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Niterói, Brazil

Data-Driven Investment Benefits Youth and the City of Niterói

Project Type:
Youth Development, Community Engagement

At a Glance

In 2013,  Niterói developed its first strategic plan, Niterói Que Queremos (The Niterói We Want), with online contributions from about 5,700 residents. The plan, with goals set until 2033, includes indicators that strengthen the city’s ability to monitor, evaluate, and improve public policies.

Niterói was among the first cities in Brazil to establish a Digital Government Strategy by decree in December 2022. Today, 100% of administrative processes are handled electronically.

Niterói is the first city in Brazil to conduct a large-scale municipal household sample survey. Beginning in 2025, the Niterói Que Somos (The Niterói We Are) survey will interview 15,000 households across all city regions and will be repeated every four years.

Niterói has won first place four times and received the highest score twice in Transparency Rankings from the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Office of the Comptroller General. The city’s Transparency Portal allows the public to track government spending and resource allocation.

Many things need to happen for a young person in a vulnerable situation to achieve the dream of attending college: years of study, support from family and teachers, and financial resources or scholarships. But for the youth of Niterói, data analysis is being used to implement public policies for social inclusion and shorten that path.

By analyzing information on public safety and education, the Niterói City Hall found that young people from more vulnerable neighborhoods needed more support to develop professional skills. Based on this data, the Niterói Jovem EcoSocial Program was developed to offer free professional training to young people aged 16 to 24 living in socially vulnerable areas. The program has a dual purpose: increasing youth employability and promoting the city’s environmental sustainability. The initiative is continuously monitored, closely tracking participants to assess its effectiveness and demonstrate the impact of education in reducing violence.

Image Courtesy of the City of Niterói.

Walking through the communities impacted by EcoSocial shows that we have planted ideas of preservation and sustainability in the minds and hearts of young people in our city. More than that, we have contributed to their education and professional development, and we hope they will share their knowledge and do good in their communities.

Octávio Ribeiro, Municipal Secretary of Social Participation

The Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities Certification is, above all, an incentive—something that drives us to organize, modernize, and continually improve our strategies using technology and data analysis. We have earned certifications, recognition, and awards that show we are on the right path, investing in innovative initiatives like the Niterói Jovem EcoSocial Program. This is a concrete example of how well-structured policies, supported by technology and evidence, can transform lives.

Mayor Rodrigo Neves

900 young people from vulnerable neighborhoods have participated in the Jovem EcoSocial Program since 2019. Another 600 are currently enrolled in the third phase, expected to graduate in the first half of 2026.

Participants choose from a variety of classes and engage in field activities that develop their skills and contribute to their communities, such as assisting in reforestation and establishing community gardens. Since 2019, more than 900 young people have graduated from the program.

Jhonata Barcelos was part of the first EcoSocial cohort and received a job offer related to the courses he took in the program upon graduating in 2021. “A person is not born a professional,” he said. “They develop professionally. Who I am in my career today is 50% thanks to what EcoSocial provided me and 50% my own effort.”

The City continues to follow EcoSocial participants even after they complete the program, using outcome data to improve future editions, such as expanding the neighborhoods served and diversifying the courses offered. A strong culture of monitoring within the municipal government allows city management to evaluate what is working, what needs adjustment, and the progress made toward Niterói’s 20-year plan to become the best city to live in Brazil.

In 2023, Barcelos was accepted into the State University of Rio de Janeiro. He credits the EcoSocial program with opening the first door that allowed him to fulfill his dream of attending college. Through its commitment to data analysis, Niterói is creating more pathways to long-term success for Barcelos and hundreds of other young people.

More than 45,000 families receive the Arariboia Social Currency, an electronic currency that not only provides government benefits but also supports local businesses and encourages employment and school attendance.

Image Courtesy of the City of Niterói.

In recent years, Niterói has made great strides in the strategic use of data for decision-making, policy formulation, and evaluation of public policies. Now, Niterói is innovating by launching Brazil’s first municipal household sample survey, Niterói que Somos. With it, we will have even greater capacity to improve our planning and develop more effective public policies based on detailed population data.

Isadora Modesto, Secretary of Planning
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Newark, New Jersey, USA

A Group Approach to Violence Prevention

Project Type:
Public Safety, Cross-Sector Collaboration, Community Engagement

At a Glance

Established a coalition of over 50 cross-sector partners to share and strengthen public safety and infrastructure data, which led to a 25% decrease in homicides in 2024 compared to 2023.

