The Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Works Cities Certification initiative launched in 2017. In 2022, it expanded to include international cities, and in February, 12 cities gained this certification. With the nine cities announced Monday, the series has now recognized a total of 83 cities for their use of data-driven decision-making.
The program, led by Results for America, lauds cities for meeting up to 43 criteria, based on their use of data to inform policy, funding, service delivery, program evaluation and citizen engagement. Since 2017, more than 170 cities have applied for the recognition.
The cities that received the certification on Monday are Boise, Idaho; Dallas, Texas; Issaquah, Wash.; Sugar Land, Texas; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Las Condes, Chile; Mendoza, Argentina; Porto Alegre, Brazil; and San Pedro Garza García, Mexico.
Each of these cities received Silver Certification, meaning that they met 51 percent to 67 percent of the 43 certification criteria.
The organization announced four cities that had already received silver moved up to Gold Certification: Baton Rouge, La.; Carlsbad, Calif.; Charlotte, N.C.; and Montevideo, Uruguay. Reaching this level means the municipalities met 68 percent to 84 percent of the criteria.
If cities meet 85 percent of the criteria or more, they receive Platinum Certification. As of Monday, no new cities have achieved this.
“The program provides continuous expertise for cities to up-level their efforts … forging a future in which data serves as a foundation for how municipalities transform delivery and better outcomes,” Managing Director of What Works Cities Certification Rochelle Haynes said Monday in a news release.
Any city in North, Central or South America with a population of at least 30,000 is eligible to submit an application for certification through the program. More information and an assessment are available on the program’s website.
