Austin launches public data hub for tracking city performance

Overview

Updated Oct 28

Austin's new Data and Insights Hub collects the city's dashboards, datasets, maps, reports and plans in one searchable site, Performance ATX. The city announced it in a press release dated Oct. 21, and KXAN reported on the hub five days later.

Content is grouped under the city's six strategic priorities, from public safety to mobility, and users can search by department, source or keyword. Kerri Lang, who directs the Budget and Organizational Excellence office, said the single site makes it easier for Austinites and city staff to see how decisions get made. The city says the hub will change over time as data products are added, updated or retired.

Why it matters

Austin residents can now check, in one place, whether city departments are meeting the performance goals they've set.

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Key Indicators

Strategic priorities organizing the hub

Hub content is grouped under the city's six strategic priority areas.

FY 2026

Fiscal year goal that prompted the hub

City Manager T.C. Broadnax set the goal for a centralized data platform.

Oct. 21

Date of the city's launch announcement

The city's press release announcing the hub is dated Oct. 21, 2026.

Years of community survey data included

Community Survey Dashboard draws on Austin survey data dating back to 2015.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Kerri Lang

Director, Austin Budget and Organizational Excellence

Announced the hub launch to the City Council on Oct. 23

T.C. Broadnax

Austin City Manager

Set the fiscal year 2026 goal for a centralized data platform

Organizations Involved

Austin Office of Budget and Organizational Excellence

City Government Office

Manages the Data and Insights Hub

The city office behind the Performance ATX site and the new Data and Insights Hub.

KXAN Austin

Local News Outlet

First reported the hub launch

The Austin-based television station that first reported the hub launch.

Timeline

3 events Latest: October 26th, 2026 · 2 weeks ago

October 2026
KXAN reports hub launch
Latest Report

KXAN reported that Austin launched the public Data and Insights Hub on Performance ATX.
October 26th, 2026
City announces Data and Insights Hub
Announcement

Kerri Lang announced the hub launch in a memo to the Austin City Council.
October 23rd, 2026
City press release announces Data and Insights Hub
Announcement

The city said the hub gathers datasets, dashboards, maps, reports and plans on Performance ATX, sorted by the six strategic priorities and searchable by department or keyword. Kerri Lang said it would help residents and city staff see how decisions are made.
October 21st, 2026

Scenarios

Hub becomes Austin's default window on city performance

Likely Resolves by Q3 2027

Discussed by: Austin city officials and Budget and Organizational Excellence staff, who frame the hub as a transparency tool

Departments keep feeding the hub with updated dashboards and datasets. Council members and residents use it during budget season to compare departments against the city manager's goals, and the hub becomes a routine part of city business.

Hub falls quiet as data updates lag

Possible Resolves by Q3 2027

Discussed by: Open data researchers who note many municipal portals lapse after launch

Departments, which retain responsibility for their own data, treat the hub as optional. Updates slow, dashboards age, and the hub becomes a static archive of plans and reports rather than a live performance tracker.

Austin's hub becomes a template for other Texas cities

Possible Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: Regional government technology watchers

As Texas cities weigh new rules on data centers and surveillance tools, they also face pressure for transparency. A second major Texas city launches a comparable performance-data hub, explicitly modeling it on Austin's.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

May 2009

Data.gov (2009)

The U.S. federal government launched Data.gov to put government datasets online in one searchable portal. It gathered data from federal agencies under a single roof for the first time.

Then

It became the flagship of the federal open-data push and a template for state and city portals nationwide.

Now

Data freshness and usability varied by agency, a recurring weakness for open-data sites.

Why this matters now

Austin's hub follows the same pattern: a single portal whose value depends on each department keeping its own data current.

2011

Chicago Open Data Portal (2011)

Chicago passed an open-data ordinance and launched a city portal, becoming one of the first major U.S. cities to codify public access to city data by law.

Then

Chicago's portal grew into a large civic data ecosystem used by researchers, journalists and residents.

Now

It set the standard for municipal open data, and many cities followed with portals of their own.

Why this matters now

Chicago shows both the promise of consolidated city data and the standing challenge of keeping it maintained.