36% decrease in auto thefts in 2024, compared to 2023. Neighborhood hotspots have seen drops of 55%.

5% of Newark’s blocks account for the majority of violent crimes in the city.

50+ organizations that are part of Brick City Peace Collective, which coordinates Newark’s violence prevention ecosystem.

When the right data gets to the right people, significant change is possible. That’s what the City of Newark has pioneered with its groundbreaking approach to reducing violence. The city of more than 300,000 residents has become a national model in shifting responses to violence to be more data-driven, collaborative, and focused on violence as a public health challenge.

Newark’s Police Division works alongside The Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery (OVPTR), a community-based public safety entity. Under this umbrella is the Brick City Peace Collective (BCPC) that coordinates an ecosystem of more than 50 organizations working to reduce violence and increase wellbeing. Under Mayor Ras J. Baraka’s leadership, the collective launched in 2020 to coordinate and share data analysis, design interventions, and strengthen relationships between law enforcement and residents. BCPC partners include nonprofits, grassroots organizations, city agencies and the Newark Public Safety Collaborative (NPSC), an initiative of Rutgers University-Newark’s School of Criminal Justice.

Image Courtesy of the City of Newark.

“When we bring data into the conversation to understand where violence does and does not happen, we can start to move past misinformation, stereotypes and stigma, and redefine what Newark is and can be.”

Jessiah Paul, Director of Brick City Peace Collective

“Through measurable and data-driven outcomes, we can decrease violence and ultimately save and change lives.”

Mayor Ras Baraka

With NPSC providing key data analytics support, BCPC members meet regularly to discuss trends and share insights, including crime hotspots and to develop response strategies. Take bodegas: In 2023, 53% of shooting incidents occurred within two blocks of several identified small corner stores. BCPC members then zeroed in on the 10 bodegas most associated with gun violence. Additionally, further data analysis illuminated what time of day shootings were most common near stores.

By utilizing data, the city can implement targeted responses rather than relying on generalized strategies. Responses built around this kind of data involve much more than police patrols. For instance, Newark’s power utility, PSE&G, may prioritize street lighting improvements if data correlates violence with darker streets. Staff from community-based organizations conduct targeted outreach walks, actively engaging local residents to better understand what a particular neighborhood is experiencing and needs.

All data, including information gathered through community outreach, goes into the City’s data management platform, which is accessible to all BCPC members. The platform also supports the City’s belief that violence prevention should be about more than policing: Through the platform, the Police Division is able to alert community support officers when crime victims or other residents may need mental health and other stabilizing services.

Image Courtesy of the City of Newark.

With weekly data reports highlighting the location of crimes and social service needs (based on referrals), social service organizations in BCPC are able to ramp up targeted outreach and community engagement efforts. Compared to five years ago, Newark’s violence prevention leaders no longer feel they’re playing catch-up. Instead, through disaggregating data to understand crime patterns and disseminating the analysis among coalition members, public safety strategies can be effectively co-produced by BCPC partners.

Strategies to prevent homicides and auto thefts (which spiked in 2023) are working as planned. Newark has seen a 25% decrease in homicides and a 36% reduction in auto thefts in 2024, compared to 2023. Juvenile arrests are also down. It’s no surprise that other cities across the country have visited Newark and looked to the city to learn about its comprehensive approach as a valuable violence prevention model. Their success is proof that data-driven collaboration can power on-the-ground progress.

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Hamilton Canada

A Data-Driven Approach to Innovative and Collaborative Solutions for City Operations

Project Type:
Community Engagement, Cross-Sector Collaboration, Education

At a Glance

237 CityLAB projects completed since 2017

156 City staff members involved in CityLAB projects since 2017

Complex challenges can be overcome through creative collaborations grounded in data. That’s a core premise of CityLAB Hamilton. This innovation hub in the Lake Ontario city unites government, academic leaders, and students to conduct research, gather data and propose evidence-based solutions. Since 2017, hundreds of CityLAB projects have tackled a range of challenges—from housing to city hiring practices to bike infrastructure—with support from more than 4,100 students across Hamilton’s three post-secondary academic institutions. CityLAB Hamilton facilitates strong and meaningful partnerships that enhance mutual understanding of City processes and encourage a more open and transparent government through collaborative problem-solving.

Each project starts with City staff, who identify a specific work-related challenge and request a deliverable aligned with a City strategic priority. CityLAB’s Program Committee then matches the project with a faculty member at Mohawk College, Redeemer University or McMaster University who integrates the project challenge within their coursework. A professor then guides a team of students as they research the problem, collect data, conduct fieldwork, and pilot and/or recommend solutions.

