For city and county teams

Your community's data has a story to tell.

The Municipal Data Experience is a guided journey to discover how your city or county turns trusted data into stories residents, elected leaders and staff can find, understand and use — and where focused improvements could support better decisions.

Currently by invitationAbout the journey

The journey follows a story's life

From the moment data becomes a story to the effort of keeping it alive, five dimensions shape how well it serves your community.

  1. 1

    Story Quality

    Are we telling a useful story, not just publishing numbers?

  2. 2

    Story Access

    Can residents and leaders easily find and explore the story?

  3. 3

    Story Trust

    Is the story current, accurate, and traceable to its source?

  4. 4

    Story Reuse

    Can the same trusted data answer the next question too?

  5. 5

    Story Efficiency

    How much staff effort does each story take to keep alive?

Two common gaps we help uncover

The outside and internal perspectives reveal where the experience is strong — and where focused improvements could help. These are two patterns we see often, not the only possibilities.

The story is strong

…but the process is heavy

Residents get a great data story, but behind the scenes it takes hours of manual extracts, copy-paste, and rebuilt charts every cycle. The opportunity is making the internal process easier without losing what makes the story good.

The process is strong

…but the story is hard to find

The data practice inside is solid, but residents and elected officials struggle to find, follow, and explore the story it should be telling. The opportunity is bringing that story out into the open where the community can use it.

How the journey works

Three steps, most of them ours. Your team's part takes about five minutes.

  1. 1

    We start outside-in

    No effort required from your team

    We review your public-facing data story the way a resident would — budget books, dashboards, maps, and meeting materials — and note what's working and what's hard to find.

  2. 2

    You add the internal perspective

    About five minutes

    Your team adds the internal perspective through 15 short statements about its day-to-day data and reporting experience. It takes approximately five minutes, and people from different departments can each contribute.

  3. 3

    You receive your combined experience

    Private — never a public ranking

    The outside and internal perspectives come together in a private summary of what is working, where the experiences differ, and which opportunities could create the most value.

Begin your community's journey

The Municipal Data Experience is currently by invitation. Tell us who you are and we'll reach out to start the conversation — no commitment, no sales pitch, no software to buy.

Required field

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