Diffusion of Data-Driven Practices: How the Opinion Leading U.S. Cities are Advancing the use of Data in Local Government

Abstract

Understanding why cities are leaders in data-driven local government can help diffuse best practices to support better decision-making and improve government services. This study surveyed US local government professionals and generated a new practitioner-led definition of data-driven local government and it identified the opinion leader cities viewed as exemplars in their use of data. To our knowledge, this study is the first practitioner-generated definition of data-driven local government and the first depiction of a local government network of data-driven efforts.