CityLab students. Image Courtesy of the City of Hamilton.

Case in point: one project assessed the risk and impacts of extreme heat on city facilities in Hamilton, which faces rising temperatures due to climate change. A group at Mohawk College mapped at-risk facilities and made recommendations for energy efficiency and cooling strategies, as well prioritization criteria for mitigation efforts. Other projects have focused on optimizing public transit services, analyzing city hiring practices to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion, closing the gender gap among Hamilton cyclists, and assessing the feasibility of pole-mounted WiFi networks in public spaces.

One key benefit of CityLAB for the City of Hamilton is that the program lowers the risk of investing in new solutions. With more than 60,000 student hours dedicated to City-identified needs, student project teams conduct research and (in some cases) prototype new approaches, helping the City to identify evidence-based strategies for the City. By leveraging student expertise, the program reduces City research and data costs, creating efficiencies that benefit taxpayers. At the same time, students directly apply their skills and knowledge in real-world scenarios, expand professional networks, and develop a deeper connection to their municipal government while improving the City.

CityLab Student Showcase. Image Courtesy of City of Hamilton.

In 2022, CityLAB’s success propelled it to become a permanent city program after five years as a pilot effort. In many ways, it serves as an external research and innovation hub that supports performance evaluation and fosters a culture of data-driven decision-making and governance. And it’s just getting started.

“I’m proud of our team for their dedication to building a stronger, more responsive city. At the end of the day, this is about making life better for the people who live in, work in, and visit Hamilton. By using data in smarter ways, we can solve problems faster and improve the services we deliver. And this is just the beginning of what’s possible!”

City Manager Marnie Cluckie

“I am so proud of the City of Hamilton for earning the Silver What Works Cities Certification for 2024. This recognition highlights our commitment to using data-driven decisions to enhance customer service, transparency, and efficiency for all Hamiltonians.”

Mayor Andrea Horwath
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Burlington, Vermont, USA

A Data-Driven Approach to Building More Housing

Project Type:
Community Engagement, Economic Development, Housing

At a Glance

Passed data-driven zoning changes that are boosting the amount of housing that can be built in neighborhoods across the city.

Used disaggregated data and community outreach to design a small business loan program that complies with Sharia law, allowing Muslim residents to more easily start businesses.

Novel approaches to opioid response have grown out of regular CommunityStat meetings where elected leaders, community members and subject-matter experts review overdose data and collaborate on responses.

In Burlington, a city of 45,000 on the shore of Lake Champlain, one of the biggest challenges today is the same problem that cities 10 and 20 times its size are wrestling with: How can we build enough housing to bring down the skyrocketing cost of living?

To answer this question, Burlington looked at one common obstacle for housing supply: zoning laws. City leaders started by assembling data to understand the existing state of the local homeowner and rental markets, and how those have changed over time. The resulting Housing Report set the stage for extensive resident engagement (including housing trivia) and public debate around housing needs. It also showed clearly that the city would not meet its goal of building 1,250 new housing units over five years without trying new approaches.

1,124 number of units built or in construction and permitting pipeline as of June 2024

“We’ve used data to inform this [zoning amendment] process, and we’re tracking and evaluating the work that we’ve done.”

Sarah Morgan, Planner, City of Burlington

Another analysis produced data on the character and typologies of different neighborhoods in the city and what zoning does and does not control. Both datasets informed the text of the final zoning amendment approved by the City Council, which aimed to be sensitive to the existing context of residential neighborhoods while offering the flexibility necessary to encourage construction of more housing types.

The end result is the city’s new Neighborhood Code, launched in 2024. The plan changes zoning in every neighborhood in the city to allow more multi-family dwellings to be built. This upzoning solution aims to solve the problem of “missing middle housing”, which are multi-unit properties such as townhomes, duplexes, triplexes and  cottage clusters, that fill the gap between single-family homes and large apartment buildings. It offers residents more options based on their budget and increases Burlington’s housing supply. Where similar proposals in other cities around the country have proven controversial, Burlington’s City Council passed the plan unanimously.

40 number of units permitted in the first eight months of the new Neighborhood Code.

There are early signs that the code changes are making a difference. Since March 2024, 40 new housing units were permitted under the new code – well more than the 10 per year city planners expected. That alone won’t fix Burlington’s housing supply problems. But over time, the Neighborhood Code stands to play an important role in how the city meets its housing goals, which are tracked real time on a public-facing Housing Dashboard. “There is evidence in other cities that real increases in housing supply have led to lower rents,” says Nancy Stetson, Senior Policy and Data Analyst. “We want to be able to show that in Burlington, too.”

