Proposed Amendments to Envision Riverside Strategic Plan 2025 ● Page 1 Naman Sharma, Bloomberg Harvard Summer Fellow, Office of Mayor, City of Riverside Proposed Amendments to Envision Riverside Strategic Plan 2025- Goals 5.2 and 5.3
A new goal of ‘Data Stewardship’ is proposed to be included in Riverside Homelessness Action Plan. It outlines 6 targets that are imperative for data-driven governance and effective decision making. They are based on the three core elements of Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation’s Operational Framework for Enabling Data-Driven Government1, which are as follows-
a. Data Governance: Policies and strategies t hat explain why, when, and what data should be collected, generated, and shared.
b. Data Infrastructure: Services and operati ons for storing, processing, sharing, and publishing data.
c. Data Analytics: Processes and tools for analyzing data to generate insights for decision making.
To adopt and institutionalize these elements across all city departments, it is essential that the Envision Riverside Strategic Plan 2025 include the amendments in its Strategic Priority 5- Provide world class public service that is efficient, accessible, and responsive to all.
These amendments are as follows:
1. Amend description of Goal 5.2 to read “Bri ng on board technical staff and utilize technology, data, and process improvement strategies to increase efficiencies, guide decision making, and ensure services are accessible and distributed equitably throughout all geographic areas of the city.”
2. Add “ Action 5.2.7 Establish a dedicated data-driven governance team, led by Chief Data Officer to spearhead and coordinate the practices of data-driven governance across City Hall, including but not limited to regular monitoring and evaluation of processes, outputs, and outcomes, evidence-based planning and policymaking, and use of digital tools and emerging technologies for business processes improvement” to the list of action items of Goal 5.2.
3. Amend the description of goal 5.3 to read “Enhance communication, engagement, and collaboration with community members to improve transparency, build public trust, and encourage shared decision-making.”
4. Add “ Action 5.3.6 Establish and encourage usage of a dedicated digital space for engaging citizens and collecting their feedback on all upcoming projects, policies, and plans” to the list of action items of Goal 5.3.
5. Add “ PM 5.3.3: Number of Open Datasets available to general public via Engage Riverside and other digital portals of the City” to the list of Performance Metrics for Goal 5.3, to correspond to Action Item 5.3.2.
6. Add “ PM 5.3.4: Number of Data Stories published on Engage Riverside and other digital portals of the City” to the list of Performance Metrics for Goal 5.3, to correspond to Action Item 5.3.2.
Note: Proposed additions are underlined.
1 Wiseman, “Lessons from Leading CDOs: A Framework for Better Civic Analytics.”