2000115-Strengthening-Communities-with-Neighborhood-Data

54 Strengthening Communities with Neighborhood Data
Institutional change comes with challenges—implementation costs,
reluctant employees, and the general chaos that comes when new business
processes are tested and refined—but local governments have a vested
interest in taking advantage of the business intelligence provided by new
technologies and the data they can analyze. In an age when citizens have a
high degree of distrust of government, data can demonstrate how public
funds are being used and what the results of those expenditures are. The
analysis of data can help elected officials make better decisions and communicate
to citizens why those decisions have been made. More importantly,
data analysis can lead the way to improvements in business processes
that result in local governments being able to maintain high-quality service
delivery, as well as cost savings and new efficiencies.
Notes
1. “Data and Transparency: Of Governments and Geeks,” The Economist, February
4, 2010.
2. Six Sigma is a strategy for improving the quality of outcomes by early identification
and removal of possible causes of errors or other problems.
3. Alex Deshuk, personal interview, January 26, 2012.
References
Babinski, Greg. 2014. “Show Me the Money: What Was King County’s ROI from 20 Years
of Using GIS?” In The GIS Guide for Elected Officials, edited by Cory Fleming. Redlands,
CA: Esri Press.
Behn, Robert D. 2008. “The Seven Big Errors of PerformanceStat.” Rappaport Institute/
Taubman Center policy brief. Cambridge, MA: John F. Kennedy School of Government,
Harvard University.
Fleming, Cory, ed. 2014. The GIS Guide for Elected Officials. Redlands, CA: Esri Press.
———. 2005. The GIS Guide for Local Government Officials. Redlands, CA: Esri Press.
Fleming, Cory. 2008. “Minneapolis 311 System.” In Call 311: Connecting Citizens to Local
Government Case Study Series (fourth report). Washington, DC: International City/
County Management Association.
Fleming, Cory, Robert Shick, and Spencer Stern. 2009. “Saco Information Center and
Online Request System.” In Call 311: Linking 311/CRM Data to Performance Measurement
and Budgeting Case Study Series (second report). Washington, DC: International
City/County Management Association.
Gartner, Inc. 2011. Gartner Reveals Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users for
2012 and Beyond.