Category Archives: collaborative action

2019 Engaged Cities Awards Finalists Announced!

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The 2019 Engaged Cities Awards winners and finalists have been selected! The award celebrates those cities from the Americas and Europe who most successfully engaged their communities to create and implement solutions to address local challenges. From the Cities of Service site, “Their incredible work demonstrates what cities can accomplish when they are open to the ideas and talents of citizens. Over the summer, Cities of Service will visit all 10 finalist cities to learn more about their solutions and share what we find so other cities can learn from and replicate the solutions in their own cities.” Read more in the post below and learn more about each of the finalists on the Cities of Services site here.

2019 Winner and Finalists

Cities of Service received more than one hundred applications for the 2019 Engaged Cities Award from cities across the Americas and Europe. With help from an esteemed group of experts, Cities of Service chose 10 finalists, whose solutions achieved impact by engaging citizens in a variety of ways, including: impact volunteering, participatory design, crowdsourcing, and citizen-sourced data. Finalists tackled challenges related to the environment and sustainability, health and safety, neighborhood revitalization, and more.

We visited each finalist city to learn more about their collaborations with communities.

All ten finalists combined bold mayoral leadership and the reach of city hall with the on-the-ground knowledge of citizens to address serious problems. Their incredible work demonstrates what cities can accomplish when they are open to the ideas and talents of citizens.

Over the summer, Cities of Service will visit all 10 finalist cities to learn more about their solutions and share what we find so other cities can learn from and replicate the solutions in their own cities.

Learn more about the 10 finalist solutions here.

About the Award

Each year, the Cities of Service Engaged Cities Award elevates city-led strategies that most successfully engage citizens to help create and implement solutions to pressing local problems.

Cities of Service knows that many cities are involving citizens in creative and effective ways, including civic tech, data analysis, impact volunteering, and more. These cities are combining the reach of City Hall with the on-the-ground knowledge of citizens to solve public problems.

The Engaged Cities Award is open to cities with populations of 30,000+ in the Americas and Europe. Cities of Service, along with an esteemed group of experts, will choose three winning cities. Each winner will receive a minimum of $50,000 and be announced as part of the Engaged Cities Award Summit in fall 2019.

Last year, Cities of Service selected winners of the inaugural Engaged Cities Award and officially announced them at a dinner hosted by Michael R. Bloomberg. We celebrated the work of the finalists at the first ever Cities of Service Engaged Cities Award Summit.

To stay informed about the Engaged Cities Award, including finalists, winners, and future opportunities to apply, please sign up for our mailing list.

You can read the above announcement on the Engaged Cities site at www.engagedcitiesaward.citiesofservice.org/finalists/.

Apply Now for Citizen University’s Civic Saturday Fellowship

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Citizen University is now accepting applications for the 2020 Civic Saturday Fellowship Program! Civic Saturdays bring together communities “to cultivate a sense of shared civic purpose and moral clarity”. This nine-month fellowship is an opportunity to receive a three-day training in hosting Civic Saturday and bring these skills back to their communities. Priority deadline is November 8th and final applications are due Wednesday, November 20th. You can read more in the announcement below and find the original information on the CU site here.

Civic Saturday Fellowship Program

Apply today for the 2020 Fellowship Cycle!

All around the country, we are facing a crisis in civic life – people are becoming more socially isolated, disconnected from a sense of common purpose, and cynical about their own ability to affect change. Enter Civic Saturday: a gathering that brings communities together to cultivate a sense of shared civic purpose and moral clarity. At Civic Saturday, people get to know one another, share a meaningful communal experience, and leave inspired to become more powerful, responsible citizens.

The Civic Saturday fellowship prepares motivated, local leaders (or, as we like to say, civic catalysts!) to start their own Civic Saturday gatherings in their home communities. In this nine-month fellowship, civic catalysts will attend the Civic Seminary, a three-day training in Seattle with Citizen University staff, and return home ready to create lasting impact in the civic life of their communities.

Fellows will explore the ethical foundations of their beliefs (and those of others), learn to craft and deliver catalytic sermons that draw on both the current day and civic traditions of our society, and ultimately establish Civic Saturday where they live and work.

