The City of Carlsbad was selected as one of two new U.S. cities and one of seven worldwide to receive the Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities Certification for 2023. The What Works Cities Certification program, launched in 2017 by Bloomberg Philanthropies, is the first-of-its-kind standard of excellence for data-driven, well-managed local government.
Carlsbad joins Charleston, South Carolina, as the first two new U.S. cities to be certified since Bloomberg raised the bar in 2022 by adding new criteria related to equity and measures of community well-being. There are 43 criteria in all, covering such areas as using data to make decisions, engage with the community, prioritize resources, measure performance and increase efficiency.
The Bloomberg team pointed to three examples of the city’s effective use of data:
Road collision heatmaps and other data used to inform engineering, education and enforcement efforts as part of the Safer Streets Together Plan to achieve a 19% decrease in all injury collisions.
A real-time fire operations intelligence center that is being used to strategically reduce response times and improve public safety
City budget and finance processes, which require data and alignment with the City Council’s 5-Year Strategic Plan, ensure funds are efficiently and effectively allocated to address the most important priorities of the community.
Now that the City of Carlsbad has become certified, it has access to a network of data experts who will provide pro-bono services that will allow the city to continue to improve and grow its data practices and identify new and more effective ways to evaluate city services, programs and policies to improve community outcomes.
The city chose the What Works Cities certification to benchmark its operational excellence efforts and provide a cost-effective roadmap for further improvement. The city is actively pursuing a higher certification level by improving its operations and data-driven services. Access to the What Works Cities community provides valuable access to experts who can help the city continue to improve for residents, visitors, and businesses.
Over 275 cities have attempted to achieve certification. To date, 62 cities have been awarded What Works Cities Certification honoring their achievements in data-informed decision-making. More than half of the cities certified have reported improving their use of data to make budget decisions, award city contracts, shift procurement dollars and deliver city services more efficiently, effectively, and equitably.
