Letter from GovEx Leadership
In 2024, it became even clearer that AI technology, backed up with strong data practices, will have a transformational effect on cities.
When GovEx and Bloomberg Philanthropies launched City AI Connect — a platform for city leaders to share their experiences with AI and learn from experts and each other — in 2023, many of the posts expressed reservations about AI and focused on creating guardrails to avoid risk.
In 2024, we saw a pivot, as cities took bolder steps to integrate AI into the way they operate. Cities began to make the foundational changes to their data practices that would allow them to successfully integrate AI and create positive change for residents. This includes upskilling workforces, establishing systems to evaluate the impact of AI applications, and updating data use policies and staff guidance to avoid feeding unstructured or out of date data into new systems.
As you’ll read in this 2024 retrospective, GovEx has guided cities through this transformation, helping city halls around the world develop strong data practices through expert advising, field-defining research, and connections across the public sector.
In May, we welcomed our largest-ever class to the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance — 23 new cities from nine countries, representing more than 8 million residents — expanding the Alliance to a total of 65 cities, representing more than 50 million people. Our team of public sector data experts helped these cities develop citywide data strategies, upskill their workforces, and implement cutting-edge data practices. The ever-evolving CDA curriculum now includes modules and a course on leveraging AI technology.
Our GovEx Academy expanded its reach, hosting 91 live events with more than 1,500 participants from 190 cities, and developed new “AI for the Public Sector” courses — the first of their kind offered anywhere in the world. We worked with our partners at Results for America to deliver What Works Cities sprints, helping 40 more cities reach certification in advanced data skills.
Our Research and Analytics team continued to provide rapid-response tools and analysis to accelerate and improve the use of data in the public sector. We celebrated the first anniversary of our City AI Connect community, which now includes more than 700 public servants from 373 cities and 41 countries sharing ideas, resources, and best practices about the use of generative AI in cities. We launched the City Data Explorer, the most comprehensive single source of public data on the 100 largest U.S. cities, with 1.7 million data points used to calculate 40 metrics. In 2025, as GovEx celebrates its 10th anniversary, the organization begins a new chapter, joining the newly established Johns Hopkins University School of Government and Policy. We’re thrilled to collaborate with colleagues in this exciting new environment and look forward to the opportunities we’ll be able to generate for cities and residents in the future.
EXPERT ADVISORS
From the United Nations and the halls of Congress to city halls around the world, GovEx advises the public sector on how to leverage data for public good.
Early in 2024, GovEx Executive Director Amy Edwards Holmes testified before Congress about the importance of training government workforces in fundamental data practices and emerging technologies so that cities can fully leverage AI to benefit their residents.
AI has the potential to greatly improve the lives of people across the globe and governments at all levels need to better prepare to harness this opportunity. Governments must work to shore up the most fundamental data practices to be able to safely adopt and utilize these technologies.
— AMY EDWARDS HOLMES
↑ Amy Edwards Holmes’ testimony during the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Sub-Committee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation’s hearing, “Toward An AI Ready Workforce.”
Most of GovEx’s advisory staff are former government officials who are able to leverage academic grounding and exposure to emerging technology to help cities transform their data practices to improve service delivery, governance, and municipal transparency in ways that directly improve the lives of residents.
In 2024, GovEx expanded the reach of its experts considerably. The Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance added 23 more cities — its largest cohort ever — including its first two in the Caribbean, Santo Domingo and Montego Bay. In 2024, GovEx coaches also advised 20 cities enrolled in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Institute, which expanded to Africa, North America, and Europe.
↓ Mayor Richard Vernon of Montego Bay, Jamaica, participates in the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance Mayoral Convening in Baltimore in June, 2024.
Hurricane Recovery in Tampa
← Sixty-five cities from across the Americas and the Caribbean have participated in the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance in its first three years.
2022 2023 2024
cities have created new demographic data standards SINCE 2022
cities have completed comprehensive citywide data strategies
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During Tampa’s engagement in the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance, GovEx coaches helped the city streamline its data collection and sharing practices. This year, when back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton battered the city, officials were able to leverage that data, deploying more than 50 garbage trucks and 300 haulers accordingly, collecting a football field’s worth of waste piled two feet high every day. As a result, the city met the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s 90-day deadline for removal three weeks ahead of schedule.
In an op-ed for Governing magazine, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor wrote, “The [CDA] program, delivered with the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University, has helped take our burgeoning practices and make them worldclass, anchored by standards to guide their use.”
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13 cities have hired new Chief Data Officers
cities have formed new data governance committees
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cities have created new public-facing tools to help residents address key areas of concern
REAL WORLD IMPACT
↑ Neighbors help take down a tree felled by winds from Hurricane Milton in Tampa in October as part of the city’s coordinated cleanup effort.