The Civic Saturday fellowship was launched in 2018 with the goal of training motivated, local leaders to start their own Civic Saturday gatherings, and bring a sense of shared civic purpose and moral clarity into the civic life of their communities. In the first two years, over 50 civic catalysts have trained with Citizen University’s team in Seattle to learn how to create this unique, joyful gathering.

APPLICATIONS OPEN NOW

Apply here and access the Fellowship Information Packet here.

Priority deadline: November 8, 2019
Application deadline: November 20, 2019

Training dates for this round will be on March 10-13, 2020 or April 21-24, 2020. Please read the information packet for complete details.
Applications for September and October training sessions will open in the spring of 2020.

You can find the original version of this announcement on Citizen University’s site at www.citizenuniversity.us/civicsaturdayfellowship/.

Community Voices for Health Offers $660K Grant Opportunity

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In case you haven’t heard, the Community Voices for Health initiative is offering a large grant opportunity to strengthen engagement infrastructure. The initiative is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), with technical assistance from NCDD member organization Public Agenda and Altarum. From the Community Voices for Health site…

“The goal of Community Voices for Health is to build stronger engagement infrastructure that involves a broader range of people, especially marginalized and underserved communities – so their voices are heard in healthcare policymaking decisions, their efforts to solved problems are supported, and their community networks are strengthened. Community-based organizations or networks are invited to apply for up to $660,000 to support projects spanning 30 months. A total of six grants will be awarded. ”

The application deadline is Monday, October 7th. You can learn more about the grant opportunity below and on the RWJF site here, and we encourage you to check out the Community Voices for Health site here.

Community Voices for Health 2019 Call for Proposals

Purpose

The overarching goal of this new initiative, Community Voices for Health, is to support ongoing ways for people to engage—to help their voices be a part of decisions around health care, social service, and public health systems; to support their efforts to solve problems; and to strengthen their community networks. We will award up to six grants, one per state, to lead organizations in 20 eligible states (see “Eligibility Criteria” below). Lead organizations should be public charities that are nonprofit community-based organizations or statewide networks of community-based organizations. Although the grant is awarded to one lead organization, each grantee will be expected to work with a range of partners and other stakeholders—such as public agencies; health care systems; public health departments and leaders; researchers; university-based centers; membership associations; and social service providers.

The initiative seeks to learn from a range of approaches developed by community partners, and acknowledges there are many approaches to meeting the goal. This call for proposals therefore allows for some flexibility in key areas, such as the geographic or issue focus. Specifically, while the project might start by focusing on a single issue such as housing or mental health, it should be designed to produce an infrastructure that can take on other issues affecting people’s health. Proposals can be statewide in scope or focus on a community or metro region, as long as they connect residents with state-level decisions and/or establish infrastructure that could be adopted in many other locations across a state.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

All states face challenges with respect to increasing and sustaining engagement, but the nature of those challenges varies from state to state. To maximize learnings from this project, we took into consideration a number of factors designed to capture this diversity including, but not limited to, geography, demographics, and policy climate. Community Voices for Health grants are open to organizations based in and working in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.While each collaborating organization should be described in detail in the proposal, only one organization may represent the collaboration and be the lead contact in the application process. The applicant/lead organization must be recognized as a public charity under Sections 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.

In addition, the applicant/lead organization should have a demonstrated history of managing funds to support non-lobbying advocacy efforts or, a mix of lobbying and nonlobbying efforts. Applicants should also indicate whether they have an existing relationship with legal counsel with expertise in the lobbying and political activity restrictions that apply to public charities and private foundations.  A small portion of grant funds may be used to retain legal counsel with relevant expertise, if an applicant does not yet have counsel in place.

You can read this on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at www.rwjf.org/en/library/funding-opportunities/2019/community-voices-for-health.html.

We encourage you to check out the Community Voices for Health site at www.communityvoicesforhealth.org/.

Jefferson Center on Making Our Democracy More Meaningful

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NCDD Sponsor organization, The Jefferson Center, share a piece written by Annie Pottorff called “Americans are ready for more meaningful democracy”. The article lifts up the recent report published by Public Agenda that explored what Americans think about the current state of our democracy. We encourage you to read the article below and find the original version on JC’s site here.

