The Athens-Clarke County, GA Unified Government (ACCGOv) and Mayor Kelly Girtz have been selected to participate in the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance alongside a total of 23 mayors from North America, South America, and the Caribbean. Some of the other communities represented include Tampa, FL; Green Bay, WI; San José, CA; San Fernando, Chile; Montego Bay, Jamaica; San Isidro, Argentina; Rionegro, Columbia; and Ottawa, Canada. The Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance now includes 65 cities across 12 countries

As part of the Alliance, ACCGov will receive multi-year operational and technical coaching on how to leverage data and artificial intelligence to assess needs, strengthen services, and codify policies that enshrine and spread results-based practices across the government. The aim of these efforts is to enhance government delivery and resident outcomes, such as increasing access to health care, expanding affordable housing, improving public safety, or reducing homelessness.

To kick off the city’s participation, over the course of a two-day summit beginning today, Mayor Girtz, alongside the other new program mayors – together representing 9 countries and over 8 million residents – will meet with other international mayors and renowned data, innovation, technology, and urban policy experts at Johns Hopkins University. Together, they will lay the groundwork to build a data infrastructure that allows ACCGov to lead with evidence to improve people’s lives.

"Our work with the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance will allow us to leverage data, capitalize on emerging technology, and build the practices and policies that will enable our city to target our resources to optimally respond to our residents’ needs," said Girtz. "We are grateful for the capacity-building supports Bloomberg Philanthropies has provided to Athens-Clarke County for several years, and are thrilled to work with them, the team at the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University, and other mayors and cities part of their City Data Alliance to lead on utilizing data for our communities’ benefit."

"The mayors of these 23 cities want to put their municipal governments in the driver’s seat when it comes to leveraging data," said James Anderson, who leads the Government Innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies, "and the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance will help them develop the policies and practices to do just that."

The Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance is delivered in partnership with the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence (GovEx) at Johns Hopkins University, along with the Behavioral Insights Team and Public Digital. The City Data Alliance aligns and builds on the success of the Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities Certification, led by Results for America, a first-of-its-kind standard of excellence for data-informed, well-managed local government. Athens-Clarke County achieved its second What Works Cities Silver Level Certification in 2023.

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.

For more information about ACCGov's data initiatives, contact the Geospatial Information Office at 706-613-3872 or visit www.accgov.com/gio. For more information on the City Data Alliance, visit bloombergcities.jhu.edu.