Since the municipal reform movement at the turn of the 20th century, data and analysis have been tools for change and innovation at the local government level. With the advent of new technologies and sources of data, local governments are actively exploring how to use these effectively for evidence-based decision making. While there is a lack of systematic research on how policy analysis is being used at the local level, local governments have some special opportunities for experimentation and learning in this area.

Local governments deliver many core services in the United States, ranging from public safety to human services delivery. They are also engaged in many different policy areas, including land use planning for purposes of economic development, health and safety, and even morality policy (Sharp 2005). As the level of government closest to citizens, local governments may involve citizens in processes for collecting, sharing, and discussing data and analysis. So, as VanLandingham notes, in his chapter in this volume, that states are often thought of as laboratories of democracy in the federal system, cities represent an even broader range of experimentation, with varied tax and service preferences as well as managerial and governance approaches nested within the frameworks of their home states.

While this chapter highlights the uses of the traditional tools of analysis at the local level, we will also consider performance management data, open data, and predictive analytics using ‘big data.’ After examining some case studies demonstrating local applications of policy analysis and data, we consider how these recent trends may influence the use of analysis at the local level.

Context for local policy making in the United States

In order to understand the use of policy analysis and evidence at the local level, we first offer a basic description of the policy and institutional landscape. Substantial variation in policy responsibilities and capacities exists across local governments, based on several factors: type of government, state law, and city size.

Local government is an important provider of services in many policy areas in the United States, accounting for just under one third of non-defense spending (Wolman 2012). This includes public safety, housing and community amenities, education, transportation, recreation, and culture as domains where local government spending accounts for a significant portion of total public expenditures; but local governments are also engaged in many other policy areas as well (Wolman 2012).