Advertise on podcast: GovEx Data Points

--- How students, cities, and researchers are using data science and AI to tackle housing, blight, and other real-world government challenges through the Data Science for Social Good program. ---- In this episode, Oliver Wise speaks with Data Science for Social Good Fellows Rayid Ghani, Jaspreet Ranjit, and Alibi Shakputov about how students, researchers, and local governments are using data and AI to solve public challenges. From roof damage in Baltimore to urban blight in Baton Rouge, they share how real-world partnerships and open-source tools can help governments make more proactive decisions while preparing the next generation of civic technology leaders. --- Learn about Data Science for Social Good --- Learn more about GovEx --- Fill out our listener survey

--- How the role of city chief data officers is evolving, why generative AI is changing government work, and how data leaders can build capacity, trust, and better services. --- In this episode, Bonaguro reflects on her path from philosophy and mathematics to data leadership roles in San Francisco and California. She discusses how chief data officers can navigate bureaucracy, build trust across departments, and create practical data programs that solve real problems. She also explains why generative AI is reshaping government technology and what public sector data leaders need to do to build capacity, manage risk, and improve services. --- Learn more about GovEx --- Fill out our listener survey

--- Why cities need faster, smarter decision-making and why empathy, judgment, and trust still matter most in the age of AI. --- In this episode, Flowers reflects on his path from prosecutor to New York City’s first Chief Analytics Officer and explains how cities can use data to improve operations, break down silos, and better serve residents. He also discusses why governments are struggling to keep pace with generative AI, what today’s chief data officers need to succeed, and why public trust depends on competence, transparency, and accountability. --- Learn more about GovEx --- Fill out our listener survey

--- Matt Sokol discusses why better data is the foundation for successful AI, smarter services, and public trust. --- In this episode, Sokol shares how Washington, D.C. is breaking down data silos, improving data quality, and making open data more accessible through tools like DC Compass. He also reflects on lessons cities are learning from one another as they navigate modernization, transparency, and the growing demand for faster data-driven decision-making. --- Learn more about GovEx --- Learn more about the Civic Analytics Network --- Fill out our listener survey

--- Boston’s Chief Research and Data Officer, Shin-pei Tsay, shares how cities can shift from analytics to impact by focusing on user experience, transparency, and practical AI use. --- This episode explores how the chief data officer role is evolving as cities move from experimentation to real-world results. Tsay reflects on Boston’s approach to using data and AI to improve services, from rethinking permitting to expanding access through open data tools. She shares why aligning teams around impact matters, how bringing people along during the process builds trust, and what it takes to make data more accessible across government. --- Learn more about GovEx --- Learn more about the Civic Analytics Network --- Fill out our listener survey

--- Justin Elszasz, former Chief Data Officer for Baltimore and GovEx advisor and CDO-in-Residence, shares what it takes to lead data strategy, navigate complexity, and guide responsible AI use in cities. --- Part of our Meet the CDOs miniseries, this episode explores how the chief data officer role is evolving alongside the rise of AI, why data sharing and governance remain persistent challenges, and how cities can move from curiosity to practical application. Justin reflects on the realities of leading in city government, from breaking down silos to helping teams learn and adapt, and highlights the importance of focusing on real-world use cases that improve outcomes for residents. --- Learn more about GovEx --- Fill out our listener survey

--- Melisa Breda, former Chief Data Officer for Buenos Aires, and GovEx advisor and CDO-in-Residence, shares a candid look at what it takes to make data and AI trusted tools of government. --- Part of our Meet the CDOs miniseries, this episode explores how the chief data officer role is evolving in the age of AI, why strong data governance remains the foundation of innovation, and how cities can move from experimentation to real impact. Melisa also highlights the growing importance of trust, transparency, and human-centered change management as governments navigate uncertainty and public perception around AI. --- Learn more about GovEx! --- Fill out our listener survey

--- Results for America CEO Michele Jolin and GovEx's Oliver Wise discuss how governments can use evidence, data, and cross-sector partnerships to fund solutions that improve lives and rebuild public trust. --- In this episode of the Data Points Podcast, GovEx Executive Director Oliver Wise sits down with Michele Jolin, co-founder and CEO of Results for America, to discuss how governments at every level can use data and evidence to invest in solutions that work. --- Michele shares how her experience in the Obama administration led to the creation of Results for America, an organization focused on helping governments fund programs proven to accelerate economic mobility and improve lives. The conversation explores the evolution of the data and evidence movement, the growing role of local governments as pragmatic problem solvers, and why demonstrating results and telling those stories is critical to rebuilding public trust in government. --- Learn more about Results for America --- Learn more about GovEx! --- Fill out our listener survey