“Being a What Works Cities Certified city affirms the direction we’re on as a city that’s going to innovate around problems we face and also let the vibrancy of Burlington reemerge.”

Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak

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Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

Fast-Tracking Climate Resiliency

Project Type:
Community Engagement, Environment, Infrastructure and Utilities

At a Glance

25.6” – Amount of rainfall recorded in Fort Lauderdale on April 12th, 2023, a new one-day record for the city.

$500 million – Cost of stormwater infrastructure improvements planned across 25 Fort Lauderdale neighborhoods over the next 10 years.

On April 12th, 2023, Fort Lauderdale was unexpectedly inundated by a 1-in-1,000 year storm. More than two feet of rain fell in just 12 hours, the most ever recorded there in a single day. Stormwater infrastructure was designed to handle a maximum of three inches of rain in 24 hours and was quickly overwhelmed, flooding wide swaths of the city of about 189,000 on Florida’s southeastern coast. More than 1,000 homes and City Hall were severely damaged, with water chest-deep in some places.

The unprecedented precipitation coupled with a very high tide underscored how climate change makes storms both more intense and less predictable. For Mayor Dean Trantalis and his leadership team, it also made clear the City needed to make Fort Lauderdale’s stormwater infrastructure stronger—and they needed to do it now.

A flooded street in Fort Lauderdale where climate change is creating more intense and unpredictable storms. Image Courtesy of the City of Arlington.

“We use data to think about everything. It’s all data-driven, from flood mapping and risk modeling to infrastructure planning and asset management. And now we’re really starting to tackle the challenge of figuring out what’s going to flood, when and where.”

Dr. Nancy Gassman, Deputy Director of Public Works

“Prioritizing the right climate adaptation projects requires careful location-specific risk assessments. I’m proud of our enhanced infrastructure strategy, and I’m proud that Fort Lauderdale is being recognized through What Works Cities Certification for putting data at the center of our climate resilience work.”

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis

In November 2023 at the State of the City address, the mayor unveiled Fortify Lauderdale, a $500 million initiative to speed up and expand flood-prevention infrastructure projects across the city through 2034. The City had already been planning to upgrade infrastructure in eight neighborhoods before the April 2023 flooding. After the disaster, leaders ramped up data gathering efforts to identify high-risk areas and refine stormwater infrastructure plans for another 17 neighborhoods.

During Phase 1of the Stormwater Master Planning effort, city employees and consultants attended neighborhood association meetings asking residents to mark up a map detailing exactly where flooding occurred. They also gathered flooding data from residents who called the city’s customer service hotline. Internally, the City conducted a comprehensive stormwater asset management inventory, leaning on its GIS team to detail not just the location of every drain and pipe but also all maintenance work done on each piece of infrastructure in recent years.

All of this data informed the citywide stormwater master planning effort, which allowed leaders to prioritize infrastructure projects based on specific needs and risk levels. The result: 25 additional neighborhoods will see flood prevention upgrades over the next decade, more than triple the number that had been set to receive improvements prior to 2023.

“We have to manage through data given the organization’s finite resources. The ability to segment and analyze data in targeted ways is crucial for navigating where resources should go.”

Susan Grant, Acting City Manager, Fort Lauderdale

As of August 2024, about half of Phase 1 of the Stormwater Master Plan neighborhoods were complete or in construction. Spanning eight neighborhoods, the plan provides 50 miles of new stormwater pipe, 10 new stormwater pump stations, higher seawalls and enhanced swales, among other improvements. These will help get water out of neighborhoods faster, preventing costly damage. The new stormwater improvements are expected to improve the drainage capacity from 3 inches of rain in 24 hours to 7-10 inches. Fortify Lauderdale also includes developing guidelines that will strengthen outreach to owners of vulnerable properties to help them improve their own climate resilience practices. Together, these efforts are showing residents that when the next storm comes, the City can reduce the intensity, duration and frequency of flooding to roads passable, protect homes and prevent life-changing damage.

“A successful infrastructure resilience strategy needs to be anchored in community engagement and solid data,” Mayor Trantalis says. “We’re determined to maximize the value of every dollar we spend on these projects—there’s no time to waste.”

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Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

1,000 Trees Rooted in Data, Community and Sustainability.

