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Results for America, an organization that helps government leaders use data and evidence to make better decisions, has teamed with Bloomberg Philanthropies to name Fort Worth as one of 21 new cities to be awarded the What Works Cities Certification.
The designation recognizes cities for establishing exceptional data capabilities to:
Why it matters: The What Works Cities Certification standard reflects the practices, policies and infrastructure municipalities must have in place to effectively harness data for better decision-making.
With the announcement, 104 cities in North, Central and South America have now achieved the What Works Cities Certification distinction, and 700 cities have submitted assessments since 2017.
How it affects you: Fort Worth earned a Silver certificate in part for using real-time data to bolster water management, leading to a 90% reduction in field investigations and more than $1 million in cost savings since 2019.
“I’m proud of our team for this incredible achievement and its commitment to measuring outcomes and impact in Fort Worth,” Mayor Mattie Parker said. “Decision making in a successful city requires strong data, insights and analytics, and The FWLab is moving Fort Worth forward as one of the best in the nation in this regard.”
Dig deeper: The What Works Cities Certification standard measures a city’s use of data based on 43 criteria. A city that achieves 51-67% of the 43 criteria is recognized at the Silver level of Certification, 68-84% is required to achieve Gold, and 85% or more is required to reach Platinum.
“Earning our first-ever What Works Cities certification is a major milestone in Fort Worth’s commitment to data-driven decision-making,” said Christianne Simmons, the City’s chief transformation officer. “In the FWLab, we know that collaboration and curiosity drive smarter strategies and better outcomes. This recognition highlights our progress, and we’re excited to keep advancing how we use data to serve our community.”
Program background: The What Works Cities Certification program, launched in 2017 by Bloomberg Philanthropies and led by Results for America, is the international standard of data excellence in city governance. The program is open to any city in North, Central or South America with a population of 30,000 or more.
“At a time when people are questioning the role of government, and what good government looks like, governments must be better at using data to know what is and isn’t working – and that is what the Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities Certification stands for,” said Rochelle Haynes, managing director of the Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities Certification. “Over 100 cities are now showing what is possible by investing the time, energy and political capital to shift the culture of how local government works.”
