The Harvard Ash Center announced the launch of the Civic Analytics Network (CAN), a nationwide network of Chief Data Officers. The network will allow CDOs to more easily collaborate on data visualization and predictive analytics solutions to shared problems such as poverty and economic inequality, along with working to develop use cases and disseminate relevant research. Twelve communities are initially participating in CAN.

As part of the Civic Analytics Network, we are hiring new Data Fellows to work in the offices of Chief Data Officers in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Pittsburgh. The fellows will help with research, writing, and dissemination of the city’s work using data to solve pressing civic problems.

We updated our list of data leadership at the executive level in governments. The list contains titles, organizational location, responsibilities, and sample initiatives for data officers across the country. If you’d like to add or edit information from your city, please contact us.

Los Angeles launched CleanStat, a new database measuring garbage on streets throughout the city. Every street and alley in the city was examined by a team of inspectors and given a numerical score, which was then entered into the database; moving forward, the city will use geo-coded video footage from garbage trucks to supplement the database. The database marks the first time LA has had an accurate and complete survey of garbage throughout the city, and it gives them the data needed to make informed decisions about how to most strategically resolve trash problems.

Steve Goldsmith wrote about FastFWD, an initiative of former Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter’s administration. FastFWD used a business accelerator to connect interested entrepreneurs with staff from eight city departments for collaborative thinking and development. The initiative resulted in nine pilot projects, and two full contracts, with positive public-safety impact.

Melody Kramer of 18F highlighted seven of their open source tools that could be useful for states and local governments. The tools include website analytics, procurement market research, and task management.

Route Fifty featured a Pew Charitable Trusts post surveying how data partnerships are being used to help prevent food poisoning outbreaks. After a massive E.coli outbreak in 1993, the CDC began partnering with federal, state, and local government agencies to create PulseNet, a system that tracks foodborne illnesses and analyzes patient information to find links between cases, allowing previously hidden outbreaks to be uncovered and addressed before they become deadly. The post explains how collaboration here is essential, since food outbreaks across jurisdictions would otherwise be impossible to catch, and describes current and future initiatives to make food safety coordination even stronger.

Governing wrote about Providence’s data-driven approach to fighting student chronic absenteeism. The city partnered with the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Providence Children and Youth Cabinet to launch an Evidence2Success program, surveying 5,000 public school students to learn about the biggest problems facing them. They were then able to use the data results to pinpoint underlying causes that can be addressed with targeted solutions, more efficiently addressing chronic absenteeism and preventing larger problems later on. So far, Providence has seen a 5% drop in chronic absenteeism in schools.