Portland Selected as National 'What Works' City

PORTLAND, OR - Mayor Charles Hales announced that Portland was selected as one of 16 new cities to be included in the Bloomberg Philanthropies' initiative called 'What Works Cities'

The What Works City movement was launched in April of 2015 and now consists of 55 cities from 33 states and represents 19 million different residents. The benefit of joining the movement is to help the cities involved move toward an outcomes-focused government. Governments driven by results have thrived more readily.

“From the City’s Performance Dashboard, PortlandMaps app, to the data driven GATR planning sessions, Portland has been on the cutting-edge of advancing open data and performance management to help better serve our citizens. Now as a What Works City, I’m excited we will be able to advance and build on our work of transparency, accountability, and government efficiency that will move our city forward,” said Mayor Charlie Hales.

Boasting impressive numbers for the participating city, 90 U.S. city mayors have found more efficient ways to use the data that their city has accumulated. The program has successfully engaged over 1,700 community government workers, and encouraged them to adapt to different practices such as analytics and performance management.

“We are thrilled to welcome these new cities to the initiative, furthering our mission to help cities leverage data and evidence to improve their residents’ lives. We're proud to add the commitment of these 16 new and innovative cities to this national movement," Simone Brody, Executive Director of What Works Cities.

Bloomberg Philanthropies plans to have 100 cities fully enrolled in the initiative by 2018. Interested in staying up to date on the progress of the movement? Check out the What Works Cities site and stay up to date on the progress of the movement.

Photo by Pixabay