SR-11-12-2013-3JCity Council Meeting: November 12, 2013
Agenda Item:
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Karen Ginsberg, Community & Cultural Services Director
Subject: Local Wellbeing Index Development
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute a contract with RAND Corporation, a California -based company, for
development of the Local Wellbeing Index, for a total amount not to exceed $650,000.
Executive Summary
As one of five winning cities in Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge, the City of
Santa Monica has been awarded funding to implement The Wellbeing Project to
measure and actively improve community wellbeing. At the core of this work is the
development of The Local Wellbeing Index, a dynamic measurement tool combining
quantitative and qualitative data to provide a multidimensional understanding of the
community's strengths and challenges. With guidance from an interdisciplinary panel of
experts and the City's into rdepartmen I al project advisory team, a consultant will lead
research and data analysis teams in development of the index and backend data
management system for delivery no later than October 2014, per grant agreement
requirements. RAND Corporation is recommended to lead index development, at a cost
not to exceed $650,000.
Background
Bloomberg Philanthropies announced the Mavc)lls CCnalle sae, a contest to ignite
innovation in local government, in Summer 2012. All US cities with populations over
30,000 were eligible to enter a big idea that met criteria in four key areas: vision, impact,
ability to implement, and replicability. Inspired by work done by the Cradle to Career
Working Group and Santa Monica's first Yo< ,I Wel_ !na ...k�or[ C,.9rd (released
October 2012), the City of Santa Monica submitted a successful entry to measure and
actively improve wellbeing at the community level. From a pool of 305 cities, Santa
Monica was named a Top 20 Finalist in November 2012. Following submittal of a final
application in January 2013, Santa Monica was named one of five winning Mayors
Challenge cities in March 2013, along with Providence, Chicago, Houston, and
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Philadelphia, The $11M prize will be used to implement The Wellbeing Project, as
specified by the grant agreement with Bloomberg Philanthropies. Since that time, an
interdepartmental Project Advisory Team has been working to move the project forward,
including participation from the City Manager's Office, Information Systems, Santa
Monica Public Library, Office of Sustainability & the Environment, and Community &
Cultural Services. The newly - established Office of Wellbeing will be responsible for
managing the project to ensure that key deliverables are received on time and on
budget. The grant- funded portion of the project has a two -year timeline, ending by July
2015.
Discussion
The core deliverable for the grant- funded portion of The Wellbeing Project is The Local
Wellbeing Index. The Local Wellbeing Index will measure community wellbeing across
five areas (economic, social, health, education and care, and local context). Using a
blend of quantitative and qualitative data, the Index findings will be used to inform
decision - making and resource allocation processes. Working under the guidance of the
City's Project Advisory Team and an interdisciplinary panel of experts, the lead
consultant will be responsible for development of an easily - understandable, usable, and
scalable measurement tool. The consultant team will also help build capacity within the
City organization to manage data so that the index may be sustained in- house, as well
as work with end users to identify and pilot strategies to integrate use of index findings
into policy and resource allocation recommendations. More specifically, the consultant
team will:
• Develop a data analytic framework to measure community wellbeing, based on
research and input from a panel of experts, including the identification of
indicators, mapping indicators to data drawn from different sources, testing the
validity of the indicators, and collection of subjective data.
• Oversee and facilitate a panel of experts process, from panel formation to
meetings to final consensus. The panel will include participation from top experts
from a variety of backgrounds, including economics, behavioral and data
science, public policy, sustainability, and end user application.
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• Interpret the index findings and work with end users (i.e. City staff) to build in-
house capacity to pilot use of the findings, as well as to populate, understand,
and sustain the index,
• Develop and build data management platform and data warehouse.
• Provide support with grant reporting requirements as needed.
The Wellbeing Project will connect existing efforts among City staff to collect,
synthesize, interpret, and use data across a variety of purposes. Examples could
include periodic updates of the Sustainable City Report Card, strategic urban planning,
and the update of Santa Monica's Youth Wellbeing Report Card and development of
strategic initiatives based on report card findings.
Contractor /Consultant Selection
On September 10, 2013, the City of Santa Monica issued a Request for Proposals
(RFP) for development of the Local Wellbeing Index. The RFP was posted on the City's
online bidding site for three weeks. Ten responses were received. An interdepartmental
review panel evaluated responses based on understanding of the project and
compatibility with project goals; experience with successful development of similar
measurement tools using a panel of experts process; track record for innovative
solutions; and recommended approach to index development, including partnerships
and deliverables. Based on these criteria, the top three teams were invited to participate
in an in- person interview with the selection panel. The RAND Corporation team was
identified as the most qualified candidate based on completeness of scope and
corresponding budget. Proposals ranged from $122,650 to $920,000, with varying
levels of understanding of desired scope and deliverables.
RAND Corporation will partner with the New Economics Foundation (nef) on research
and analysis components of this project. These two nonprofit research organizations
bring a great depth of knowledge in wellbeing analysis, measurement development, city
planning, research, and policy development.
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The remainder of the project budget will be allocated for communications and end user
engagement activities, as well as development of a plan for ongoing sustainability of the
project.
Next Steps
Following execution of the contract with RAND, the Panel of Experts process will
commence by January 2014. By Spring 2014, the data architecture will be complete,
including development of a survey tool to collect subjective data. Development of the
backend data management, processing, analysis, and data warehouse will take place
concurrently with this process. By Summer 2014, a beta version of the index and
platform will be ready for testing. Following delivery of the index in October 2014, the
consultant will work with City staff to pilot strategies for use of the index findings, and
explore additional sources of data for incorporation into the index. By mid -2015, the
consultant will deliver a strategy for sustaining the index by the City in- house.
Development and implementation of a communication and engagement plan will occur
concurrently with the index development process.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
The contract with RAND Corporation is for an amount not to exceed $650,000. Funds
are available from the Mayors Challenge award at account 20501.545040.
Prepared by: Libby Carlson, Senior Administrative Analyst
Approved:
Tu� ( h
Karen Ginsberg
Director, Commun & Cul ural ervices
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Forwarded to Council:
Rod Gould
City Manager
Reference:
Contract No. 9837
(CCS)