Project Type:
Community Engagement, Environment, Health and Wellbeing, Infrastructure and Utilities, Technology

At a Glance

The City assessed tree distribution citywide to plant 700 new trees in areas that needed the most shade. 

Raleigh’s Digital Inclusion education program has trained more than 3,800 residents, provided more than 1,000 computers to residents, and delivered more than 10,000 volunteer hours.

A biannual community survey gathers input from residents on issues that impact quality of life, which guides services and policies.

A cost-share program reduces water pollution and has helped fund more than 200 stormwater infrastructure projects (such as green roofs, cisterns, and rain gardens) on private property. Up to 100% of costs are covered for non-profits and lower income property owners.

For over 200 years, Raleigh has been known as the “City of Oaks” for its towering oak trees that line streets and shade neighborhoods. Yet today, the city, which has long celebrated its natural canopy, confronts a stark reality: More than a quarter of people in the Raleigh metro area live in neighborhoods that become heat islands in the summer, where temperatures soar above the city’s average.

Those extra degrees have a high cost — heat islands make neighborhoods less livable and increase the risk of heat-related health complications. These heat islands are disproportionately located in low-income neighborhoods. One reason for the heat islands is a lack of trees, which results in heat being absorbed in materials like concrete and asphalt. This heat is then slowly released causing temperatures to stay high even after the sun sets, making it difficult for neighborhoods to cool down overnight. This prolonged heat exposure can exacerbate the effects of heat stress and lead to higher energy costs and poorer air quality.

Image courtesy of the City of Raleigh.

Today, the “City of Oaks” is working to combat heat islands through a data-backed street tree planting project.

At the start, the project wanted to learn how trees were distributed across the city. Then, the team wondered if planting more trees in certain locations could reduce the number of heat islands

The City analyzed U.S. Census data and an Urban Heat Island study. Then it conducted a walking survey of Raleigh’s current street trees. City staff mapped tree density and income levels, which showed that lower income neighborhoods had fewer trees than their wealthier counterparts. On average, there is one street tree every 1,000 feet in the chosen priority area, whereas other, newer parts of the city have street trees every 40 feet.

“Strong data practices have made us a better organization. We’re able to better connect with the community because there are decisions that are made based on what the data tells us. That data gives us a solid foundation to drive policy and resources.”

City Manager Marchell Adams-David

“I am proud but not surprised that Raleigh continues to achieve recognition for effectively using data and science to drive outcomes. I am also proud of our staff and their devotion to developing the data and using it to implement the solutions that improve the lives of our residents. This designation from Bloomberg Philanthropies is a result of their hard work.”

Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell
Image courtesy of the City of Raleigh.

The City’s solution is to plant 1,000 street trees by the end of 2025, not located randomly across the city, but in the neighborhoods that need it most to reduce urban heat islands. Urban trees and nature can cool cities by up to 14 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes heat-related illness less likely and reduces energy consumption, saving residents money. So far, 700 trees have been planted in low-income neighborhoods in southeast Raleigh, helping make the air cleaner, preventing flash floods during storms, absorbing carbon dioxide, and encouraging communities to gather and play outdoors.

Raleigh city staff know their numbers, but they aren’t missing the forest for the trees—community support and resident engagement are critical for long-term success. The project has connected with residents at community events for Earth Day and Arbor Day. Additionally, residents near potential tree planting spots receive paid-postage mailers from the City that allow them to select the tree species they want or say that they would not prefer a tree.

The Street Tree Project is just one piece of Raleigh’s climate efforts, and it represents more than a tree planting initiative — it’s a data-based strategy to ensure that all residents, no matter where they live, can share in the benefits of the City of Oaks.

Image courtesy of the City of Raleigh.

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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

A Bridge for the City’s Most Vulnerable

Project Type:
Community Engagement, Housing, Infrastructure

At a Glance

266,393 household surveys were carried out by the City’s Social Territories program to identify vulnerable families disconnected from municipal services.

3,758 out-of-school children and adolescents aged 4 to 14 were referred for enrollment.

9,744 families living in extreme poverty gained access to housing, healthcare and other social assistance through the Social Territories program.

About 2 million of Rio de Janeiro’s 6.2 million inhabitants live in favelas, residential areas spread across the City of Rio. These densely populated neighborhoods are often hard to reach, lack infrastructure and many families remain without access to basic services, disconnected from the sewage network, running water or electricity.

