What Works Cities

The City of Glendale is proud to announce that in 2025 it earned Platinum Certification from Results for America through the Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities Certification, the highest level of recognition for cities using data to drive effective decision-making. With this achievement, Glendale is now one of only five cities worldwide to attain Platinum Certification.

The Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities Certification is the international standard of excellence for data-driven local government, recognizing cities that consistently use data and evidence to improve decision-making and outcomes for residents.

Glendale joined the What Works Cities initiative in 2017 as part of its commitment to becoming a more data-informed organization. Since then, the city has embedded data into daily operations and decision-making across departments to better serve the community. Glendale previously earned Silver and Gold Certification in 2021, reflecting a sustained and growing commitment to data-driven governance.

Foundational Practices

Data Governance

The Data Governance foundational practices reviews the presence of an authoritative body to lead and oversee data inventory in alignment with citywide technical, privacy, and strategic objectives.

The Data governance program was implemented in 2020. This program ensures that Glendale is using and collecting data in appropriate ways and treats it as the valuable asset they are. More information on the program can be found on the Department of Organizational Performance page.

General Management

The practice area of General Management ensures that a strong foundation for the effective use of data and evidence to drive decision-making in local governments starts with the chief executive and local government leadership explicitly communicating and demonstrating to staff that governing with data and evidence is an organizational expectation.

Glendale's Mayor and City Manager ensure that the city has this foundation. They do this not only by their communications around the importance of data, but by assigning teams to oversee areas of data usage and management such as citywide performance management, data governance, and results driven contracting.

Open Data

The foundational area of Open Data reviews the practice of proactively making electronic data records publicly available - in whole or in part - and legally open without restriction on use or re-use. Included in this practice is the creation of sustainable open data systems that promote informed decision-making, transparency, and robust citizen engagement.

Glendale does this through the Open Data Portal. The portal allows citizens to access data, downloaded it for analysis, and request additional datasets.

Performance Analytics

Performance Analytics is the practice of studying how to perform better and applying those insights into the operational decision-making process, solving local government problems through performance management systems, and creating a culture of accountability.

Glendale has done this though the creation of the Department of Organizational Performance, the Balanced Scorecard Strategic Plan and performance based budgeting practices.

Repurposing

Repurposing is a strategic process that local governments use to shift funding and resources from ineffective programs and services, to those that are evidence-based and resident-focused.

Glendale has done this through our budgeting process.

Results Driven Contracting

Results Driven Contracting (RDC) is a set of strategies to structure, evaluate, and actively manage contracts strategically, using data to help local governments leverage procurement as a tool to make progress on their highest priority goals.

Glendale has a RDC team that works to identify high priority contracts that are up for renewal that are candidates for the RDC process. These contracts include performance metrics and tracking to ensure that the vendors are not only fulfilling the contracts but that problems are captured and addressed early.

Stakeholder Engagement

Stakeholder Engagement is the practice of facilitating opportunities for the community's use of open data to solve pressing challenges, going beyond open data policies and portal.

Glendale provides how-to guidance on our Open Data Portal and a place for residents to provide feedback on the data available.

Evaluations

Evaluations is the practice of reviewing practices, policies and processes to ensure they are meeting the needs of staff and the public. Evaluations use standard research methods to help cities gain insights into how to improve.

Glendale runs behavioral insight trials, and convenes process improvement teams to review specific operations are that identified as having potential for improvement or that are needing realignment with the cities goals.

About What Works Certification

Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities Certification is the international standard of excellence in well-managed, data-driven local government. Launched in 2017 by Bloomberg Philanthropies and led by Results for America, What Works Cities Certification recognizes cities for their exceptional use of data to inform policy decisions, allocate funding, improve services, evaluate program effectiveness and engage residents.

What Works Cities Certification helps local governments use data and evidence to tackle their most pressing challenges and improve residents’ lives.

As of January 2026, more than 100 cities have achieved Certification across the Americas. By achieving Certification, these cities have shown that they are among the top well-managed, data-driven local governments across the Americas.

More than 700 What Works Cities Assessments have been submitted in pursuit of What Works Cities Certification. The Assessment evaluates a city’s data practices across 43 criteria in eight foundational practice areas, providing cities with a rigorous benchmark of foundational data practices and a customized roadmap for building data capacity and culture.

City staff that complete a What Works Cities Assessment join their peers in the What Works Cities Network, a unique international community of data-driven city staff who collaborate, learn and grow their data practices together. Since its launch, What Works Cities has empowered thousands of city leaders through free world-class training, expert coaching and peer networking.

The cities that meet the criteria threshold and achieve Certification are demonstrating excellence by investing in the people, infrastructure and policies that put data and evidence at the center of decision-making.

In 2022, the Certification criteria were revised to include a deeper focus on resident engagement and the need to tie good data practices to tangible outcomes for residents. The program also grew beyond the United States, paving the way for cities across the Americas to join the What Works Cities Community. Since then, 30 cities in Canada and Latin America have achieved What Works Cities Certification.

What Works Cities Certification was developed by a team of experts at Results for America, in close consultation with the What Works Cities Certification Standard Committee, a third-party cross-sector group of leaders from more than a dozen organizations that support or work alongside cities. The Standard Committee endorses and lends their knowledge and experience to Certification and serves as advisors in the Assessment process.