Mayor Scott among speakers discussing data's role in serving communities at alliance at Johns Hopkins
BALTIMORE - Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott will speak to 20 mayors from North and South America on Wednesday about data's role in serving communities at the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance at Johns Hopkins University.
The program is designed to empower mayors with data they can use to better their communities.
Mayor Scott was included in the first cohort of the City Data Alliance and has implemented a Baltimore-wide Data Practice Curriculum to boost the data skills of more than 350 City staff.
According to Bloomberg Philanthropies, following a 2021 survey revealed that the City's data staff weren't getting uniform guidance on data, Mayor Scott, Baltimore's Chief Data Officer, Chief Administrative Officer and HR Department worked with the City Data Alliance to develop and implement a data training curriculum to take City staff's use of data and evidence to the next level.
"Baltimore aims to have staff in every agency complete the full training—which focuses on data literacy, leading with data, and advanced data applications—to increase their effectiveness while also creating a pipeline for data staff to seek promotion as their skills grow," a statement said.
The new 20 Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance mayors came from five countries - Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and the United States.
"These 20 mayors were selected because of their leadership using data to inform decision-making and respond to challenges, and this program will help them take that work to the next level," said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies and 108th mayor of New York City. "The Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance provides tools, support, and peer networking to help mayors achieve their goals by using data even more effectively."
The mayors will receive executive education and coaching on how to leverage data to strengthen city government operations, innovate public services, and produce better outcomes for residents including improving access to health care, reimagining waste management systems, expanding affordable housing, or combatting homelessness, according to Bloomberg Philanthropies.
The mayors will hear from Bloomberg and renowned data leaders in academia, innovation, urban governance, social impact and racial equity at Johns Hopkins University over the three-day event.
Among the keynote speakers are:
- Denice Ross, U.S. Chief Data Scientist for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
- Beth Blauer, Associate Vice Provost for Public Sector Innovation at Johns Hopkins University
- Amy Edwards Holmes, Executive Director of the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University
- Jorrit de Jong, Director, Emma Bloomberg Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and Management, Harvard Kennedy School, Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, and Faculty Co-Chair, Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative
- Garnesha Ezediaro, who leads Bloomberg Philanthropies' Greenwood Initiative, and led the launch of the Black Wealth Data Center
- Mayor Brandon Scott and Chief Data Officer Justin Elszasz of Baltimore, Maryland
- Mayor G.T. Bynum of Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Mayor José Sarto and Director of the Observatory Elis Teixeira of Fortaleza, Brazil
Data is one of the most critical assets public sector leaders have — and the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance is aimed at helping maximize that asset for public good," said James Anderson, who leads the Government Innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies. "As we learned during COVID-19, good data – leveraged effectively – can make the difference between life and death. We are excited to help these 20 cities set a new standard of excellence."
