This city official was chosen for a fellowship on data-driven policymaking

For the second time in a row, a Philadelphia city official was chosen to join a Results for America national program that links data and government efficiency.
Thirty-two-year-old policy director Anjali Chainani got a spot on the Local Government Fellowship, along with 14 other forward-thinking bureaucrats — including Baltimore’s budget director.
Over the course of the yearlong program, RFA will be providing education, technical assistance and peer support necessary to help Chainani implement the City’s policy plan and enhance the use of data and evidence in government decision-making. A two-to-three year roadmap for policy enactment will be the core outcome of the program.
“I’m thrilled that Philadelphia is once again being nationally recognized as a leader in using evidence and data to transform the lives of our residents,” said Deputy Mayor Jim Engler in a statement. “I look forward to working with her to ensure that high quality data and evidence are informing our policy decisions and providing better results for our residents.”
Chainani, daughter to Indian immigrants, was born in Oklahoma City. She moved to the Philly suburbs in 1996 and moved to the city to attend Temple University in 2001. In 2003 she landed a spot on the Mayor’s Internship Program and has been a staffer with the City ever since.

Honored to serve as a @Results4America #localfellow to help Philadelphia invest in #whatworks in #policy making https://t.co/AFEJGDi8ER

— Anjali Chainani (@AnjaliChainani) June 30, 2016

“I believe data-driven policy making is a powerful tool, and I am excited for Philadelphia to develop best practices that can inform other municipal governments,” Chainani told Technical.ly. “Likewise, through this fellowship Philadelphia is positioned to be a student just as much as it is positioned to serve as a teacher. Peer learning at the municipal level — how fantastic.”
In 2014, former city policy director Maia Jachimowicz was selected for the inaugural RFA cohort, which yielded five data-related projects, including a partnership with the University of Pennsylvania to evaluate the impact of Philadelphia’s youth summer jobs program.