Transparency & Performance

Innovation, transparency, and civic engagement are the bedrock of the City’s efforts to improve residents’ lives in South Bend. The City makes these values a reality by using technology, data, and city performance management practices to create an inclusive ecosystem where university researchers, City staff, and residents can come together to solve problems, develop ideas, and grow.

On this page is data and resources illustrating the City’s efforts towards improving residents’ lives. All underlying data is publicly available on the City’s Open Data Portal. There is also access to the City's 311 Service Portal, Police Transparency Hub and Public Records & Document Repository.

Performance Management: SBStat is the City’s performance management program where the Mayor and departments come together quarterly to focus on data and move critical issues facing residents forward.
Open Data: The City’s open data portal shares data collected by City departments that can be downloaded for use by researchers, academics, and residents.
Transparency Hub: The City’s analytics portal hosts interactive dashboards built from City data, making City data more visual and accessible.
User Experience: The City's user experience testing cohort program, SB UX, engages residents when the City builds new resident-facing technology or tools.

“The Community Survey is one of the most important feedback loops we have with residents.” said Denise Linn Riedl, Chief Innovation Officer. “The data points to where the City can do better and also gives us clear benchmarks to strive for year after year.”

The survey results includes representative samples from each council district in the city, meaning that the people surveyed are reflective of the overall population’s demographics. The survey was conducted in the summer of 2020 by ETC institute, a national firm that has administered surveys in over 700 cities. The Community Survey was administered by mail in July 2020 and could be completed by mail, online, and by phone. The City’s Department of Innovation & Technology developed an interactive Community Insights Dashboard to allow residents to explore the data and compare South Bend’s survey results to peer Great Lakes region cities.

The City’s efforts in performance management and transparency are managed by the Department of Innovation & Technology. Innovation & Technology leads the City’s technology services, empowering an innovative workforce and thriving community through technology, data, and strategic partnerships. The department has been recognized by several national networks, including an honorable mention in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Works Cities Certification process. Learn more about the Department of Innovation & Technology.