GovEx Data Points

GovEx Data Points episodes:

• 04.15.2024

  #85 - Teaching Mayors to Tap Data’s “Sneaky Super Power”: Bringing People Together

  --- The Data Track at Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative helps leaders to the see the people behind city-level data.--- Today, we’re throwing a spotlight on the Data track of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, a collaboration between Bloomberg...

  
• 03.22.2024

  #84 - Women’s History Now: The Women Behind the Coronavirus Resource Center

  --- In this episode, we celebrate Women’s History Month by talking to some of the women who made history by leading the development of the Coronavirus Resource Center, or “CRC.” Launched in January 2020, the CRC became the indispensable source...

  
• 02.01.2024

  #83 - City AI Connect: Risk vs. Opportunity in Government AI

  --- In this episode, we discuss City AI Connect, a global learning community and digital platform for cities to trial and advance the usage of generative artificial intelligence to improve public services.--- Generative AI, powered by advanced machine learning algorithms,...

  
• 10.19.2023

  #82 - A Year In Review: A conversation with GovEx Executive Director Amy Edwards Holmes on her first year of leadership

  In the latest Data Points Podcast from the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University (“GovEx”), GovEx Chief of Staff Dr. Rudy de Leon Dinglas talks to Amy Edwards Holmes, who recently completed her first year as the...

  
• 07.10.2023

  #81 - Democratizing Data in City Workforces: A conversation with Baltimore Chief Data Officer Justin Elszasz

  In the latest Data Points podcast from the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University (GovEx), GovEx Research Manager Jacquie Greif talks to Justin Elszasz, Chief Data Officer for Baltimore City. Elszasz describes the city’s long-standing partnership with...

  
• 02.20.2023

  #80 - Food System Resilience: A Planning Guide for Local Governments

  Among the lessons many cities learned from the COVID-19 pandemic was that local governments need to be better prepared for disruptions to the food system caused by public health crises and other natural and man-made disasters. To help local leaders...

  
• 11.09.2022

  #79 - The Charge to Invest in Intersectional Culture Change in Cities

  The past several years have revealed a major shift in the way we relate to our jobs, spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing political and civil unrest. Increasingly, the roles of social and emotional wellbeing in the workplace...

  
• 09.01.2022

  #78 - It Takes a Village: The Value of Place-Based Partnerships in Racine, WI

  Place-based partnerships can serve a major role in supporting governments’ commitment to serving and improving the lives of residents. But partnerships on a city-wide scale rely on good data governance practices in order to be successful, data-driven, and self-sustaining. In...

  
• 08.01.2022

  #78 - Apples to Apples: How the Standards of Living Tracker Compares Disparate Data Sources

  Data practitioners are often forced to make comparisons between disparate data sources. Data can vary in quality and completeness, and the trends they describe can differ in significant ways. When we try to compare these data, we're forced to challenge...

  
• 07.01.2022

  #77 - Public Health Data Lessons Learned: The Pandemic Data Initiative

  The COVID-19 pandemic revealed how unprepared our public data reporting practices were to handle such an event. Incomplete, poorly-formatted, or irregularly-released datasets were a norm, and drawing useful insights from these data presented a major challenge for governments seeking to...

  
• 03.31.2022

  #76 - From the “Start” of Innovation to a New Center for Innovation – A Conversation with Amanda Daflos

  Innovation is about solving problems. Every problem and crisis a city encounters can unlock new opportunities to innovate and create better results for residents. In this episode, Amanda Daflos, the new Executive Director of the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation...

  
• 02.04.2022

  #75 - “Did you get my email?”: A conversation on collaboration

  When tackling society’s big challenges, we often find ourselves collaborating with other departments or organizations external to our own. But as any siloed government employee will tell you, building the relationships needed to rise to the occasion, and sustaining those...

  
• 12.01.2021

  #74 - Data Science: Easy as P.I.E.

  Governments are often on the hook for some of society’s most pressing challenges. How can city leaders find novel and flexible solutions to address these issues and improve the lives of residents? In a world filled with ever more complex...

  
• 11.01.2021

  #73 - Saving for the Future with Lansing SAVE

  How can cities and their partners help families start saving money for their children’s future college or career training expenses? Since 2013, Lansing, Michigan has been tackling this innovative opportunity with the Lansing SAVE Initiative, a program providing all incoming...

  
• 10.01.2021

  # 72 - Framing Results with the Results Framework

  Accountable, transparent government is something we all strive for in public service. But how do we make this aspiration a reality? It's not enough to simply collect results from the programs and initiatives we launch - we need to turn...

  
• 09.01.2021

  #71 - A Year in Review: The Economic Mobility Policy Forum

  Today, we're joined by the Economic Mobility Forum's Policy Fellows as they wrap up a year of research and discussion at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Applied Public Research. The Policy Forum is a community of practice focused on...

