Bloomberg Philanthropies and the National League of Cities Launch New Coronavirus Local Action Tracker
NEW YORK — As part of its ongoing work to help in the global fight against coronavirus, Bloomberg Philanthropies, in partnership with the National League of Cities, today launched a new initiative that collects and shares actions taken by local U.S. leaders in response to the pandemic. The COVID-19: Local Action Tracker will feature a sortable grid detailing the policy decisions and bold actions that city leaders are making to contain the spread of coronavirus and respond to community impact. The tracker aims to document the rapidly expanding ways in which cities are responding to the crisis, enable cities to understand what their peers are doing, and feature timely analyses. The tracker will be hosted on the National League of Cities’ website and make all verified data accessible to the public.
“Mayors across the country are on the frontlines leading the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and every day they discover yet another aspect of city life is affected by this crisis. As city leaders’ responses to the crisis evolve, we want to provide them with tools, data, and resources needed to make informed decisions,” said James Anderson, the head of Government Innovation at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “This tool will allow local leaders to learn promising practices from their peers, share ideas, and work together during one of the most challenging times in this nation’s history.”
To support Bloomberg Philanthropies and the National League of Cities efforts to develop a comprehensive accounting and analysis of local action in response to the pandemic, city leaders can submit their actions to be included on the tracker, which will be updated daily to reflect the rapid developments of the crisis. Actions such as testing protocols, curfews, donation drives and food programs will be highlighted to give city leaders across the country an opportunity to gain insight into emerging practices and what is working in cities.
“This collaboration between Bloomberg Philanthropies and the National League of Cities will help local leaders monitor and track the actions taken to confront this unprecedented challenge,” said Clarence Anthony, CEO and Executive Director of National League of Cities. “With this essential data on hand, local officials will have greater resources to rely upon when making the difficult decisions that will shape the response of their cities, towns and villages to this crisis.”
The tracker currently contains 365 actions from 151 cities in 43 states and the District of Columbia. The majority of the actions, 188 actions or 52 percent, were designed to flatten the curve by preventing the spread of the coronavirus through actions such as cancelling events and restricting public gatherings.
The COVID-19: Local Action Tracker is the latest in a series of coronavirus response programs launched by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Earlier this month at the National League of Cities’ Congressional City Conference, Michael R. Bloomberg announced the Coronavirus Local Response Initiative that will provide cities with virtual technical assistance, coaching, and accurate information urgently needed by the local leaders on the frontlines of the public health crisis. Last week, Bloomberg addressed more than 400 city leaders during the first virtual convening of the program, which also featured experts from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative...