Giving Compass' Take:

• Bloomberg Philanthropies explains how they worked with Oklahoma City to improve data use to improve public projects, particularly infrastructure. 

• How can funders use this model to improve other cities? What does data use look like in your area? 

• Learn about making data available and accessible.

The Opportunity
Oklahoma City leadership has remained committed to transforming the City, particularly downtown, over the last 20 years and is committed to using data and evidence to improve service delivery. However, one of the biggest challenges for leadership has been keeping up with the increased demand for services in the wake of narrowing revenue streams.

Then-Mayor Mick Cornett asked What Works Cities to help the City enhance its use of data and evidence and its procurement processes to ensure the best outcomes for the infrastructure projects.

Our Work Together
What Works Cities experts at the Behavioral Insights Team, the Government Performance Lab at the Harvard Kennedy School, and Results for America worked with the City both to improve the process for procuring street construction vendors and to incorporate the use of low-cost evaluation into standard operating procedure.

Summary of Key Accomplishments
This work in results-driven contracting and low-cost evaluation lays the groundwork for the City to incorporate data and evidence in further aspects of its decision-making. What Works Cities and Oklahoma City worked together to accomplish the following:

  1. Improved the outcomes of the City’s street reconstruction projects.
  2. Demonstrated the value of low-cost evaluation and behavioral science in improving services.

Read the full article about Oklahoma City at Bloomberg Philanthropies.