Acknowledging the Role of Municipal Leaders to Make Data-informed Decision for Policy Action View Digital Media

Workshop Presentation
Carrie Oliver  

In 2021, the National League of Cities (NLC) partnered with the Well-being Research Centre at the University of Oxford to establish a metric that broadens city-level leaders’ understanding of factors influencing well-being. To pilot its efforts in metro Atlanta, NLC collaborated with Atlanta Regional Collaborative for Health Improvement (ARCHI) and Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) to gain insight on the meaningful use of the proposed metric. One key finding was that there was not a lack of well-being metrics but instead a gap in using existing data for decision-making. This finding led to the development of the Metro Atlanta Cities Wellbeing Initiative (MACWI). The MACWI is an eight-month experience for city leaders to expand their knowledge of wellbeing related topics and use data to inform the development of plans for policy action. Six metro Atlanta cities are participating in the MACWI with representation from elected officials, city management, fire services, parks and recreation and local business. The initiative's goal is for participants to develop action plans and talking points to get support for their data–informed initiatives. The MACWI provides an example of capacity building for city-level leaders to use data to impact community-wide wellbeing. The initiative also highlights the increased leverage of engaging a variety of partners for wellbeing efforts. The session shares the policy action plans and implementation successes and challenges. Attendees will be able to consider and describe how city-level leadership can support public health efforts and identify ways to engage city leaders in community health initiatives.