City of Albuquerque Chosen for International Data Innovation Program
Sept. 21, 2021
The City of Albuquerque was selected as one of 10 cities around the world to participate in the Open Data Policy Lab City Incubator Program, designed to reimagine institutions, invest in innovators and prioritize data infrastructure. The incubator program will help a team of data analysts design the Albuquerque Equity Index, a mapping tool that will identify and focus on areas in the city that have experienced underinvestment and inequities.
New York University’s GovLab selected 10 innovators in 10 cities, including four in the United States and others in Canada, Romania, Nepal, Ecuador and Argentina, to participate in the 6-month start-up program. All those selected have clear purposes and problems to solve using data, as well as collaboration with other stakeholders. In Albuquerque, the idea is to develop a user-friendly tool in partnership with community stakeholders so that equity indicators are more available for all to use in designing solutions to inequity.
“The idea for an Albuquerque Equity Index is to create a public geospatial tool to show geographies of inequity in Albuquerque and to help evaluate the reach of city service distribution with the goal of increasing municipal equity,” said Andrea Calderon, the Race and Equity Data Analyst for the City of Albuquerque.
Throughout the program, Calderon and other data analysts and stakeholders in the City will have the opportunity to work with a council of public sector innovators and to participate in learning opportunities and test the design of the Albuquerque Equity Index on the cohort.
“The Keller Administration has made equity a top priority for our community, and we are excited to take these next steps in our City’s approach to assessing our work,” said Michelle Melendez, Director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion. “The Albuquerque Equity Index has the potential to improve how we deploy services in a more equitable manner. Our focus is on those who are most vulnerable so that we can work towards more equitable outcomes in Albuquerque.”
The Albuquerque Equity Index will build on a foundation laid by the City’s Performance Innovation Office, the GIS Department and other data tools which inform decisions and operations ranging from COVID-19 emergency response efforts, to pedestrian safety planning, senior meal distribution, and beyond.
To learn more about the global city data projects selected for the inaugural cohort, please visit: https://incubator.opendatapolicylab.org/