The first step to helping these families is to find them, as many of these residents are not part of government systems and there is little data about them. Thus, Rio City Hall decided to launch a new program, Social Territories, in partnership with UN-Habitat, the United Nations’ sustainable urban development program. With field agents who go door to door to interview families, the program’s priorities are to identify families at social risk and provide them with various basic public services, such as school enrollment, health care, referral to social benefits, housing support, and access to professional training and job opportunities. For example, Social Territories data helps the City choose beneficiaries of Casa Carioca, a housing requalification program.

Designed in 2016, Social Territories has proven the value of a three-phase, data-driven approach to helping some of Rio de Janeiro’s most vulnerable residents.

Image courtesy of the City of Rio de Janeiro.

In the first phase, municipal officials conduct interviews with residents to identify how they could help, whether by enrolling children in school, providing clean water or other support. Detailed household survey data is analyzed against standards defined in the UN Multidimensional Poverty Index. Levels of risk are established to indicate the degree of need of each household, which lays the groundwork for the second phase of the program. Using survey and geospatial data, municipal departments reach out to high-risk families, including those living in extreme poverty, to provide appropriate services such as housing, health care, education and job training. The final phase of Social Territories involves monitoring residents receiving targeted services and then reassessing their needs after a year.

In essence, the program aims to proactively learn about disconnected communities and build bridges between the City and residents to improve their lives. Administered by the Pereira Passos Institute, which oversees the City’s data practices and uses detailed demographic data to support the implementation of policies and programs, the Social Territories program has expanded over the years. Originally focused on 10 favelas, in 2022 the program expanded to cover all of Rio de Janeiro. That same year, it was recognized with a World Smart Cities Award.

“The Social Territories program serves all areas of City planning, identifying vulnerable families and increasingly promoting equity in access to services and opportunities.”

Bianca Medina, Coordinator of Social Territories at Instituto Pereira Passos

Today, Social Territories continues to show what can happen when a municipal government prioritizes data-driven decision-making to help its most vulnerable residents. In January 2025,

  • Almost 32,000 families identified by the program were served by the Municipal Health Department
  • Nearly 26,000 were served by Municipal Secretariat of Social Assistance
  • Almost 8,000 families received housing improvements, many of them through Casa Carioca Project
  • Nearly 4,000 children were recently enrolled in school
Image courtesy of the City of Rio de Janeiro.

“With the data made available by the Pereira Passos Institute from the field search, we can provide secretariats with information about families, improve the living conditions of the population, improve the efficiency of public management and promote sustainable urban development. It is an immense satisfaction to see the program happen and take shape in Rio.”, says Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro.

“When data drives our city’s services, we not only deliver results for our community, but we also rebuild trust with residents. What Works Cities Certification shows residents that we are making smart decisions that they can see and understand, making them partners in improving our city.”

Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro
Image courtesy of the City of Rio de Janeiro.

“Using data and evidence to run local government is more efficient. When you know where to invest and where the results come from, you save money.”

Lucas Padilha, Municipal Secretary of Culture
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Savannah, Georgia, USA

Using Data to Guide a Parks and Rec Transformation

Project Type:
Community Engagement, Parks and Recreation, Public Safety, Transportation

At a Glance

The Recreation Reimagined initiative uses resident feedback and detailed data on facility conditions to prioritize investments in aquatic centers, athletic facilities and community centers.

Traffic calming and pedestrian safety improvements cut fatal traffic accidents by 56% and serious injury crashes by 33% between September 2023 and September 2024.

Savannah’s Community Partnership Program takes a results-driven approach to collaborating with nonprofits by contracting for services via a competitive process.

If you want to see how Savannah is transforming its parks and recreation facilities, it’s best to pick a hot summer day. That’s when the city’s sparkling new splash pads buzz with kids dashing through spray fountains and newly renovated public pools are packed with swimmers.

It wasn’t always like this. Savannah had underinvested in recreation for years. Splash parks were little more than weathered concrete slabs where water poured out of a pipe. Pools had not been resurfaced in 20 years, and were often closed due to equipment failures.

The revitalization is the result of Recreation Reimagined, a city initiative that is improving parks and rec programming and upgrading recreation facilities across Savannah using federal pandemic relief dollars. Tired community centers are getting fresh coats of paint, new furniture and gaming consoles to attract teenagers. Basketball and tennis courts are getting resurfaced. Athletic fields are getting new lighting and turf. And playgrounds are getting new slides, swings and play equipment.

