Data Skills for Better City Services: Inside San José’s Training Program
Learn about the City of San José's Data Upskilling Program and tips for setting up a similar training initative at your agency.
By Stephen Liang & Arti Tangri
In today’s world, data holds unprecedented importance. Businesses, organizations, and individuals depend heavily on data to make informed decisions. But what exactly is data? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, data is defined as “factual information (such as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation.”
The emphasis on “factual information” is crucial. Regardless of your industry, when data is used effectively, it can tell a powerful story that aids in making data-driven decisions. But how can we extract useful information from any data source? The answer is simple: people.
Employees are the greatest asset to an organization. When organizations invest in their employees, not only do the employees grow, but the organization does as well. A prime example of this is the City of San José’s Data Upskilling Program. The goal? To empower City staff, who are already subject matter experts in their respective fields, with the necessary tools for performing complex data analysis. This combination results in a domino effect of benefits. The program provides training to utilize data visualization tools to better understand how well City services are performing and how to make them better. Through the Data Upskilling Program, City staff gains valuable insights into highly informative data, and City staff experiences personal and professional growth.
But what exactly does the Data Upskilling Program achieve for its participants?
In April 2023, the City of San José’s Information Technology Department piloted the program with its first cohort. This initiative aimed to transform City staff into data-savvy professionals. Participants were tasked with selecting topics related to their day-to-day departmental work and business requirements to explore using data. Managerial approval was required to ensure commitment and continuity.
Throughout the program, participants attended weekly training sessions and office hours focusing on specific technology tools to advance their projects. The Data Upskilling Program support team was available for questions on program topics, project specifics, and a dedicated teaching assistant from San José State University maximized support. The curriculum included education on Python to increase skillsets in programming language. Participants also had access to the Coursera IBM Data Analytics course as a supplemental resource.
The first cohort developed seven projects that benefited three different City departments earning high praise and support for the program’s continuation from executive staff. However, the first cohort of the Data Upskilling Program faced challenges, including a decline in participation when the programming language, Python, was introduced. Python is an extremely technical skillset and not everyone who initially participated in the course needed the tool. Additionally, the Coursera course was advanced, and participants needed to complete the course on their own time at their own pace leading some of the participants to withdraw early.
Feedback was gathered from participants to identify improvements before starting the next cohort, with a focus to expand the program to be more inclusive for staff at varied levels of data expertise. Due to the significant benefits observed, the Data Upskilling Program proceeded with a second cohort, incorporating enhancements tailored to City needs and improving participant retention and engagement.
The second Data Upskilling Program cohort was promoted to all City employees via citywide communications. To ensure a quality program experience, a selection criterion was implemented. Each applicant was required to propose a department-specific data project, approved by a Deputy Director or above, with the goal to present the final work to the authorizing Executive and IT Director. This project allowed the participants to demonstrate the new skills they learned during the program. By working on department-specific projects, participants were more involved and invested in the success of their projects.
Below is a timeline that highlights the key lessons covered in the program:
Month 1: Application Intake, Review, and Selection of Participants
Month 2: Working with data in Excel + Introduction to Python
Month 3: Introduction to Pandas in Python for Data Cleansing + Introduction to GIS
Month 4: Introduction to Power BI + Power BI Templates and Standards
Month 5: Data Storytelling and Data Challenges
Month 6: Using Generative AI in Data Analytics + Advanced Python Libraries
Month 7: Project Implementations
Month 8: Project Implementations (cont.) + Presentation Preparation
Month 9: Final Presentations
Participants were required to attend a “Dashboard in a Day” training led by Microsoft to familiarize themselves with the layout of Power BI and to gain the basic understanding of creating data visuals prior to the live course instruction. After attending this training, participants then attended weekly live trainings that focused on City-specific features, templates, and other advanced topics relevant to their projects. These tools will enable participants to enhance their current analysis methods, bringing more insight into the stories derived from datasets and improving overall data analysis skills.
However, the Data Upskilling Program is not the only initiative the City is doing to empower staff to be more data-savvy. The City has launched a comprehensive data strategy with a three-year roadmap. It has also established a Data Governance Policy to further advance San José’s commitment to delivering programs and services through data-driven solutions.
The Data Upskilling Program serves as an excellent platform for two-way communication: educating City staff on the data governance practices and fostering a culture of positive change. It also provides an opportunity to hear from staff at the operational level about data challenges, helping to improve data governance based on their feedback.
Additionally, the City has launched an AI Upskilling Program that teaches City staff how to harness AI technologies by building custom Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) models for advanced data analysis. By using AI tools, staff can generate insights, explore innovative ways to streamline processes, and enhance the impact of data-driven work.
As the use of AI continues to grow, so does the need for effective data management. Together these two programs help the City gain insights into data and AI-related challenges faced by City staff, informing programmatic and process changes to help better sustain City operations in the long run.
Overall, the Data Upskilling program has proven to be highly valuable in promoting best practices around data within the City. When combined with good data governance practices, this program can significantly elevate City’s data driven culture, leading to more productive and effective operations. If your organization is interested in starting your own Data Upskilling Program, we’d like to share our tips and tricks:
Begin with advanced training in Excel/Google Sheets. Sheets are omnipresent in each organization and every employee uses them at some capacity. Being able to do more with a familiar toolset is motivating and can be a small but scalable win for the organization that can help staff get hooked on working with data.
Identify self-service tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or Looker that fit your organizational needs. Find external training providers for these tools and eventually build the training skills in-house for a more sustainable and cost-effective program.
When you are ready to put together a training program, start small with a pilot program. Choose a small group of departments/colleagues to pilot your training approach. Be sure to gather feedback and refine the curriculum based on internal needs before scaling to larger groups.
Design a tiered learning framework. Create a learning roadmap tailored to different roles and skill levels. Offer training modules that range from foundational data literacy to advanced analytics and tools.
For more information about San José’s Data Upskilling Program and larger data strategy, please visit the City’s Data Strategy and Governance webpage.
About the authors
Stephen Liang is a San José 311 Data Analyst at the City of San José.
Arti Tangri is the Enterprise Data Governance Lead at the City of San José.
Note: The opinions expressed in these articles are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, positions, or policies of the GovAI Coalition or the authors’ affiliated professional organization(s).
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This is the blog for the GovAI Coalition, a coalition of local, state, and federal agencies united in their mission to promote responsible and purposeful AI in the public sector.
