Resources & News

What Works Cities: The Guide to Remote Community Engagement

August 27, 2020 – The Guide to Remote Community Engagement is a collection of resources designed to support cities that want to create and maintain strong, institutionalized practices of community engagement during periods of remote working in an increasingly digital world. Posts include strategies for social media-based community engagement, steps for closing the digital divide, engaging non-English speaking residents, and more.

Sunlight Foundation: “Unseal the Deal! How open contracting can improve your city’s procurement process”

June 6, 2018 – The Sunlight Foundation hosted a webinar on open contracting with their partners from the Open Contracting Partnership, the Harvard Kennedy School’s Government Performance Lab (GPL), and the City of Glendale, Arizona. The webinar discussion included a general overview of open contracting, tips for how to do it well, and how Sunlight and GPL worked with the City of Glendale to make their contracting more open, as part of What Works Cities.

Data Points Podcast Episode 55 – Creating Racial Equity in Grand Rapids

May 29, 2018 – In this episode of the Data Points Podcast, Sharon Paley and Tiffany Davis take a deep dive into the innovative and data-driven approach which Grand Rapids, Michigan is taking to meet this complex issue head on. Over the past six months, GovEx, through What Works Cities, has been supporting Grand Rapids’ efforts to increase racial equity by improving data management practices and bringing data and evidence into the decision-making process.

Center For Government Excellence At Johns Hopkins University (GovEx): First Things First: Laying the Foundation for a Smart City

May 25, 2018 – This guide is the product of a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded research collaborative composed of University of Maryland, Morgan State University, the Center for Government Excellence (GovEx) at Johns Hopkins University, and University of Baltimore. Since October 2017, these research institutions have worked together to determine how data and technology can meet the needs of residents in West Baltimore communities. This guide captures the experience of these partners in Baltimore and other cities around the country in laying the foundation for a Smart Cities project that meets the needs of residents and improves city service delivery.

What Works Cities Resource: Center For Government Excellence At Johns Hopkins University (GovEx): Data Points Podcast Episode 54 – Tactical Data Use with Sunlight

April 30, 2018 – In this episode of the Data Points Podcast, Eric Reese speaks with Stephen Larrick, Open Cities Director at Sunlight, to learn more about a new technique they’ve piloted with cities – Tactical Data Engagement.

Sunlight Foundation: 39 fresh ideas to support community use of open data

April 19, 2018 – Yesterday we hosted “Fresh ideas for supporting community use of open data,” an interactive workshop with open data professionals from across the country about how to help residents from all walks of life find, understand, and use publicly available data. If you weren’t able to join us yesterday — or if you did join and want a recap of the discussion — check out all the tips, resources, events, and projects that were shared throughout the course of the event.

GovEx: Performance Measures – How Less Becomes More

April 16, 2018 – GovEx’s Moses Pounds explains how he worked with the City of Baltimore to identify the correct key performance indicators to improve their performance management infrastructure.

Center For Government Excellence At Johns Hopkins University (GovEx): Open Data Standards Directory

November 15, 2017 – The Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University (GovEx) partnered with GeoThink, a part of McGill University, to develop a new and comprehensive open data standards directory that identifies standards for open data regularly shared by governments. This project was funded through the What Works Cities program, sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

What Works Cities Resource: Center For Government Excellence At Johns Hopkins University (GovEx): Data Points Podcast Episode 43 – Understanding the Fed

October 24, 2017 – In this episode of the Data Points Podcast, Eric Reese speaks with Shannon McKay, the Community Development Research Manager at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, to learn more about how the Federal Reserve uses data to make decisions, impacts and tracks local workforce development, and how local governments can get involved.

What Works Cities Resource: Center For Government Excellence At Johns Hopkins University (GovEx): Data Points Podcast Episode 42 – Bloomberg American Health Initiative Fellowships

September 27, 2017 – In this episode of the Data Points Podcast, Sharon Paley and Katherine Klosek speak with Dr. Josh Sharfstein, Associate Dean of Public Health Practice and Training, about the fellowship opportunities offered by the School of Public Health via the Bloomberg Health Initiative.