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: This 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.
Data Policies
Related Initiatives
Featured Update: Police Transparency
The City of South Bend has launched an updated version of the South Bend Police Department Transparency Hub that incorporates suggestions from residents to improve the user experience. “Delivering greater transparency and making data more accessible are critical components to 21st Century policing and building greater trust with our community,” said Mayor James Mueller. “We will continue to build on the Transparency Hub as we improve our collection and management of data and learn what is of most interest to residents.”
“The South Bend Police Department is following through on our commitment to transparency with today’s launch and building on our national leadership in sharing data,” said Chief Scott Ruszkowski. “We hope you take some time to explore this updated version as we are extremely proud of how user-friendly it is for our community.”
The new hub will also feature more frequent data updates and is now compatible with viewing on mobile devices. Learn more about Police Transparency and other visualizations on the Transparency Hub page.
About Innovation & Technology
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.
Partners & Awards
The Department partners with many local and national organizations to achieve the goals of transparency and performance management. Listed below are notable partners we’ve engaged with recently.
Business Analytics
The Business Analytics Team is a division of the Innovation & Technology department and supports the City in advancing Mayoral priorities, empowering City staff with technology and data, and building analytics for decision-making. The Business Analytics Team provides the following scope of services:
- Performing business needs assessments
- Developing process mapping and improvement
- Leading performance management
- Hosting data and technology training
