DURHAM, N.C. – City of Durham Mayor William V. “Bill” Bell announced today that Durham has been selected to participate in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Works Cities initiative – one of the largest-ever national philanthropic efforts to enhance the use of data and evidence in the public sector. 
 
Durham will soon receive technical assistance from world-class experts to build capacity to address several local issues. The initiative will help advance Durham’s ability to deliver results for residents by strengthening its performance analytics systems and processes, training staff to use data and analysis more effectively, and building a culture of using data and evidence to improve outcomes for residents. Additionally, the initiative will enhance Durham’s ability to make data more consumable and readily available for residents and City departments by developing processes to inventory, prioritize, release, and maintain data publicly. 
 
“I am pleased to announce the City’s partnership with the What Works Cities initiative since this work will continue to advance Durham’s ability and commitment to making data-driven decisions that improve our services and outcomes for our residents,” Mayor Bell said. “I am also excited for the opportunity to continue making data transparent and available for our community to easily access.”
 
Durham plans to use its technical assistance from this initiative to improve its open data practices to make City data more accessible to residents and the community, and help to engage residents around government priorities and services. Durham will also use this
initiative’s support for the debut of the new Development Services Center, scheduled to open in April 2017, by establishing and improving performance management programs to set, track, and share progress toward goals, strengthen accountability, and achieve better results.