Results for America Awards Nine New Cities with Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities Certification for Exceptional Use of Data

Four U.S. and five Latin American cities achieve first-ever Certification 

 83 cities have now achieved What Works Cities Certification distinction since the program’s launch in 2017 

New York, NY – Results for America today announced nine new cities in the United States and Latin America have been awarded the Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities Certification for establishing exceptional data capabilities to inform policy, allocate funding, improve services, evaluate programs, and engage residents. What Works Cities Certification continues to set a standard of excellence for data-informed local government. The standard reflects the practices, policies, and infrastructure municipalities must have in place to effectively harness data for better decision-making. With today’s announcement, 83 cities have achieved the What Works Cities Certification distinction and more than 170 cities have submitted applications since 2017. 

Representing a growing movement of local governments across the Americas investing in data and evidence, the nine new Certified What Works Cities are: Boise, Idaho; Dallas, Texas; Issaquah, Washington; and Sugar Land, Texas, from the U.S., and Guatemala City, Guatemala; Las Condes, Chile; Mendoza, Argentina; Porto Alegre, Brazil; and San Pedro Garza García, Mexico from Latin America.  

“The Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities Certification community continues to grow, bringing together an extraordinary set of localities that are exemplary in utilizing data to enrich their communities,” said Rochelle Haynes, Managing Director of What Works Cities Certification. “The program provides continuous expertise for cities to uplevel their efforts, as well as the opportunity to do this work alongside peers from across the Americas—forging a future in which data serves as a foundation for how municipalities transform delivery and better outcomes.”  

“From pioneering data use to embracing emerging technology to expanding digital infrastructure, this new slate of Certified cities demonstrates what is possible when municipalities raise the bar,” said James Anderson, who leads the Government Innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “Here at Bloomberg Philanthropies, we know data enables mayors to understand community-level issues, design evidence-based programs that work, and manage results that improve people’s lives, and these local governments are setting the pace for others to follow.”  

The What Works Cities Certification Standard measures a city’s use of data based on 43 criteria. A city that achieves 51–67% of the 43 criteria is recognized at the Silver level of Certification, 68–84% is required to achieve Gold, and 85% or more is required to reach Platinum. Highlights of how newly Certified cities are using data and evidence include: 

• Boise, Idaho (Silver) centered data to engage residents at over 50 community meetings on a new program that will improve water access, address supply issues, and meet the demand of a growing population. 81% of voters supported the bond measure to establish the City’s project, which used GIS data to inform the purchase of a 76-acre plot of land for a treatment facility that will add six million gallons to the municipality’s water renewal system capacity daily. 

• Dallas, Texas (Silver) disaggregated data to inform budget decisions that address inequities based on race and income, resulting in all 42 city departments contributing to the allocation of $40 million of equity investments and establishing 220 metrics that are tracked publicly. 

• Guatemala City, Guatemala (Silver) reduced crime by an average of 44% annually over a three-year period by using data to target and scale a public safety and neighborhood revitalization initiative.  

• Issaquah, Washington (Silver) used data to connect over 225 people to comprehensive homeless prevention services and collaborated with local businesses to share anonymized data that led to a 37% reduction in burglaries and a 26% decrease in thefts by 2023.  

• Las Condes, Chile (Silver) integrated advanced technology—including video analytics, license plate readers, SOS buttons, and drones—to reduce theft by 20% between September 2022 and September 2023, contributing to a decrease in overall crime by 29%.   

• Mendoza, Argentina (Silver) strengthened urban waste management by harnessing artificial intelligence to map over 1,500 tags that identified micro-dump sites, reduced environmental impact, and focused clean-up efforts for 19 neighborhoods, improving quality of life for 2,000 households.  

• Porto Alegre, Brazil (Silver) expanded digital infrastructure to create 45 internet access points which reduced the city’s resident request backlog by 79% and increased the number of municipal financial documents issued online by 49%. 

• San Pedro Garza García, Mexico (Silver) enhanced service delivery through the launch of an online, data-informed chatbot system which reduced the amount of time to process and close a resident report from 44 days to 5.1 days, contributing to improving resident satisfaction by 17% from 2019 to 2023. 

• Sugar Land, Texas (Silver) analyzed data on population stagnation, aging housing, and code violations to bolster redevelopment through a new program that provided over $2.7 million of investment to residents to upgrade over 166 homes.  

Four currently Certified cities – Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Carlsbad, California; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Montevideo, Uruguay – moved up to Gold Certification.  

The What Works Cities Certification program, launched in 2017 by Bloomberg Philanthropies and led by Results for America, is the international standard of data excellence in city governance. The program is open to any city in North, Central, or South America with a population of 30,000 or more. 

To learn more about the What Works Cities Certification or to take the Assessment, visit  whatworkscities.org. 

About What Works Cities Certification:
The What Works Cities Certification program, launched in 2017 by Bloomberg Philanthropies and led by Results for America, is the first-of-its-kind standard of excellence for data-informed, well-managed local government. What Works Cities Certification recognizes and celebrates local governments for their exceptional use of data to inform policy decisions, allocate funding, improve services, evaluate the effectiveness of programs, and engage residents. 

About Bloomberg Philanthropies:
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around the world. In 2023, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $3 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, Facebook, and X.   

About Results for America:
Results for America is helping decision-makers at all levels of government harness evidence and data to make progress on our greatest challenges. Our mission is to make investing in what works the “new normal,” so that when policymakers make decisions, they start by seeking the best evidence and data available, then use what they find to get better results. For more information, visit results4america.org. 

Media Contacts:
Bloomberg Philanthropies: Sam Fuld, sam@bloomberg.org
Results for America: Jose Sanchez Molina, jose@results4america.org