Cincinnati Named One of Country's Top 'Digital Cities'

CINCINNATI – The City of Cincinnati has been named one of the most digitally innovative cities in the country for its use of technology and data to enhance customer services and better the lives of residents.

The news came Thursday as the Center for Digital Government (CDG) announced the winners of the 2016 Digital Cities Survey. Now in its 15th anniversary year, the annual survey recognizes cities using technology to improve citizen services and transparency, and encourage citizen engagement.

The survey is open to all cities in the United States. This year they handed out awards in five population classifications. Cincinnati came in at No. 8 in the 250,000 – 499,999 population category.

"We are pleased and proud to be recognized. Clearly we are working hard to improve service delivery effectiveness, customer service and transparency," said City Manager Harry Black. "Technology is an integral part of this and our overarching efforts to become the best managed big City in the U.S."

CGD highlights the work being done by the City's Office of Performance & Data Analytics to improve various services and processes. The City's use of GIS technology through the Cincinnati Area Geographic Information System and RAVEN911 as ways to enable City staff to respond to data in real-time received praise as well. 

Below is the CDG's writeup on the City of Cincinnati.

“Cincinnati's leaders have put a large emphasis on putting the city’s wealth of data to work for its citizens. In addition to building an open data portal with a range of oft-sought data sets, the city’s Office of Performance and Data Analytics turns available data into clear and actionable business decisions. This effort is bolstered by the reliance on performance management agreements, which help to outline the city’s key priorities and measure against them. The CincyStat program, an innovation lab, helps to focus the energies of the municipal government and streamline the overall processes. Through a partnership with Hamilton County and private utilities, Cincinnati has access to the Cincinnati Area Geographic Information System, which allows it to access real-time information and resources for better management through the combination of GIS technology and business systems. In another GIS initiative, RAVEN911 has organized the multiagency assets — including fire, EMS, law enforcement, public health and volunteer agencies — to better prepare for, respond to and recover from natural or man-made emergencies."

Each of the top-10 ranked winners were honored Nov. 17 at a special awards ceremony during the National League of Cities’ annual conference in Pittsburgh.

You can see a full list of winners and get more information on the organization’s website.

About the Awards

The Center for Digital Government is a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. The Center is a division of e.Republic, the nation’s only media and research company focused exclusively on state and local government and education.