Bloomberg's city data alliance is improving Baltimore communities, 23 mayors from around the world gather in the city to learn how

BALTIMORE -- For the past couple of days, Baltimore hosted 23 mayors from all over the world so they could learn how data can better their communities.

It's all through Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance, which Baltimore has been a part of since 2022 in its first cohort.

This year, Mayor Brandon Scott and Gov. Wes Moore shared how data has helped their administrations first-hand.

This year's gathering was held inside the George Peabody Library in Mount Vernon. Scott and Gov. Moore told the newest cohort of the City Data Alliance that data is everything.

"If it's our Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan, our group violence reduction strategy, picking up trash, how many pools are open -- everything we do in our government, we use data to inform how we're going to have the results that we want for our people," Scott said.

In his remarks, Scott honed in on the success of the GVRS, which uses data to identify those high-risk for gun violence. He said it lead to the historic drop in homicides Baltimore saw in 2023 and so far in 2024.

"Guess what happened, we saw a 33% reduction in [the worst] area and then we systemically have been responsibly moving it around the city," he said.

Scott said there's still a lot more to be done, but progress is showing.

Gov. Moore, meanwhile, said his administration has performance metrics in many areas, including public safety and housing.

His administration constantly makes sure they're on target, he said.

"We have weekly meetings across a variety of different subject matter and sets, to make sure our state is hitting the targets," Gov. Moore said. "If we're not hitting the targets, [we] identify why."

However, both say a data-focused approach only works with partnerships.

"This job becomes impossible if you do not have the right partnerships," Gov. Moore said.

Gov. Moore also announced Maryland will become the first state to have an official Bloomberg performance team. It's not clear exactly what they'll do, but he said they'll help accomplish big goals, like addressing child poverty.