  
• 08.01.2021

  #70 - Forging Ahead Despite COVID-19

  The disruptive effects of COVID-19 were widespread, but that didn't prevent the City of Paterson, NJ from moving forward on mayoral priorities. Today, we join Mayor Andre Sayegh, Chief Data Officer Harsha Mallajosyula, and Business Administrator Kathleen Long to discuss...

  
• 07.01.2021

  #69 - COMIT: A Maternal Vaccination Policy Tracker by JHU

  Is it safe for pregnant women to get vaccinated against COVID-19? What if they're breast feeding? The answer, it turns out, is hard to find, and it depends a lot on where in the world you live. Today, we're looking at...

  
• 05.04.2021

  Data Points Episode #68 - The eSchools+ Initiative

  Today, we're joined by the creators of the eSchools+ Initiative, a program designed to address inequity caused by school closures through connecting parents and teachers with school reopening data and research. We'll explore the initiative's conception and the unique challenges...

  
• 04.01.2021

  Data Points Episode #67 - Love Your Block in Lancaster, PA

  In today’s episode, we’ll discuss the Love Your Block program in the City of Lancaster. Love Your Block is a Cities of Service initiative that connects city leaders with residents to help them organize neighborhood improvements, cleanups, and other volunteer-led...

  
• 03.01.2021

  Data Points Episode #66 - Baltimore's CleanStat Initiative

  In today's episode, we discuss our engagement with the City of Baltimore and its CleanStat program. We'll also look at how the city relied on this initiative to care for residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  
• 02.01.2021

  Data Points Episode #65 - Knowledge Management in City Government

  We know that collecting and analyzing data generates insights. But how can we transform those moments of insight into enduring knowledge that guides the organization, even when priorities and staff change? In today’s episode, we discuss Knowledge Management - the work...

  
• 01.01.2021

  Data Points Episode #64 - GovEx Engagement with Rochester, MN

  Today, we take a look at GovEx's engagement with the City of Rochester, MN to support their affordable housing initiative. We'll look at where the initiative came from, explore how Rochester collected and leveraged its data, and cover valuable takeaways...

  
• 12.01.2020

  Data Points Episode #63 - Distance Learning During COVID-19

  We're all under pressure to cope during the COVID-19 pandemic. But how can we make the most of this time, and what benefits of this situation might we be overlooking? Today, members of the GovEx Academy explore how COVID-19 has...

  
• 11.01.2020

  Data Points Episode #62 - Food System Resilience during COVID-19

  Today, we discuss the impact COVID-19 has had on food system resilience. Joined by two graduate students focused on this work, we’ll take a look at what cities focused on this issue are doing right now, and how hazard and...

  
• 10.01.2020

  Data Points Episode #61 - Asheville Reparations

  Today, we join the City of Asheville’s Equity and Inclusion Director Kimberlee Archie and IT Director Jonathan Feldman to discuss the city's work on embedding equity into its data work. We'll also talk about how the work has pivoted after...

  
• 01.03.2019

  Data Points Episode #60 - Food Insecurity & Teens

  During the holidays, food drives and charitable giving campaigns raise awareness of food insecurity, but people experience disruptions in access to healthy food year round. New research by Dr. Kristin Mmari (https://www.jhsph.edu/faculty/directory/profile/1541/kristin-mmari) and colleagues at the Johns Hopkins University (JHU)...

  
• 11.19.2018

  Data Points Episode #59: Improvement Science in Education

  When we thinking of measuring outcomes in education, we often think of test scores as the ultimate indicator. But a team of practitioners and researchers in Baltimore City are working together to use a science-based method to identify and implement...

  
• 10.16.2018

  Data Points Podcast Episode 58 - Counties and Data

  At GovEx, a lot of our work is focused on cities. But counties play a crucial role in using data to improve public outcomes as well. From health to elections and justice programming, counties provide critical services to people across...

  
• 09.20.2018

  Data Points Podcast Episode 57 - Ethics and Algorithms

  Algorithms are a growing part of government work. They play a part in items ranging from traffic light decisions to criminal sentencing and a variety of topics in between. However, there is not a consistent way to think about algorithms...

  
• 06.19.2018

  Data Points Podcast Episode 56 - What is a Smart City?

  Being a Smart City is a new hot goal for cities. From Singapore to Amsterdam and anywhere in between, cities are trying to become smarter and implementing projects that include "smart city" components. But what does it mean? What makes...

  
• 05.29.2018

  Data Points Podcast Episode 55 - Creating Racial Equity in Grand Rapids

  Racial equity is a challenge cities across America are grappling with on a daily basis. In this episode, we will take a deep dive into the innovative and data-driven approach which Grand Rapids, Michigan is taking to meet this complex...

  
• 04.30.2018

  Data Points Podcast Episode 54 - Tactical Data Use with Sunlight

  Enabling more use of public data is a key challenge for cities across the country. This week, we will be talking with our partners from the Sunlight Foundation about their efforts to improve Tactical Data Engagement (http://sunlightfoundation.com/tde). For this episode, we’re...

