City governments are home to some of the most dramatic changes and efforts to change in government. They are also governments that do well in the face of enormous challenges. New York, Washington, and Detroit are leading examples. Washington and Detroit were both well behind the good management curve in the mid-1990s. Efforts to create and implement new systems essentially across the board are now in the early stages, but show good potential.
Phoenix is a veritable innovation machine.
Strategic information technology planning in Minneapolis is very strong. Strong management capacity in the nation's largest cities is clearly linked to strong leadership. Effective management is one product of clear missions and visions for performance. Strong mayoral and professional leadership played an important role in each of the governments that received a high grade for management. Strong mayoral leadership is also evident in the cities trying the hardest to turn themselves around.