How the moon landing is now inspiring local problem solving

In her book "Mission Economy," economist Mariana Mazzucato examines the Apollo program's success in landing a human on the moon in the 1960s—and then challenges the public sector to take on new missions on a grand scale aimed at solving today's biggest, most complex problems. Bloomberg Cities spoke with two of Mazzucato's colleagues at University College London about how city leaders are taking up this challenge.

MEET JUSTIN ELSZASZ

Title: Chief Data Officer
City: Baltimore

If you encounter Baltimore Chief Data Officer Justin Elszasz on Twitter under his @baltdata handle, he may not come across like your average city official on social media. That's the point.

WHAT WE'RE READING

DATA: Durham, N.C., Philadelphia, Portland, Ore., and San Antonio, Texas, are leading the charge for how cities can use data to advance racial justice. (Reuters)

FEDERAL FUNDS: Final guidance clarifies how U.S. cities can use State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, while specifically endorsing investment of these funds in program evaluation, data, and outreach. (U.S. Treasury Department)

LEADERSHIP: A new film looks at how Harold Washington, Chicago's first Black mayor, can offer a blueprint to others on being a leader. (Bloomberg CityLab)

NETWORK NEWS

ARTS AND DATA: As cities increasingly use data to help shape policy and identify service gaps, what does this mean for arts and culture? Join Bloomberg Associates for a webinar to discuss the new guide, Arts Data in the Public Sector: Strategies for Local Arts Agencies, and get practical tips for cities to collect and use data about their arts and cultural sectors. The webinar is on Thursday, Jan. 27, at 3 p.m. EST. Register here.

FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT: The CFE Fund has a pair of opportunities for U.S. cities and counties that are interested in providing financial empowerment programs like professional, one-on-one financial counseling as a free public service:

The new FEC Academy will guide city and county government partners through each step of planning to launch the Financial Empowerment Center financial counseling model locally. Enrollment into the FEC Academy will be open until Jan. 21, 2022. Apply here.
Applications are open for a new cohort of CityStart, which helps local governments develop a municipal financial empowerment blueprint based on stakeholder and community engagement. In this iteration of CityStart, the CFE Fund will partner with Black-majority city and county partners, as well as cities and counties with significant Black populations. Applications are due here by Jan. 24, 2022. Learn more at an informational webinar Jan. 12 at 3 p.m. ET.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES: The new Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University has several openings. These include an Innovation Program Director, Community Managers, Senior Advisor for Digital Innovation, Senior Advisor for Public Innovation, and a Graphic Designer.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES: The Washington, D.C. Mayor's Office of Policy and Innovation is hiring for a number of roles. These include an Associate Director, Project Manager, User Experience Designer and Senior Data Scientist.