Americans are ready for more meaningful democracy

Last week, the nonpartisan research and public engagement organization Public Agenda released new findings about what Americans thought about the state of democracy. The results weren’t exactly surprising: 39% say America’s democracy is “in crisis” and 42% say it’s facing serious challenges.

But on a more hopeful note, most believed that ordinary individuals can make a difference, especially if enough people get involved. They were excited about efforts just like ours, including participatory budgeting, community events, public surveys, online forums, and civics education.

When asked what would make them more likely to participate in one of these programs, they outlined a few key criteria. We couldn’t help but notice how our Citizens Juries and broader civic engagement hit the mark:

Respondents wanted programs that…

Seem genuine and likely to have real impacts

Participants in Citizens Juries, assemblies and community panels we conduct know from the outset their recommendations are going somewhere. Their findings are shared with the project sponsors, published online, and amplified through traditional and social media. We help advance local actions and guide policy development based on the recommendations.

Allow people to contribute their own skills and experiences to solving a problem

We recognize all participants as experts, and invite them to share their stories, experiences, and expertise with the group, a key supplement to the presentations and research supplied by expert witnesses. We also recognize communities we engage have existing resources and strong networks we can support to drive change.

Invite public officials to listen, contribute, and respond

Public officials are invited to contribute to the conversation in meaningful ways. In some cases, officials give stakeholder presentations and answer questions, like at the Flats Arterial Community Panel. At the Winona County Energy Dialogue, city council members and local energy leaders participated as Citizens Jurors, co-creating recommendations with their community. And at the Willmar Community Assembly, the mayor observed the event, listened to the recommendations, acknowledged their importance, and pledged to integrate into city practices.

One of our participants summed it up this way:

I would recommend [participating in a Citizens Jury] on three levels. One, the Jury’s made up of everyday people, not just professional people, but a wide demographic of people. Two, it was very fair, and everybody had a chance to participate, and three, you know, from what’s being said, that your input is being recorded and may play an important part in the final outcome in the future.

Reading the Public Agenda research, it’s clear that people like you are ready to get involved if genuinely meaningful opportunities are available. With your help, we’re doing just that by engaging individuals around the world to face our biggest challenges. Thank you for being part of the future of democracy!

Over the next few months we will be exploring ways to build awareness of and support for how governments and public officials can incorporate deliberative practices in their work and engagement practices. We look forward to sharing what we’re learning with you on the blog and in our newsletter.

You can find the original version of this post on The Jefferson Center site at https://jefferson-center.org/americans-are-ready-for-more-meaningful-democracy/. 

National Issue Forums Institute Reports on Climate Forums

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Over the last three years, deliberations have been occurring across the country on the 2016-released issue guide, Climate Choices, both at in-person forums in several states and online via Common Ground for Action deliberative forums. The guide was a collaborative effort between NCDD member organization, the National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI), and the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), and the article below reports on some of the takeaways from the forums. You can read the report below and find the original on NIFI’s site here.

Report on NIF Forum Activity: Climate Choices

When people gather with friends, neighbors, and fellow community members to deliberate on shared problems, they often report that they are exposed to ideas and perspectives they hadn’t previously entertained. They also often say that they leave the deliberative forums, not with completely changed minds, but “thinking differently” nonetheless.

Recent forums using the Climate Choices issue guide were no exception. In questionnaires returned after the forums, just under half of participants responded that they were “thinking differently about the issue.” For example, one participant from an Ohio forum said, “I now realize that everything we do to address climate change has other effects.” The questionnaires also show that slightly more than half of participants noted that they “talked about aspects of the issue they hadn’t considered before.” From a forum participant in Connecticut: “I hadn’t considered the possibility of rushing into poorly researched energy sources and possibly causing more harm than good.”

The Climate Choices issue guide was a joint effort of the National Issues Forums (NIF) and the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). NAAEE’s interest in producing the issue guide relates to their Environmental Issues Forums (EIF) initiative, in which they hope to encourage a nationwide network to hold forums on issues that affect the environment. Since its publication in 2016, people have held forums using the Climate Choicesguide in Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, and New Mexico, among other locales. More than 25 climate choices forums have also taken place online using the Common Ground for Action platform.