--- Beth Blauer and Oliver Wise reflect on the roots, risks, and real-world impact of building a data-first culture in government. --- What began as a bold new idea for equipping cities with better data has become a national model for how local government leads with evidence. In this special retrospective, GovEx founder Beth Blauer joins current Executive Director Oliver Wise to share the untold stories behind the launch of GovEx, lessons from ten years in the field, and what governments must prioritize now, from data governance to community trust, to drive real impact. --- Learn more about GovEx! --- Fill out our listener survey

--- With support from the City Data Alliance AI Track, Luján de Cuyo embraced AI and shifted from reactive repairs to proactive service delivery. --- Matías Meric, Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Luján de Cuyo, Argentina, discusses his experience as one of the first eight city leaders to participate in the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance AI Track and the city’s journey from fragmented data systems to a proactive, AI-driven street maintenance strategy. The city launched a machine learning tool using cameras on garbage trucks to predict potholes, increasing detection precision and cutting manual inspection time. This conversation highlights the leadership, culture change, and commitment required to move from reacting to complaints to anticipating community needs. --- Learn more about GovEx! --- Fill out our listener survey

--- The AI Capacity Quiz is helping cities reflect, compare, and take confident steps forward --- The GovEx team created the AI Capacity Quiz to help local governments understand where they stand with AI and where to go next. In this episode, Mai-Ling Garcia, Justin Elszasz, and Michael Montgomery joined the podcast to talk about how the tool came to life, what makes it different from traditional assessments, and why it’s designed to encourage cities on their AI journey. --- Check out the assessment here --- Learn more about GovEx! --- Fill out our listener survey

--- The city developed its AI prototype as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance AI Track --- As one of eight cities in the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance AI Track, Guatemala City worked with GovEx coaches to develop an AI prototype to determine where and how to build tree cover to best mitigate the impact of growing urban heat islands. City officials Julia Galindo and Griselda Valdez joined the podcast to talk about how they did it, what they learned, and why Latin America cities may be more eager to embrace the possibilities of AI. --- Learn more about GovEx! --- Fill out our listener survey

--- Mayor Renard Johnson’s participation in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative offers an example of the power of data storytelling. --- Today, Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence Executive Director Oliver Wise talks to Mayor Renard Johnson of El Paso, Texas, a participant in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative. The city finds itself at the center of two national conversations: immigration and AI infrastructure. The mayor is using data to broaden prevailing narratives about El Paso and elevate the social and economic opportunity the metropolitan region has to offer. --- Learn more about GovEx! --- Fill out our listener survey

--- With Conecta Recife and “zero-click” service delivery, the Brazilian tech hub is creating scalable solutions to address resident needs. --- Our new “City Spotlights” highlights GovEx city partners doing great things with data and AI. In this episode, we talk to two public servants from Recife, Brazil: Rafael Cunha, Secretary of Digital Transformation, Science and Technology, and Rafael Toscano, Executive Secretary for Science, Technology, and Business. --- Recife, a city of 3.7 million people that was part of the third cohort of Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance cities, leveraged data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve service delivery. Today, the city continues to build its data infrastructure to make public service faster, fairer, more interconnected, and more human-centered. --- Recife uses a “describe the problem” approach for requests for proposals, opening the door for creative, innovative solutions to meet residents’ needs. Their app, Conecta Recife, gives residents access to over 800 public services right from their smartphones, and a “zero-click” approach to service delivery automatically provides free parking permits to residents on their 60th birthday. The city views AI as an opportunity to continue the trend of robust digital service delivery by simplifying previously complex, cumbersome problems. For them, AI is not simply a tool, but a strategic pillar for building a more functional government for resident impact. --- Learn more about GovEx! --- Fill out our listener survey

--- Miami CDO Cheriene Floyd shares how Generative AI is shifting the way cities think about their data. --- A Chief Data Officer’s role in cities is to turn data into a strategic asset, enabling insights that can be leveraged for resident impact. How is this responsibility changing in the age of generative AI? --- We’re joined today by Cheriene Floyd to discuss the shift in how CDOs are making data work for their residents. Floyd discusses her path from serving as a strategic planning and performance manager in the City of Miami to becoming the city’s first Chief Data Officer. During her ten years of service as a CDO, she has come to view the role as upholding three key pillars: data governance, analytics, and capacity-building, helping departments connect the dots between disparate datasets to see the bigger picture. --- As AI changes our relationship to data, it further highlights the adage, “garbage in, garbage out.” Floyd discusses how broad awareness of this truth has manifested in greater buy-in among city staff to leverage data to solve problems, while private sector AI adoption has shifted residents’ expectations when seeking public services. Consequently, the task of shepherding public data becomes even more important, and she offers recommendations from her own experiences to meet these challenges. --- Learn more about GovEx!