BALTIMORE, MD. (Thursday, March 9, 2023) - Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott and Chief Data Officer Justin Elszasz announce the launch of "Baltimore Data Academy," a new online data training program open to all City employees developed in partnership with the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University.

The Scott Administration has placed an emphasis on using data throughout City government to deliver services more equitably and efficiently. In December 2021, Mayor Brandon M. Scott committed the City to investing in its workforce and growing a more customer-centered culture by creating a new data training program for City employees in the Mayor's Action Plan.

"From the beginning of my term as Mayor, equity and transparency have been vital in the progression and expansion of our city, said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "The new Baltimore Data Academy will provide our city employees an opportunity to acquire and sharpen their data skills to more efficiently serve our residents while building their own careers."

Baltimore Data Academy represents an investment in the City workforce that will increase data literacy and skills throughout the organization. The first two courses available are "Fundamentals of Data Literacy," which introduces staff to basic data concepts, and "Interpreting Data with Greater Accuracy and Insight," which will aid employees in interpreting and communicating with data. In the first two weeks of the program, over 100 employees registered for one of the courses and over 30 courses were completed.

"We've been very intentional about who each course is designed for, and we started by building courses specifically for employees who may have little or no familiarity with data concepts," said Chief Data Officer Justin Elszasz. "We want City employees to be more informed citizens while building career skills, and investing in folks like our frontline workers or workers who may have had fewer educational opportunities in life was a no-brainer."

"The launch of the Baltimore Data Academy puts Baltimore at the forefront of cities around the world working to integrate effective data practices into their work. Baltimore's leadership recognizes the importance of ensuring that all city employees can interpret, communicate, and lead with data," said Executive Director of the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University Amy Holmes. "We anticipate that this effort, the first of its kind, will be a model for other cities to ensure that using data in service of the public is central to every employee's work."

City employees are encouraged to enroll in the online courses via Workday Learning, the City's new learning management system. Each online course is at-your-own-pace and takes several hours to complete. Employees will be awarded a certificate upon completion and will receive official recordation of course completion on their employee transcript.