Being part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance has made Charlotte confident in making informed decisions and creating solutions to produce better outcomes for residents of the Queen City. By deepening our use of data, we’ve been able to effectively deliver on community needs and high impact services, especially in some of our most underserved neighborhoods.”
— MAYOR VI LYLES OF CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA
As part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance, we’ve become an even smarter city focused on delivering results based on Little Rock’s chief priorities and needs. Anchored by a citywide strategy, the program has fueled our efforts to use data to make decisions, design initiatives, and build a more transparent government so our residents see a city that works for them.”
— MAYOR FRANK SCOTT OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS
The Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance has provided us with a strategic approach to using and analyzing data that has spurred a digital transformation — resulting in transformative public service delivery that allows us to effectively engage and serve residents. The result has made our reach broader and impact deeper, able to launch efforts that meet the greatest needs of our communities, as well as create specific efforts for the most vulnerable — getting government to those who depend on it most.”
— MAYOR JOÃO CAMPOS OF RECIFE, BRAZIL
Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative
The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, located at the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, equips mayors and senior city officials to tackle complex challenges in their cities and improve the quality of life of their residents. Our expert coaches provide hands-on guidance to cities in an intensive nine-month course as part of the Initiative each year, helping them learn how to use data to set goals, improve performance, and monitor and evaluate progress.
In 2024, GovEx supported 20 cities across two cohorts of teams. Each city focused on using data and performance management practices to address an enduring problem that residents care about — issues ranging from improving transit access, revitalizing neighborhoods, building safe communities, and improving service delivery.
1. In Memphis, Mayor Paul Young leads GovEx researcher Angel Aliseda and coach Lena Geraghty on a tour of historic Beale Street, sharing his vision for further activating the space.
2. GovEx staffers Rudy de Leon Dinglas and Melisa Breda meet with Mayor Alejandro Eder of Cali, Colombia and his senior staff to discuss strategies to break down silos of data within the government.
3. During an initial site visit, Reykjavik Mayor Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir and her senior leadership team discussed a potential survey about the rising cost of living with GovEx coaches Alfredo Cumerma and Vidushani Jayalal.
4. After visiting the Kangemi neighborhood waste collection site, GovEx coaches Laurie Moises Sears and Vidushani Jayalal met with Nairobi Governor Sakaja Johnson to discuss how better data collection could improve efficiency and sanitation.
Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance
Through our signature program, the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance, GovEx provides executive education to mayors and cities with populations of 100,000 or more across North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean.
In 2024, 23 cities joined the City Data Alliance bringing the total to 65 cities across 12 countries, representing more than 54 million people.
One of the core components of the City Data Alliance is the development of a citywide data strategy and in 2024, we saw the number of cities developing and implementing citywide data strategies explode. When we launched CDA in 2022, only one or two cities in the world had developed citywide data strategies and by the end of 2024, there were nearly 50.
↑ Mayor Carolina Cosse of Montevideo, Uruguay, holding the citywide data strategy the city developed as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance.
PUBLIC SECTOR CONNECTORS
In 2024 GovEx expanded its reach across the public sector and around the
world.
The GovEx Academy is our platform for live and self-guided learning across all of our programs and many partner programs, including the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance, Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative Data Track, What Works Cities, and several place-paced initiatives. This year, the Academy hosted 91 live events with more than 1,600 participants from 190 cities around the world. Our What Works Cities sprints alone helped 40 cities reach certification in advanced data skills.
As the only training center designed and dedicated to improving data skills for the public sector workforce, the Academy provides the essential tools for cities to establish the baseline of skills they need to adapt and utilize cutting edge tools that leverage AI. For cities that have already laid that foundation, the Academy team is developing a new series, “AI Course for Government Practitioners” — the first of its kind anywhere in the world — including “Introductory Subjects in Artificial Intelligence,” “Guidelines and Ethics to Effectively Manage AI,” and “Strategies and Implementation of AI.”
GovEx also expanded its reach, hosting high-profile convenings and joining other leaders at key events in the field. In April, GovEx hosted an event celebrating the first open data law in the United States, “Reflections on the 10th Anniversary of the DATA Act: Examining the Impact and the Future of Open Data.” GovEx Executive Director Amy Edwards Holmes, who played a central role in drafting and implementing the bill during her time in the federal government, hosted a range of lawmakers and other stakeholders at the event, including keynote speaker Senator Mark Warner, who sponsored the bill.
GovEx Academy BY THE NUMBERS
91
1,698
190
Total Events Total Attendees Residents Benefited Unique Cities Supported
113,250,298
CDOs Collaborate on Solutions
In April, GovEx convened leaders from the federal, state, and local levels, including Virginia Senator Mark Warner and Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the DATA Act and strategize further open data reforms. During the gathering, GovEx convened chief data officers from around the country as part of the Civic Analytics Network to share best practices and innovations, with several CDOs making plans to collaborate on solutions to stubborn challenges.
