Thread by @Sarasti

1/ Today, @cityofmiami was certified by @WhatWorksCities for its use of data & evidence to drive decision-making. I treasure this achievement. Data-informed work has been a priority goal since I started as Chief Innovation Officer 5+ years ago. Here's (long) 🧵 about our journey:

2/ First note: Scaling data in cities is a grind. You don't just ideate your way into a thriving data practice. It's tedious AF - a trail of mostly barely perceivable wins over long periods of time w/occasional ah-ha bursts of impact & a celebratory hackathon here & there.

3/ But eventually, the flywheel starts to happen. After endless hours of data clean-up, process mapping, advocacy among peers (rinse / repeat), more and more colleagues start to see the power to transform day-today work, then programs, eventually systems.

4/ Confession: while I've sometimes had the reputation of being the City's data guy, I've mostly just been an evangelist. The real gritty work that got us here came from people like @_Cheriene @JenHLab, our GIS team and others who buckled down, wrestled w/data, and did the thing.

5/ I can trace my appetite for strengthening civic data / advocating for open data back to a 2013 Hack for Change event at @thelabmiami. This was also my first engagement w/#MiamiTech. I see you @rsm @ErnieAtLYD @TheRealWifi @rbookman @matthaggman

6/ Here's an article from @ndahlberg w/Danny LaFuente about that event 8+ years ago.

miamiherald.typepad.com/the-starting-g…

7/ Civic data hack nights continued at multiple locations over the years, inviting more technologists to engage in improving the quality of life in our City. @CodeForMiami @codeforsouth @iGregoryJohnson @CyberStrike @ungerwoman @thejuliekramer @bitcoin_wales

8/ When I arrived at the @cityofMiami gov, i found dedicated professionals (soon-to-be incredible allies) working on resident-informed, data-driven strategy. The care & detail @_Cheriene & @inemat put into strategic planning was immensely inspiring.

https://twitter.com/Sarasti/status/754009584210219008?s=20

9/ In 2017, @DJA1968 @FCmajorhouse sent us on #MiaStatTrip, a tour of best government Stat teams at the time. We learned tons from @Greendrv @daromott @HoosierJuwils @KateBender5 @KansasCityEric @leigh_tami18 @SantiOnCities & then-Mayor @PeteButtigieg.
medium.com/cityofmiami/4-…

10/ In 2018, We saw the seeds of our #MiamiTech #HowCanIHelp movement when Mayor @FrancisSuarez announced - in his first State of the City address - that our future would be driven by inclusivity, digital services, & data.

https://twitter.com/Sarasti/status/968262141894590464?s=20

11/ The Mayor's charge led to a deep dive on Business Licensing data & processes. @MariaCabrera305 has led the way on this priority area, working w/key departments to shave more than 30 days from licensing process, helping small businesses across our City.

https://twitter.com/Sarasti/status/1123313265088651266?s=20

12/ In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Irma, @CallerosGauger led #IRMAnalysis - an important data project to understand post storm flooding and storm surge patterns in the City.

https://twitter.com/Sarasti/status/908383904167550977?s=20

13/ Capacity building for @cityofmiami employees has always been a goal. From our Miami Innovation Academy to this #PowerBi training we did a few years ago w/@WhatWorksCities & @govex_jhu cc:@biblauer

https://twitter.com/Sarasti/status/903269197400215552?s=20

14/ In 2019, our GIS Team, specially Osmel Lopez, led a sprint to upgrade our Open Data site at @CityofMiami, significantly improving access to government data sets.

https://twitter.com/Sarasti/status/1101955100568883200?s=20

15/ Thx to @AlbertoCairo & @datavized, some even used to the open data to make some music... Engagement comes in all forms.

https://twitter.com/Sarasti/status/1191359054158974976?s=20

16/ That same year, we opened a call for the City's first Senior Data Fellow, and wow am I grateful that @JenHLab answered that call. I can non understate how vital she was to pushing us across the finish line on @WhatWorksCities certification.

https://twitter.com/Sarasti/status/1134218483917438976?s=20

17/ All of this foundational work was vital in the aftermath of COVID-19. We launched our data warehouse and leveraged Open Data / business licensing insights to understand economic impacts and share them w/key decision makers.

18/ Earlier this year - thanks to @israelvasquez0 & @chessbuzz we launched our (alpha) developer portal, a one-stop-shop for public APIs on our website. Honorable mention to @eddylazzarin who was kind enough to share advice in the process.

https://twitter.com/FrancisSuarez/status/1367961201116905472?s=20

19/ The work continues as Miami experiments with AI, establishes more robust data governance, & works to strengthen regional resilience (major props to @FarinaAlissa) alongside partners like @iGregoryJohnson @DataGovs @iseechange @Google @Microsoft @mysidewalkHQ @Esri @socrata.

20/ To @altermolly, Samatha Nemana, @jenniferpark112, Lauren, Sheila Dugan, and all our supporters on the @WhatWorksCities @BloombergCities @Results4America teams. Thanks for sticking w/us. We took the scenic route, but here we are.

https://twitter.com/CityofMiami/status/1471268840155791365?s=20

21/ Lastly, my heartfelt thx to all the gov data pros out there: @biblauer @MichaelMobility @lauratypes @postkxj @LissyKayAR @JoyBonaguro @synchronouscity @GoldsmithOnGov @dpatil & way too many others to mention. This crew is all grit, giving their all to lift up communities.