collaboration with What Works Cities, gathered data about decision-making and the benefits for the city residents. It said that since 2015, the percentage of cities that track progress toward key goals has gone from 30 to 75%. Cities engaging with residents about a goal and communicating progress has gone from 19 to 70%. Also the percentage of cities that have a platform and process for leasing data has gone from 18 to 67%.

“Silver Certification for Pittsburgh is a beginning; it is the 'starting gun' for us to build upon this foundation and to leverage the resources provided by Bloomberg What Works Cities to go for the gold,” Norman told the City of Pittsburgh website.