In his story about the convening in Civic Texts, Alexander Howard wrote, “In a turbulent era often marked by partisan rancor, division, and anger, it was a breath of fresh air to attend a celebration of bipartisanship, collaboration, and positive energy in Washington last week.”
↑ Senator Mark Warner of Virginia speaks about the need to continue advancing the cause of open data in government at GovEx's event marking the 10th anniversary of the DATA Act.
↑ GovEx convenes Chief Data Officers from around the country at the Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C. in April.
K'lila Nooning and Angel Aliseda present GovEx's research on disaggregating federal data sources at the Data for Black Lives Conference in Miami.
GovEx Research and Analytics team members Andrew Nicklin and Maeve Mulholland shared insights from the DenAI Summit on GovEx's blog.
GovEx Executive Director Amy Edwards Holmes leads a City Innovation Studio session at Bloomberg Philanthropies' CityLab Conference in Mexico City.
GovEx convened chief data officers from around the country to share new technology, platforms, and best practices and seed collaboration. GovEx staff attended and led talks at key events all over the world, including the Data for Black Lives Conference in Miami, the DenAI Summit in Denver, Bloomberg Philanthropies CityLab in Mexico City, and the Northeast Conference on Public Administration in New York.
In addition to events, GovEx expanded its reach through innovative communications and outreach strategies. In May, Johns Hopkins University’s Diversity Leadership Council presented GovEx with a Diversity Leadership Award for our work to provide multilingual translation and interpretation for in-person and online events and courses. GovEx’s Data Points podcast highlighted the latest developments in the field and launched a new series highlighting insights from GovEx staff, called the GovExperts.
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GovEx's Laurie Moises Sears (left), Vidushani Jayalal (second from right), and Rachel Bloom (right) join Christina Connelly, Chief Operating Officer for New Bedford, Massachusetts (second from left) to present about their work as part of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative during the Northeast Conference on Public Administration in New York.
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GovEx Instructional Designer Jessica Arends recording an episode of the "GovExperts" series for GovEx's Data Points podcast.
a Diversity Leadership Award from the university’s Diversity Leadership Council.
From left, GovEx's Gabriel Alvaro, Rudy De Leon Dinglas, Amy Edwards Holmes, and Tomeria Jordan accept
FIELD-DEFINING RESEARCH
GovEx provides the tools and resources cities need to operationalize AI and improve quality of life for residents.
In 2024, many cities pivoted from tentatively exploring AI to growing the capacity of their workforces to prototype and operationalize the emerging technology to improve and streamline service delivery. GovEx closely tracked these changes through increasing participation and activity in City AI Connect, the global learning community and digital platform for cities that GovEx developed in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies.
GovEx and Bloomberg Philanthropies launched City AI Connect in late 2023 to provide guidance and a sounding board for cities working to trial and advance the usage of AI to improve public services. In 2024, membership — which is limited to full-time city employees — expanded to include representatives from more than 400 cities from 41 countries on six continents.
Eviction Prevention in Allentown
All cities that participated in cohort three of the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance this year worked with GovEx’s multidisciplinary team of experts on a Resident Impact Data Project (RIDP). Allentown, Pennsylvania faced a skyrocketing eviction rate, but because eviction filings were managed by the court system, the city had no way to track where or why evictions occurred. GovEx helped the city conduct a comprehensive analysis of eviction filings, using court data and precinct maps to reveal patterns across geography, plaintiffs, and judicial rulings.
The analysis revealed that nearly half of evictions were concentrated in a single zip code, that 77% of judgments favored landlords, and that a handful of serial evictors were responsible for a large percentage of the total. As a result, the city was able to build an intervention strategy in partnership with legal and public health organizations and is planning to implement a coordinated eviction prevention plan by early 2026.
GovEx’s Research and Analytics team helped Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk, inset, and his team tackle the city’s skyrocketing eviction rate.
REAL WORLD IMPACT
↑ The City AI Community has grown to more than 800 members from over 400 cities since its launch in late 2023.
In addition to providing a platform for discussion and sharing weekly resources, GovEx has hosted 15 webinars for City AI Connect members, like:
• Unpacking the Environmental and Ethical Impact of Generative AI with Jonathan Porat, State Chief Technology Officer for California, and Benjamin Zaitchik, PhD, Morton K. Blaustein Chair and Professor at Johns Hopkins University.
• Exploring GenAI in Latin America, with Rodrigo Duran, CEO of CENIA, Chile’s largest AI research nonprofit, and Melisa Breda, GovEx’s Senior Data Strategy and Implementation Advisor and former Chief Data Officer, Buenos Aires.
