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Dayton receives What Works Cities silver certification; staff credited for data-driven improvements
Summary
City manager and staff announced Dayton achieved What Works Cities Silver certification, meeting 22 of 43 assessment criteria; the recognition cited cross-departmental data use including a real-time crime center, housing condition survey, and public-works data efforts.
Dayton city leaders on Feb. 4 announced that the city achieved What Works Cities Silver certification, a recognition from Bloomberg Philanthropies and Results for America that benchmarks a city's use of data and evidence to improve government operations.
City manager and staff described the certification as the result of a multi-year effort. "We have received silver certification... which means we have achieved 22 of the 43 criterias," Abby Patel Jones told the commission, outlining site visits that reviewed the police real-time crime center, planning and neighborhoods data collection for the housing condition survey, the public-works data-in-cab navigation system, and the fire department's accreditation work.
The city manager thanked staff across departments and said the recognition puts Dayton alongside other cities that employ data-driven practices to allocate resources and measure program effectiveness. Commissioners congratulated staff and encouraged continued work toward higher certification levels.
The commission read a proclamation declaring Feb. 4, 2026, as What Works City recognition day in Dayton.
Staff said the city will continue to resubmit for recertification annually and pursue improvements to move from silver toward gold and platinum levels.
