The City of Alexandria has achieved a What Works Cities Silver Certification from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ program in recognition of its commitment to the use of data and analytics to improve the quality of life for its residents.
The Tuesday, January 23 announcement makes Alexandria one of 12 new cities in the United States and Latin America, and only the second city in Virginia after Norfolk, to receive certification. This recognition reflects Alexandria's status as a national leader in the use of evidence and analytics to increase government effectiveness.
What Works Cities Certification serves as the national benchmark for excellence in data-driven city governance. It assesses the efficacy of city management by evaluating the extent to which city leaders incorporate data and evidence in their decision-making processes.
"I want to thank What Works Cities Certification for recognizing the innovative work the City of Alexandria is performing to move our community forward and provide services that are making a tangible difference in our residents’ lives,” said Mayor Justin Wilson. "We are harnessing the power of data to make informed decisions and provide transparency on key issues. The process of achieving housing stability for our residents, addressing inequities in service delivery, and improving outcomes through initiatives like the Alexandria Co-Response Program (ACORP) are stronger thanks to this approach.”
Alexandria's Silver Certification recognizes some notable examples of the City’s use of data, including:
- The implementation of an automated system for gathering information on eviction court proceedings. The data informs the efforts of the Eviction Prevention Task Force, a City-community partnership that supports households at risk of eviction. From the end of the CDC’s eviction moratorium in August 2021 to the close of 2023, nearly 8,000 evictions have been filed in Alexandria. However, with support provided by the Eviction Task Force and other community partners, only 13 percent of those evictions resulted in residents being removed from their homes.
- An independent evaluation of ACORP found that when its teams of trained law enforcement officers and behavioral health clinicians responded to 911 calls that could have resulted in arrests, 70% were diverted from legal action.
- The launch of the City’s Equity Index Map in 2023, which identifies disparities in key social and economic outcomes. This tool helps City staff and community partners make equitable, inclusive, and data-driven decisions.
“Thank you to the Office of Performance Analytics, Department of Community and Human Services, and other City departments who helped us to achieve the What Works Cities Silver Certification,” said City Manager James Parajon. “We will continue working across departments to expand data practices and develop new ideas to improve the quality of life and methods to deliver efficient services to Alexandrians.”
About What Works Cities Certification
The What Works Cities Certification program, launched in 2017 by Bloomberg Philanthropies and led by Results for America is the first-of-its-kind standard of excellence for data informed, well-managed local government. What Works Cities Certification recognizes and celebrates local governments for their exceptional use of data to inform policy decisions, allocate funding, improve services, evaluate the effectiveness of programs and engage residents.
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