“We’ve created a new Information and Public Affairs Service Center. Their job is to wake up every day thinking about data — how we collect it, how we visualize it, how we analyze it, how we use it to make decisions, how we use it to engage residents to understand their needs and involve them in decision making, and how we use it to tell our story better.”

City Manager Jay Melder

40 percent increase in pool attendance from 2023 to 2024

37 percent increase in youth program participants from 2023-2024

13 percent increase in senior meals served from 2023 to 2024

City leaders grounded the entire effort in data. First, they surveyed more than 800 residents on the state of current recreational services and what amenities they wanted to see. Splash pads and pool renovations ranked high on that list, as did walking and biking paths, playgrounds and dog parks. City leaders used this data as one of their guides in deciding what kinds of facilities to invest in.

Next, they sent city staff across Savannah to conduct the city’s first physical assessment of every picnic table, bike rack, trail, trash can and see-saw — more than 5,000 items in all. Before the assessment, the City trained staff on how to classify both the appearance and functionality of equipment using the same methodology to yield consistent citywide data.

“Oftentimes, departments request funding but they don’t have data to back it up — it’s just ‘take my word for it,’” says Taffanye Young, Savannah’s Chief Community Services Officer.  “Having this data was a big help for us.”

One way the data helped was in prioritizing investments to public spaces with the greatest needs (based on the resident survey and physical assessment). The data also enabled city leaders to bundle procurements for everything from playground equipment to court resurfacings, yielding lower prices and helping to deliver results quickly.

Residents can see the difference, and are coming out to parks and rec facilities in greater numbers. In 2024, pool attendance was up 40 percent over the previous year, participation in youth programs was up 37 percent and 13 percent more meals were served to seniors.

“I firmly believe that the quality of your facilities speaks volumes about how much you care about the people who live there,” Young says. “Our focus is to show that we’re good stewards, prioritize the projects and deliver quick victories. We want people out in these neighborhoods saying, ‘A year ago I said I wanted a splash pad, and now it’s here.’”

“Achieving What Works Cities Certification shows that we’re really moving the needle. You can’t make that judgement internally. You have to have someone outside look at what you’re doing. When I first explained to our team about pursuing Certification, I told them it might reveal some truths about ourselves that we don’t like. But we’ll take it, and we’ll learn from it, and we’ll adjust.”

Mayor Van Johnson
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Winnipeg, Canada

Using Procurement Power to Expand Hiring Opportunities

Project Type:
Community Engagement, Economic Development

At a Glance

Winnipeg’s Sustainable Procurement Action Plan is redefining what makes a valuable supplier for the city—instead of evaluating only price, quality and service, the City is now also prioritizing community and social impact.

Pilot procurement projects are gathering the data needed to steer more of the city’s CA$400 million to businesses that employ a workforce that represents all Winnipeggers.

City departments track performance across numerous measures, including citizen satisfaction and benchmarking against other cities, and that information is considered in budget decisions.

Winnipeg maintains an award-winning dashboard that allows City leaders to track how well they are doing at hiring a workforce that reflects the community they serve.

The City of Winnipeg spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year on goods, services and construction projects.

Recently, City leaders made a connection between the money it spends and opportunities to build a more inclusive workforce. That’s now part of a strategy Winnipeg calls “sustainable procurement.” The idea is to redefine what makes a valuable contractor for the City—instead of only thinking of price, quality and service, the City is now also prioritizing community and social impact. That means giving better opportunities to win City contracts to businesses with owners from underrepresented groups or who provide apprenticeship and training for people with barriers to employment.

Winnipeg has been doing something similar for years in the realms of the environment and ethics, requiring bidders on City contracts to reduce waste, for example, or avoid products made with sweatshop labor. And as an employer, the City has committed to hiring workers who reflect the community they serve — and share the results publicly through an Open Data dataset and a diversity dashboard that tracks how they’re doing toward that goal.

Winnipeg reports 347 performance measures across 30 service areas and connects them to budgets.

“The City spends $400 million a year in procurement, and we want to make sure that money makes a difference in the community.”

Procurement Coordinator Corinne Evason

To do the same with contractors, City leaders knew they needed to get data to guide decision making. That’s why Winnipeg (Canada’s seventh-largest city with 750,000 people) is testing the approach through a series of pilot projects.

The 21 pilot projects are generally construction tenders, such as installing new bike paths or replacing water mains. For the first time, City leaders asked contractors and subcontractors to prioritize hiring people who identify with at least one of Winnipeg’s underrepresented groups. Contractors are also reporting data on their progress back to the City.