Some of the more interesting forum reports we hear about occur when multiple organizations work to coconvene forums. This was the case for a late 2017 forum that took place in Wichita, Kansas. Representatives from three different organizations partnered to put on a forum to deliberate about the environmental challenges facing Kansas and the world at large: the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Engagement, the Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams, and Kansas State University’s Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy. Included in the group of 15 were representatives from county and municipal government and professionals from the energy and agriculture sectors, as well as local retirees and students. In this group we see people wrestling with trade-offs in a number of the options. According to the convenors, the group was enthusiastic about option 2 (Prepare and Protect Communities) but worried that possible actions would do little to address underlying environmental issues. In talking about Option 3 (Accelerate Innovation), the group was concerned about the number of unknowns and uncertain prospects for success associated with trying to innovate our way out of the problem.

Another interesting area of activity was Columbia, Missouri, where there were another six climate choices forums. Led by Christine Jie Li of the University of Missouri’s School of Natural Resources, three of these forums were at the Columbia Public Library, two at a local Episcopal church, and one with local students on the University of Missouri campus. The convenors of the Missouri forums report that participants felt anxious about environmental threats but were eager to take action. One participant said, “When I hear about climate change, I often feel overwhelmed and hopeless. It is such a huge overarching issue that it feels impossible to solve.” Another said, “I am curious to know my fellow citizens’ ideas and to work toward a community-supported decision.” Convenors from Missouri reported an increase in hope among participants after the forums with one participant saying, “I feel better and more optimistic that people are thinking about this.”

This article is based on analysis by Kettering Foundation staff of reports made available by the National Issues Forums Institute.

Fostering Information Ecosystems with Info Districts

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Simon Galperin recently shared this article with us on info districts, “Towards a public choice for local news and information” and we wanted to lift it up here on the blog. The piece includes an excerpt from the full Info District report and “this guide — published thanks to support from the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri’s Missouri School of Journalism — outlines what a democratic process could look like if it was targeted at understanding a community’s information needs and mobilizing collective action to meet them”. You can read the article below and find the original version on Medium here.

Towards a public choice for local news and information

Information is power. But decisions about how information gets discovered, shared, and used are made by those already in power. In most places, the people who are most in need of information have little say in those decisions. Info districts is a proposal to change that.

The Community Information Cooperative’s “How to Launch an Info District” report is intended for people who want to organize their communities to change how decisions are made about what news and information gets produced, how it’s distributed, and — most importantly — why.

Social media platforms and the majority of our news media exist for profit. The products and services they provide maximize the extraction of information and wealth from our communities. Mission-driven news organizations and public institutions exist for our benefit but most resemble for-profit corporations in their decision making. Foundational issues are decided on by a handful of people usually far removed from the impact of their decisions.

If news and information is what fuels democracy then it should be guided by democracy.

For the Community Info Coop, the process is the product. We believe you cannot have a democratic outcome without a democratic process. This guide — published thanks to support from the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri’s Missouri School of Journalism — outlines what a democratic process could look like if it was targeted at understanding a community’s information needs and mobilizing collective action to meet them.

We do this work because we believe that news and information is a public good. We believe information ecosystems can empower people instead of scare and profit from them.

Redesigning those systems to improve the way we communicate with each other and hold our institutions accountable is an international project. Platforms, governments, foundations, media organizations, and technology companies require democratization if we are to sustain and expand democracy in the 21st century.

It is an imperfect project. And one without end. But it cannot be done without a local effort leading and sustaining the change. Info districts are one part of that effort.

We’ll return to “How to Launch an Info District” as we continue our work. We’ll add new resources, share new findings, and make it more practical.

The following is an excerpt from the guide to introduce you to the the info districts concept. For more detail, read the full guide here.

To support the development of this new vision for public media, reach us at connect@infodistricts.org. We’re actively seeking financial and coordinating support. To follow our work, subscribe to our newsletter here.

Sign up by Sept. 20th to Join “The Lovable City” Effort

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From our friends at Civic Dinners have initiated a new city-centered conversation movement called, The Lovable City, starting October! Learn more in the blurb below and make sure you sign your city up by Saturday, September 20th to participate.

