Johns Hopkins University has launched a new center for Civic Impact, which is designed to help public organizations use data to better understand and improve civic life.
The center will be part of Johns Hopkins growing ecosystem of government focused research centers. Civic Impact will build on the success of the Center for Government Excellence’s data work by also offering governments and nonprofits the latest in policy research from the new Center for Applied Public Research, and public sector training from the new GovEx Academy.
Johns Hopkins launched GovEx in 2015 to support What Works Cities, a Bloomberg Philanthropies initiative that helps cities use data and evidence to tackle their most pressing challenges and improve residents’ lives. GovEx has now worked with more than 140 cities around the world and will continue to provide technical assistance and customized coaching in building data management, performance management, and advanced analytics skills and practices.
Simultaneously launching within the Centers for Civic Impact is GovEx Academy, which will offer the public sector a range of online and on-site courses in managing, analyzing, and communicating with data. Expert instructors from GovEx Academy will instruct government and nonprofit organizations to solve problems using their own data.
To further the work of Civic Impact, the newly created Center for Applied Public Research will connect public sector practitioners to academic researchers from Johns Hopkins and other universities to create evidence-informed policy solutions. This Center will collaborate with a range of experts to develop resources and test new approaches to some of the most intractable challenges faced by the public sector, on topics ranging from workforce development and food insecurity.
The expansion of Civic Impact has been made possible with the support of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Bernard van Leer Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ballmer Group, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
