Public Sector Capabilities Index

About the project

The project will examine areas in which a municipality can quickly scale or invest to bolster existing capabilities, serving as a guide for city leaders as well as state and national entities who can supply funding.

The Public Sector Capabilities Index will be the first global measure of where government capacity is strong and where critical public sector skills – such as engaging residents through innovation, cross-sector collaboration, and leveraging data infrastructure and digital platforms – must be built up.

The research focuses on cities, and as part of its output, the project will examine areas in which a municipality can quickly scale or invest in order to bolster existing capabilities, serving as a guide for city leaders as well as state and national entities who can supply funding. Bloomberg Philanthropies is supporting this initial phase of work to test the viability and usefulness of the Index.

To design and test the Public Sector Capabilities Index, UCL IIPP will form a cross-disciplinary team of specialists in public administration, urban governance and economics, digital transformation, data analytics, and public value, as well as a project-specific advisory board comprising of high-level practitioners and academics. The team formed by UCL IIPP will work alongside cities and government officials, who will be invited to co-create, test, and refine the Index, injecting their on-the-ground experiences and expertise.