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Participating in the What Works Cities initiative helps Portland make progress toward national standards for managing with data and evidence.
By sharing best practices and promising new initiatives across its network of cities, What Works Cities (WWC) helps Portland and other participating cities develop better tools for public engagement, service improvement and evaluation, and decision-making to invest in creating the outcomes the community wants to see.
WWC provides:
- Certification: What Works Cities certification provides a national standard for management of local governments using data and evidence. The program's 45 criteria outline best practices and benchmarks which help guide cities in their efforts to solve problems using data. Cities interested in pursuing certification submit a What Works Cities Assessment, which helps them take stock of how they currently perform on the criteria and connects them to technical assistance opportunities.
- Technical Support: WWC funds 3- to 6-month consulting support from expert partners on data management, results driven contracting, performance analytics, open data, and low-cost evaluation.
- Network: WWC connects cities to share ideas for using data and evidence to solve challenging problems, from long term efforts like building open data programs and best practices, to sharing rapid response efforts to crises like COVID-19.