Mayor Kasim Reed is pleased to announce that Matt Malament, Director of Budget, Innovation and Performance, has been appointed to the second cohort of Results for America’s Local Government Fellowship program. With the support and guidance of Results for America, Malament will join 14 other senior local government officials from across the country to lead their governments toward advanced stages of data-driven and evidence-based policymaking in order to address major policy challenges in their communities. The cities and counties represented in the Fellowship collectively represent more than 28 million people and $148 billion in local government spending. Managed by Results for America, the Local Government Fellowship will help the Fellows tackle policy challenges for their cities and counties in areas such as crime, education, health, poverty and energy, through establishing and implementing:

• A two- to three-year policy roadmap to improve outcomes on a specific policy challenge; and

• A partnership with an external research or academic institution to evaluate a major government-funded policy or program investment to inform policy decisions.

“I am pleased that the City of Atlanta is once again receiving national recognition for our work to use data and evidence to inform policy choices and improve the lives of our residents,” said Mayor Reed. “I am also proud to congratulate Matt Malament for earning the distinction of being chosen to represent the City of Atlanta in the Results for America’s Local Government Fellowship Program. As Director of Budget, Innovation and Performance, Malament has made a tremendous impact on our city, and I look forward to what he will be able to accomplish with the support of the Fellowship Program.”

“Local governments are making important strides toward investing precious taxpayer dollars in what works. Through this Fellowship, Results for America seeks to accelerate this work for 15 local governments by focusing on policy wins and evaluation partnerships that will improve outcomes for residents by making data and evidence primary factors in policy decisions,” said Michele Jolin, Co-founder and CEO of Results for America. “I commend Matt Malament for his commitment to improving outcomes by investing in evidence-based solutions and welcome him to this prestigious fellowship program.”

Malament will participate in four separate two-day strategic thinking convenings that will serve as an opportunity to report on progress, learn new strategies and skills, build a network of peers and gain exposure to national experts. In addition, Fellows will participate in monthly progress calls. RFA will publish 15 case studies highlighting the progress of these local governments as well as a final paper on lessons learned through the Local Government Fellowship, to be released at a public event in 2018.

“We can measurably improve lives in our community by embracing the regular use of data and evidence in our policy and program decisions. I thank Results for America for this opportunity to help make the City of Atlanta even more effective,” said Matt Malament, Director of Budget, Innovation and Performance.

In addition to Mr. Malament, the 14 other fellows come from the local governments of Albuquerque (NM), Baltimore (MD), Cook County (IL), Dallas (TX), King County (WA), Los Angeles (CA), Louisville (KY), Montgomery County (MD) New Orleans (LA), New York (NY), Philadelphia (PA), Salt Lake County (UT), Seattle (WA) and Washington, D.C.

The 15 Local Government Fellows are:

• Anjali Chainani, Director of Policy, City of Philadelphia;

• Carrie S. Cihak, Chief of Policy, King County (WA);

• David Gottesman, CountyStat Manager, Montgomery County (MD);

• Kate Joncas, Deputy Mayor of Operations, City of Seattle;

• Matthew Klein, Executive Director, Center for Economic Opportunity and Senior Advisor for Service Innovation in the Mayor's Office of Operations, City of New York;

• Andrew Kleine, Budget Director, City of Baltimore;

• Matt Malament, Director of Budget, Innovation and Performance, City of Atlanta;

• Mark McDaniel, Assistant City Manager, City of Dallas;

• Elizabeth Mitchell, Senior Policy Advisor, Salt Lake County (UT);

• Gilbert Montano, Chief of Staff, City of Albuquerque;

• Jennifer Reed, Chief Performance Officer, Washington, D.C.;

• Theresa Reno-Weber, Chief of Performance and Technology, City of Louisville;

• Miguel Sangalang, Executive Officer, Budget & Innovation, City of Los Angeles;

• Steven E. Shaw, Deputy Chief of Staff, Cook County (IL); and

• Oliver Wise, Director of the Office of Performance and Accountability, City of New Orleans.