  
• 04.16.2018

  GovEx Data Points Episode 53: Culture Change Miniseries

  About two years ago, Tempe, Arizona’s mayor and council committed to moving towards more transparent and data informed decision making. Since that time, the city has passed an open data policy, developed an active open data program, created Tempe Accelerates...

  
• 04.09.2018

  3rd Birthday Minisode

  Happy birthday to us! As GovEx turns three, Eric and Sharon (who have both been around since its beginning) take a quick look back at the top highlights over the years, including the first What Works Cities (whatworkscities.org) Summit, growing...

  
• 03.19.2018

  Data Points Podcast Episode 52 - Culture Shifts in Durham, NC

  This week we’re starting a mini-series on data and culture change. We will be taking a look at several different approaches to building a culture of data use with city partners from around the country. For this episode, we’re joined by...

  
• 03.01.2018

  Data Points Podcast Episode 51 - What's up with Participatory Budgeting

  Budgets are often long, complicated, and difficult for the average city resident to understand. But they don't have to be. Participatory budgeting is a tool growing in use that helps residents understand and actively contribute to budgeting decisions in a...

  
• 02.26.2018

  Data Points: Open Data Day Special Mini-sode

  In honor of Open Data Day 2018, cohosts Sharon Paley and Eric Reese bring you this special mini episode of Data Points. We share our three favorite (and quick) tips for opening data in your government. Let us know how you...

  
• 02.15.2018

  City Health Dashboard - NYU

  This week we talk with Dr. Marc Gourevitch (https://nyulangone.org/doctors/1881770956/marc-n-gourevitch#research) and Dr. Jessica Athens (https://med.nyu.edu/faculty/jessica-k-athens), professors at New York University’s School of Medicine and Public Health. They’ll talk to us about the city health dashboard they’ve been developing for cities across...

  
• 02.01.2018

  Data Points Episode 49 - LEO Labs Fighting Poverty

  The Fighting Irish are fighting poverty at the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (https://leo.nd.edu/) (otherwise known as LEO) at the University of Notre Dame. The center is identifying the data-centric, effective and scalable programs that help people move out of...

  
• 02.01.2018

  Data Points Episode 49 – LEO Labs Fighting Poverty

  The Fighting Irish are fighting poverty at the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (otherwise known as LEO) at the University of Notre Dame. The center is identifying the data-centric, effective and scalable programs that help people move out of poverty. LEO’s research is...

  
• 01.11.2018

  Data Points Podcast Episode 48 – Cincy Insights with Leigh Tami

  Cities use data to tackle almost every problem imaginable. This includes the serious issue of opiods and overdoses. Using data to tackle serious issues in a public way is a great benefit of open data and performance analytics work and...

  
• 12.21.2017

  Data Points Podcast Episode 47 – 2017 Wrap-Up

  It’s always good to pause and reflect. As the calendar page turns from 2017 to 2018, Eric and Sharon take time out to wrap up 2017 and discuss everything that’s happened on the Data Points podcast in the past year.

  
• 12.07.2017

  Data Points Podcast Episode 46 – Algorithms, Law, and Openness

  Many people know about algorithms. But we often don’t know much about them and how they work. In Episode 39 Weapons of Math Destruction, guest Cathy O’Neill described the basics of applications of algorithms in government. Today,

  
• 11.30.2017

  Data Points Episode 45 – Mayors Challenge

  This week, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced the selection committee for its fourth US Mayors Challenge. The Mayors Challenge will invest $17.5 million in American cities to test and implement innovative and shareable solutions that tackle today’s tou...

  
• 11.09.2017

  Data Points Episode 44 – Data Standards Directory

  Data standards — what are they, where do you find them, and how should you use them? On this week’s episode of Data Points, we are highlighting the launch a new data standards directory which has be cocreated by GovEx...

  
• 10.24.2017

  Data Points Episode 43 – Understanding the Fed

  The Federal Reserve is a key part of the US financial infrastructure. But how does it work? And how does it make decisions using data the affects local, state, and federal government agencies and millions of Americans? In this episode,

  
• 10.11.2017

  Data Points Podcast Episode 42 – Bloomberg American Health Initiative Fellowships

  If you’re interested in pursuing an advanced degree in public health, this is the podcast for you! The Bloomberg American Health Initiative is an unprecedented investment to tackle health threats in the US.

  
• 10.10.2017

  Data Points Podcast Episode 40 – Neighborhood Indicators and City Outcomes

  It’s common knowledge that cities are made up of individual neighborhoods. But thinking about data at the neighborhood level is difficult. Often data is not granular enough to get to the neighborhood level and sometimes we can’t even clearly define...

  
• 10.10.2017

  Data Points Podcast Episode 41 – Integrated Data Systems

  Linking data from one place or system to another is often key to putting data to use. But few people understand what it takes to integrate and combine data in a useful way. Enter the integrated data system. In this...