September 14, 2022

Local civic leaders play critical roles in strengthening networks and solving problems. They are as diverse as the communities they live in, including elected officials, neighborhood leaders, businesspeople, faith leaders, educators, librarians, city managers, and many others.

How are local civic leaders faring, in the midst of a global pandemic, a more polarized political environment, and a changing technological landscape? How are they bringing people together, online and in-person? How have their experiences with different civic opportunities – voting, volunteering, public deliberation, political activism – affected their thinking and planning?

Watch the full event recording.

The Democracy Innovation program of the National Conference on Citizenship is exploring these questions in partnership with the Kettering Foundation and the National Issues Forums Institute network as part of the “Local Civic Leaders” project. The aim of this work is to document ways that local civic leaders can and are improving the democratic life of their places where they live.

In this recording, hear from three civic leaders who can provide both a local and national perspective:

  • Betty Knighton is the President of the National Issues Forums Institute
  • Derrick Hammond is a city councilmember and the pastor of the Oak Valley Baptist Church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee
  • Brad Rourke is a program officer at the Kettering Foundation and the founder and former publisher of local online news source Rockville Central in Rockville, Maryland

Some useful resources that were mentioned either in the session or in the chat:

ActiVote Constitution Week exercise: https://acti.vote/ConstitutionDay2022

National Civic League’s Model City Charter:  https://www.nationalcivicleague.org/resources/model-city-charter-9th-edition/

NCoC civic measurement page: https://ncoc.org/Civic-Health-Initiative-2/

Check out NewPublic: https://newpublic.org/

NCoC’s Engagement Scorecard: https://ncoc.org/engagement-scorecard/

Matt and Tina Nabatchi’s book on Public Participation:  https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Public+Participation+for+21st+Century+Democracy-p-9781118688403