The City of South Bend is adding a new Transparency and Performance section on the City’s website.
This webpage will serve as a destination for existing items related to transparency such as City documents and the Open Data Portal, while also hosting newly-released information such as a 311 call dashboard and other materials.
The goal is to allow residents better access to information.
The City of South Bend released the following infromation about their transparency efforts:
Denise Riedl, the City of South Bend’s Chief Innovation Officer, announced that the Department of Innovation and Technology will release a new Transparency and Performance section on the City’s website. This webpage will serve as a repository for existing items related to transparency such as City documents and the Open Data Portal, while also hosting newly-released information such as a 311 call dashboard and materials produced as part of the City’s performance management program, SB Stat. It can be found at //southbendin.gov/transparency and will be updated periodically.
“Using the new Transparency and Performance page, residents can now access information that drives local decision-making,” said Chief Innovation Officer Denise Riedl. “Whether it’s recent 311 data or the analysis behind the Fire Department’s targeted smoke alarm outreach, we aim to highlight the efforts of stakeholders across the City leveraging analytics to improve services.”
“Transparency is a central element of the City’s core value of accountability,” said Mayor Pete Buttigieg. “By helping residents understand how the City forms its policies, we can better collaborate in making sure services meet the needs of the community.”
The City has been utilizing its current performance management structure since early 2017, when they implemented the program with support from the Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University. The technical support was received as part of the City’s participation in the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Works Cities initiative. Since that time, the Department of Innovation and Technology and the Mayor’s Office have led SB Stat meetings with City departments including Venues Parks and Arts (VPA), Police, Fire, and Public Works. The program has focused on topics like getting smoke alarms to residents who need them most and improving work processes with the VPA Facilities and Grounds team.
