Looking at 'Data-Driven Government' from Inside City Hall

Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Rick Cole and Harvard Kennedy School professor Stephen Goldsmith spoke on this question at a CityLab 2014: Urban Solutions to Global Challenges. The conference—hosted by The Atlantic, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and the Aspen Institute—convened leaders from across the world in Los Angeles to discuss innovations at the municipal level. 

The September 30 panel "A Good Idea is Not Enough: Why Evidence Matters in Government," provided an under-the-hood look at how city government has translated the recent political emphasis on data utilization into reality. Cole and Goldsmith share specific successes and pitfalls in this edited transcript of their remarks.

Cole frankly explains the impediments facing local government in Los Angeles: "I don’t think absence of revolving funds is our biggest problem. I think it’s lack of training. The City of LA has a $7.2-billion budget and 44,000 employees. Last year, before Mayor Garcetti took office, the citywide training budget was $0. That’s a big impediment, because we talk to people about what we want done but too often they have no idea how to do it... Our IT systems suck and our personnel systems suck—no question. But those are actually fixable by smart people who are passionate about public service. First, we have to develop improved understanding through better communication and expand our capacity through increased training."