“This October we are thrilled to be launching The Lovable City conversation in 100 cities across the United States. The Lovable City will support conversations between residents, local government and civic leaders as people gather around the dinner table to co-create a better future for their city.”

You can learn more in the post below and find the original on The Lovable City site here.

The Lovable City – Powered by Civic Dinners

So far, 36 cities have signed onboard to co-create a better future together around the dinner table! Shoutout to Decatur, GA and Clarkston, GA for being the first two cities to join! Want to make sure your city in in? Sign-up your city before September 20, 2019!

Why Lovable?

We believe people should love the city they’re in. A city should inspire a sense of inclusion, identity, and pride. Residents should feel engaged and optimistic about the future of their community and their place in it.

In today’s highly mobile society, it’s much easier for people to choose where they live, and people are choosier than ever. Most people may come to a city for school, for work, or for love, but they stay because of how a city makes them feel. How do we convince people to put down roots, to settle, grow, and invest in their communities? Modern cities are being challenged to provide a more lovable environment for their residents to not merely survive, but to thrive, or people will be tempted to go elsewhere.

Our award-winning platform, Civic Dinners, has helped cities create stronger social infrastructure and build greater trust between residents and civic leaders.

Love your city?

Here’s how you can bring The Lovable City to your city:

Become a City Sponsor – Do you consider yourself a civic leader, elected official or business leader invested in the future of your city? Sponsoring The Lovable City can help you create a brave space for residents to hear from one another, share what they love most about your city and what they’d love to love, and discover key insights that can be used to support future strategic planning, city branding or civic engagement. Learn more here!

Become a City Delegate – Do you love your city, despite its challenges, and L-O-V-E organizing and leading change in your community About 1% of a city’s population are “co-creators”, the ones who push a city forward, make it more lovable, more attractive, and more prosperous. If you are a co-creator, we invite you to become a City Delegate and launch the Lovable City in restaurants, homes, and offices in your city, this October! Learn more here!

Sign-up to Stay Informed – Love your city? Love food? Love bringing people together? Then you’ll love participating in The Lovable City! If your city joins the conversation, we’d love for you to host a Civic Dinner on The Lovable City to help bring people together to talk about what they love about their city, what they’d love to love, and how they’d like to be more engaged. Help voices who aren’t usually heard find a seat at the table. Learn more here!

You can learn more on Civic Dinner’s The Lovable City site at www.thelovablecity.com/.

Submit Application for NCL’s 2020 All-American City Awards

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In case you missed it, applications are now being accepted for the 2020 All-American City Awards! Hosted by the National Civic League, an NCDD partner, this year’s award theme is focused on “Enhancing health and well-being through civic engagement”. We encourage you to watch the video from the 2018 awardees with tips on how to apply and how the award has benefited their communities. We also recorded our co-hosted NCDD-NCL Confab call earlier this spring which can provide some great context and background information on the award – watch it here (please note the award theme this year is slightly different, though still in the same vein of health equity in communities). The deadline is Wednesday, February 19, 2020. You can read the announcement below and find the original version on NCL’s site here.

National Civic League’s 2020 All-America City Awards: Enhancing Health and Well-Being Through Civic Engagement

The National Civic League is now accepting applications for the 2020 All-America City Award, focused on enhancing health and well-being through civic engagement. With the National Civic League’s Co-Title Sponsors, Kaiser Permanente and Well Being Trust, the 2020 Awards reflect the concept that good health for the entire community requires a focus on mental, physical, spiritual, cultural and economic well-being.

We are looking for applicants with community-driven projects that reflect the concept that good health for the entire community requires a focus on mental, physical, spiritual, cultural and economic well-being.

Projects focusing on this theme might include:

  • healthy & safe environments
  • opportunities for lifelong learning
  • meaningful and well-paying jobs
  • affordable and humane housing
  • reliable transportation and accessibility
  • environmental health and safety
  • a sense of belonging and inclusion
  • access to mental health care
  • substance-abuse recovery and prevention
  • healthy eating and exercising
  • affordable, accessible health care

Begin your community’s application today to become a 2020 All-America City!

