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The city of Fort Collins has been recognized for achieving What Works Cities 2021 certification, the national standard of excellence for data-driven city management. What Works Cities certification assesses how well cities are managed by measuring the extent to which city leaders use data and evidence in their decision-making.
Fort Collins has earned Silver-level certification, is one of 16 cities recertified this year and one of only 40 cities certified since the program began in April 2017. What Works Cities is a national initiative by Bloomberg Philanthropies to help cities use data and evidence more effectively to meet their most pressing challenges.
“We are honored to be recognized by What Works Cities for our commitment to local government work for our community,” said City Manager Darin Atteberry. “The city of Fort Collins is keen to use data to educate everything we do – from helping residents and businesses save water to developing the city’s budget and everywhere in between.”
What Works Cities Certification evaluates cities based on their data-driven decision-making practices, such as: For example, whether they are using data to set goals and track progress, allocate funding, evaluate program effectiveness, and get desired outcomes from third-party contracts. The program also measures whether cities are communicating publicly and transparently about their use of data and evidence.
Over the past year, Fort Collins has shown measurable progress in these basic data practices. Some notable examples of the city’s use of data include:
- Landscaping Water Budget Program: Hourly water usage data is used to provide commercial irrigation customers with suggested water usage budgets so they can make water conservation decisions for their properties.
- Proactively contacting utility accounts: During the pandemic, Fort Collins Utilities used its customer account information to identify customers who had defaulted on payments to obtain direct information on various payment assistance programs.
- Performance measurement: Every budget proposal and strategic target is tied to specific performance metrics that allow the city to track progress and community impact and make service adjustments as needed.
The City of Fort Collins is also making records available to the public at opendata.fcgov.com to promote transparency and innovation among community members.
What does city certification work
The 16 new cities that received certification this year include four gold-level cities (Austin, TX; Chattanooga, TN; Detroit, MI; and Gilbert, AZ) and 12 silver-level cities: Baton Rouge, LA ; Bellevue, WA; Fort Collins, CO; Glendale, AZ; Irving, Texas; Little Rock, AR; Madison, WI; Minneapolis, MN; Norfolk, VA; Portland, OR; San Antonio, Texas; and Syracuse, NY.
“During the pandemic, using data to make decisions was more important than ever for cities – it helped them respond directly to the needs of their residents and provide basic services as the local situation kept changing,” Michael R. told Bloomberg Bloom , Founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and 108th Mayor of New York City. “By putting data at the center of their COVID-19 response efforts, these cities have saved lives and helped residents recover – and now they have a chance to be empowered, more resilient and better prepared for the next crisis.”
What Works Cities Certification was developed by a team of experts from Results for America in close collaboration with the What Works Cities Certification Standard Committee. To rate cities, these experts ran a rigorous validation process of the cities’ certification ratings and took part in site visits in the top performing cities to determine the city’s level of certification.
The program has inspired a movement of cities to redouble their commitment to building the best-run local government, using certification as a roadmap. More than 200 cities have completed a certification assessment to compare their practices with the national standard. The assessment is the first step in obtaining exclusive support from What Works Cities to continue building more effective local government. To learn more about the program and how to participate, visit whatworkscities.bloomberg.org/certification/.
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