PHILADELPHIA — Results for America today announced that the City of Philadelphia has achieved 2025 Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities (WWC) Certification, which evaluates how city officials are using data to inform policy, allocate funding, improve services, evaluate programs, and engage residents. Philadelphia received Silver Level Certification for establishing exceptional data capacities that result in better services and outcomes for residents.

Philadelphia was last recognized by What Works Cities in 2020 and achieved recertification this year while adhering to more rigorous standards with a deeper focus on equity, resident engagement, and clear connections between good data practices and tangible outcomes for residents. The certification process elevated ways in which the City uses data to understand challenges, make decisions, and implement solutions in collaboration with key stakeholders — from inside and outside City Hall.

“As the birthplace of American democracy, the City of Philadelphia is no newcomer to innovative governance and collaborative leadership. We are working together as One Philly, a United City in using data and evidence to deliver tangible results that residents can see, touch and feel,” said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. “Philadelphia is proud to have this work recognized by Bloomberg Philanthropies and Results for America, and we are grateful to the more than two dozen department leaders and subject matter experts across City government who contributed to the WWC assessment process. This high caliber of data-informed governance and collaboration is instrumental in making a safer, cleaner, greener Philadelphia with access to economic for all.”

The WWC Certification assessment evaluates data practices according to 43 criteria that span eight practice areas – from open data to budgeting to results-driven contracting – providing cities with a rigorous benchmark of foundational data practices and a customized roadmap for building data capacity and culture.

Since the 2024 summer, the City’s interdepartmental effort to work through the WWC assessment elevated important work underway in departments, raised questions for further discussion, and clarified pathways toward new ways of using data to tackle pressing challenges facing the city and improve residents’ quality of life.

For years, Philadelphia has paved the way as a national leader in multiple areas of data policy and practice, including data management, open data, and program evaluation. Several of the accomplishments elevated through the certification process include:

• The Office of Innovation and Technology (OIT) has collaborated with other departments and external stakeholders to create a series of detailed dashboards on workforce diversity, language services, and campaign finance.

• The Office of Integrated Data for Evidence & Action has worked with departments on special projects involving individual/client-level data, improving outcomes on a range of issues from water shutoff protection to rental assistance to early childhood education.

• Philly Stat 360, the Parker Administration’s performance management hub, published a top-class dashboard in December 2024 that uses a range of metrics and key indicators to track performance. Most recently, the Kensington Community Revival dashboard was released as a resource for residents and business owners to track real time data around law enforcement, social services, and quality of life improvement initiatives.

City officials are reviewing the assessment results to determine which areas to prioritize for further improvement – both to achieve better service delivery and outcomes for residents, as well as to pursue Gold Certification in the next assessment cycle.

Learn more about What Works Cities Certification and the cities that have achieved the certification to date here.

About the Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities Certification

The What Works Cities Certification program, launched by Bloomberg Philanthropies and led by Results for America, is the first-of-its-kind standard of excellence for data-driven, well-managed local government. Each city that participates in certification receives a customized city assessment that highlights their unique strengths and opportunities for improvement. What Works Cities partners also provide coaching, training and technical assistance to help city leaders improve their data and evidence capabilities, embrace new practices aligned to the certification standard, and drive outcomes for their community.

About Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around the world. In 2024, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $3.7 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org.

About Results for America

Results for America is helping decision-makers at all levels of government harness evidence and data to make progress on our greatest challenges. Our mission is to make investing in what works the “new normal,” so that when policymakers make decisions, they start by seeking the best evidence and data available, then use what they find to get better results. For more information, visit results4america.org.