Important Dates

  • July 2019 – May 2020
    All-America City Promising Practices Webinar Series
  • November 1, 2019
    Submit Letter of Intent to Apply (not required to apply)
  • February 19, 2020
    Applications Due
  • March 2020
    Finalists Announced
  • March-June 2020
    Competition Preparation
  • June 5-7, 2020
    All-America City Awards Competition and Event in Denver, CO

You can find the original version of this announcement on the National Civic League’s site at www.nationalcivicleague.org/america-city-award/.

The National Civic Review is Seeking Article Submissions!

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The National Civic Review, an online quarterly published by NCDD member organization the National Civic League, is looking for articles on community-based examples of civic engagement, public deliberation, co-production, and democratic innovation. Articles run between 1200 and 3000 words. Deadlines for submissions are:

  • Fall 2019 issue                 September 20, 2019.
  • Winter 2020 issue            December 15, 2019
  • Spring 2020 Issue             March 15, 2019

If you are looking to add your article to the Fall issue of NCR, please make sure you submit by the deadline on Friday, September 20th, which is a little over four weeks from now. Submissions should be emailed to the National Civic Review Editor, Mike McGrath, at mikem@ncl.org. Please also contact Mike is you have any questions in regard to this.

Some of the country’s leading doers and thinkers have contributed articles to this invaluable resource for elected officials, public managers, nonprofit leaders, grassroots activists, and public administration scholars seeking to make America’s communities more inclusive, participatory, innovative, and successful.

Friendly reminder that NCDD members receive the digital copy of the National Civic Review for free!  If you are an NCDD member, we highly encourage you to check out the most recent summer edition of the NCR on the National Civic League’s site here. Feel welcome to contact me at keiva@ncdd.org, if you have any trouble logging in with your special NCDD members’ entry code. If you are not an NCDD member yet and want to receive this prestigious journal for free (in addition to many other benefits!), please click here to learn more about joining the NCDD network, as well as, to sign up!

New Report Published on Modernizing Congress

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NCDDer Lorelei Kelly recently published a new report called, Modernizing Congress: Bringing Democracy into the 21st Century, which was developed in support with the Democracy Fund and the Beeck Center, an experiential hub at Georgetown University.

Here is an excerpt from the summary – “Modernizing Congress lays out a plan to accelerate this institutional progress. It scopes out the challenge of including civic voice in the legislative and deliberative process. It then identifies trusted local information intermediaries who could act as key components of a modern knowledge commons in Congress. You can read more in the post below and find the full report here.

Modernizing Congress: Bringing Democracy into the 21st Century

Congress represents a national cross section of civic voice. It is potentially the most diverse market for ideas in government and should be reaping the benefits of America’s creativity and knowledge. During our transition into the 21st century, this civic information asset — from lived experience to structured data — should fuel the digital infrastructure of a modern representative system. Yet Congress has thus far failed to tap this resource on behalf of its legislative and deliberative functions. 

Today’s Congress can’t compete on digital infrastructure or modern data methods with the executive branch, the media or the private sector. To be sure, information weaponization, antique technology and Congress’ stubborn refusal to fund itself has arrested its development of a digital infrastructure. Congress is knowledge incapacitated, physically disconnected and technologically obsolete. In this condition, it cannot fulfill its First Branch duties as laid out in Article I of the U.S. Constitution. 

Fortunately, changing the direction of Congress is now in sight. Before the end of January 2019, (1) the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act became law, (2) the House created a Select Committee on Modernization, and (3) Congress began to restore its internal science and technology capacity. 

Modernizing Congress lays out a plan to accelerate this institutional progress. It scopes out the challenge of including civic voice in the legislative and deliberative process. It then identifies trusted local information intermediaries who could act as key components of a modern knowledge commons in Congress. With three case studies, the report illustrates how members and staff are finding new ways to build connection and gather useful constituent input at the district level. The report explores an urban, rural and suburban district. It concludes that while individual members are leveraging technology to connect and use new forms of civic voice from constituents, what Congress needs most is a systemwide digital infrastructure and updated institutional standards for data collection.

You can the full Modernizing Congress report here.