None of this is mandatory just yet. Nevertheless, the results so far are encouraging. Most contractors have exceeded their own targets. The majority of contractors have reported 2.5 percent to 75 percent of hours worked by workers who identify with an underrepresented group.

That’s valuable data for when the City moves toward making the hiring goals mandatory. The goal was to develop a baseline target that was acceptable and achievable by the contractors.

The pilots also give Winnipeg a chance to prepare vendors for these changes. City leaders have been signaling to contractors for a couple of years that these hiring goals are coming. While larger companies with robust HR data systems have had little trouble reporting results, some smaller contractors are reporting difficulties. But the City is providing webinars, training videos and other outreach to help them understand and navigate the Sustainable Procurement Action Plan.

The City has many construction contracts each year and a large share of the annual spend is attributed to these contracts. “The City spends CA$400 million a year in procurement, and we want to make sure that money makes a difference in the community,” says Procurement Coordinator Corinne Evason.

“Certification provides the City a platform to recognize our strengths, see where there’s gaps, and connect resources to where the deepest needs are in our community.”

Interim Chief Administrative Officer Sherwood Armbruster
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Caruaru, Brazil

A Data-Driven Approach Yields Progress on Early Childhood Development.

Project Type:
Community Engagement, Cross-Sector Collaboration, Education, Health and Wellbeing, Parks and Recreation, Youth Development

At a Glance

Launched a 10-year Municipal Early Childhood Plan with 60 goals for the health and wellbeing of expectant mothers and children ages 0 to 6.

The City is making measurable progress on key metrics, including rates of teen pregnancy, maternal mortality and congenital syphilis.

A new community center is the heart of municipal services, professional training, policymaking and research on what works related to early childhood development.

The sparkling new community center that opened in Caruaru in April 2024 is a unique headquarters for all things early childhood. Within its walls, expecting mothers get health checkups and prenatal care, teachers get professional training, parents learn positive parenting techniques in dedicated classes, and there’s no shortage of play areas for children to climb, tinker with toys, or make their way through a stack of picture books.

However, the space is more than a vibrant community center. It’s also a health and education research and collaboration hub, aimed at learning what works in early childhood, a critical time for brain development. The center and its programming relied on best practices (such as disaggregating data) from Urban95, an initiative that elevates children’s perspectives in urban planning. Learnings from the center will spread to the growing number of municipally run daycare centers springing up around the city of 400,000 near Brazil’s eastern tip.

Children play at the new Caruaru’s new community center.

These centers are the most visible products of Caruaru’s data-driven 10-year plan for early childhood, which kicked off in 2018. But there is much more behind the scenes. That plan includes 60 goals tied to measurable results. It’s bearing fruit. The number of cases of syphilis passed from pregnant mothers to their babies declined from 79 in 2022 to 19 in 2023, thanks to stepped up testing and treatment. Rates of teenage pregnancy are down 6 percent since 2022, and the number of pregnant women who died before, during, or soon after childbirth dropped from three to zero.

New parents receive support at Caruaru’s community center.

“Whether it’s health, education, social assistance, or other City Hall services, we have an obligation to deliver with quality. Data helps us measure how we are progressing and whether our investments are paying off.”

Caruaru Mayor Rodrigo Pinheiro

Two things stand out in Caruaru’s approach. One is a commitment to engaging residents — and children themselves — in the childhood development effort. A diverse advisory committee of 20 children between the ages of 4 and 12 meets regularly to discuss things they’d like to see in the community. Current priorities include creating a new water park, more activities for kids during an annual local festival and cleaning up the local river.

The City of Caruaru convenes the Comitê das Crianças (Children’s Committee).

The other standout is the way agencies across city hall, including health, education, planning and others, collaborate to get results. In fact, there are meeting spaces at Caruaru’s new community center specifically meant to be places where public-sector and nonprofit leaders can team up on youth and family initiatives. Caruaru’s shared, data-driven approach helps different partners stay focused on the results they are working to achieve together. “We do it in an intersectoral way,” says Mayor Rodrigo Pinheiro. “All the departments meet and work together.”

“Certification is extremely important for us to inspire a regional culture of using data. If we can do it in Caruaru, it will be replicated in 50 other cities in the region. By serving as an example, we can spread a culture of data-driven governance to other municipalities in our region.”

Dimitri Bezerra Almeida, Procurador-Geral de Caruaru
A young member of Caruaru’s Comitê das Crianças (Children’s Committee).

60 goals Caruaru's 10-year Municipal Early Childhood Plan includes 60 goals.

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