• Tailoring Customized GPTs for Your Needs, with Santi Garces, Chief Information Officer of Boston, Brendan Bann, Chief Information Officer of Anchorage, Alaska, and Andrew Nicklin, GovEx’s Senior Research Data Manager
City AI Connect
BY THE NUMBERS
849 city members
53 mayors 411 unique cities US states*
international
*Missing US states are: Delaware, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota
45 40 countries CIOs, CTOs, CDOs
Highest country representation relative to their population**
members
members
members IRELAND
CIty Data Explorer
During the COVID pandemic, GovEx led development of the Coronavirus Resource Center, which became the world’s most trusted surveillance tool for reliable, real-time data about the pandemic, with millions of users and more than a billion views. Once the pandemic subsided, GovEx looked to develop a new tool that could be equally transformational for cities, which led to the development of the City Data Explorer (CDE).
The City Data Explorer is a city-level data aggregator that provides the most up-to-date and detailed data on the 100 largest U.S. cities from public sources. When GovEx rolled out to cities in late 2024, it was the most comprehensive single source of data for its cities, with 1.7 million data points used to calculate 40 metrics for each city. Using CDE, city officials, academics, journalists, and the general public can drill down into detailed data by various demographics, compare cities, and track changes over time.
City Support
In addition to the tools and resources they develop, GovEx’s team of data scientists helps cities find bespoke solutions to challenges.
As part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance, GovEx analysts worked with our in-house coaches to help cities develop Resident Impact Data Projects that use analytics to tackle significant challenges, like improving permitting processes and mitigating the effects of climate change.
In 2024, GovEx also continued to develop bespoke data academies, creating tailored online courses to suit individual cities’ needs so that they can upskill their workforces from top to bottom. After developing the Baltimore Data Academy in 2023, GovEx developed an academy for Detroit in 2024 and is developing additional academies for several cities.
SCAN TO VISIT
SCAN TO VISIT
AT THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DATA ACT, BIPARTISAN COLLABORATION AROUND IMPROVED TRANSPARENCY
SHONE BRIGHT
Alexander B. Howard
“In a turbulent era often marked by partisan rancor, division, and anger, it was a breath of fresh air to attend a celebration of bipartisanship, collaboration, and positive energy in Washington last week.”
CRIME, POTHOLES, HOMELESSNESS: JACKSON TURNS TO DATA FOR ANSWERS
Mina Corpuz
“Jackson is laying the groundwork to use data across city departments and use it to address, initially, youth crime, homelessness and infrastructure needs. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba is a member of the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance, which trains mayors to understand data and use it to make decisions that can improve city services.”
5 THINGS YOUR CITY CAN DO RIGHT NOW TO BECOME MORE FOOD RESILIENT
Meg Burke
3 INSPIRING PROJECTS
WORKING TO IMPLEMENT REAL CHANGE
Honorable mention for City AI Connect
MAYOR FRANK SCOTT JR. TOUTS ACCOUNTABILITY, PROGRESS DURING 2024 STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS
Gary Burton Jr., Brandon Ringo
“The mayor announced Rockfolio, which gives the public access to Little Rock’s progress portfolio for its citywide data strategy.”
WHEN MONTEVIDEO RAN OUT OF WATER, DATA PROVIDED A LIFELINE
Rudy de Leon Dinglas
HOW THE 'MOST SIGNIFICANT ADVANCEMENT IN GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY’
CAME ABOUT
Amy Edwards Holmes
“What made it possible to pass the DATA Act? What made it effective? How can we replicate its success in a rapidly changing data landscape?”
CHIEF DATA OFFICER MAGAZINE: 4 CRITICAL DATA STRATEGY SUCCESS FACTORS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Tracy Jones
“Look for opportunities to connect and collaborate with other leaders to share best practices and lessons learned. Consider bestinclass resources and networks such as the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance.”
BLOOMBERG'S CITY DATA ALLIANCE: LESSONS IN BETTER DATA CAPTURE, DECISION MAKING
Sheilah Kast, Melissa Gerr
“James Anderson, head of Government Innovation programming at Bloomberg Philanthropies: ‘We have set up an incredible center of excellence at Johns Hopkins University. It’s called the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence. That center, that team has now attracted some of the most talented data people working in the public sector from around the world and they exist solely to provide great pro bono technical assistance to city halls that want to get better and we plan to continue providing this program [CDA] into the future.’”
NITERÓI LAUNCHES DATA STRATEGY FOR THE CITY
“The city’s data strategy is the result of Niterói’s participation in the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance, a network of 42 cities from seven countries in the Americas. Through the program, Niterói received executive education and technical advice to participate in efforts to achieve a new standard of excellence in datadriven government.”
WHAT MOTIVATES LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO USE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT?
Rudy de Leon Dinglas