Mayor, City Of WPB, Selected For Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative’s Data Track

From the City of West Palm Beach:

September 18, 2020

West Palm Beach Mayor Keith A. James and the City of West Palm Beach have been selected for the Data Track in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative. Participating mayors will learn how to more nimbly manage their city’s COVID-19 response by adopting COVID-19 Management Metrics for Cities -- new guidance from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and What Works Cities, courtesy of Bloomberg Philanthropies.

COVID-19 Management Metrics for Cities can be used to:

• Target and reduce community spread of COVID-19.
• Prepare businesses, workplaces, and non-governmental organizations to handle spikes and troughs.
• Protect vulnerable and historically marginalized communities and businesses.
• Improve management of testing and tracing operations.
• Track the success of recovery efforts.
• Communicate clearly and transparently to the public when personal actions are necessary.
• Coordinate effectiveness across various jurisdictions and agencies.

The Data Track can help address problems resulting from the pandemic, including economic and social recovery, by using the recovery metrics developed by the Johns Hopkins University Centers for Civic Impact. Specific areas of focus include broadband access, homelessness, economic recovery, and more.

“The Data Track program will help to enhance the City of West Palm Beach’s COVID-19 response and recovery,” said West Palm Beach Mayor Keith A. James. “By accelerating our usage of data to drive innovative decisions, we aim to make our residents’ lives easier while, also, focusing on the needs of our most vulnerable residents. We thank and appreciate the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative for making this resource available to our city.”

The Data Track program will run for several months, and there is no cost associated with receiving support from this track.

In July, the City announced Mayor James’ acceptance to the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, which aims to help mayors respond to emerging challenges and prepare for a socially, racially, and economically equitable recovery from COVID-19. Only 40 mayors from around the world were accepted into the yearlong education and professional development program. To learn about the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, please visit: https://www.cityleadership.harvard.edu/. To learn about West Palm Beach Mayor Keith A. James, please visit: https://www.wpb.org/our-city/mayor-s-office/mayor-s-bio. To contact the City of West Palm Beach, please dial: (561) 822-1200 (TTY 800-955-8771).

This press release was produced by the City of West Palm Beach. The views expressed are the author's own.