tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82328950590116721742012-01-30T11:35:44.999-05:00The one-stop place for all things citizen-centered - the way democracy should be.*cingibnoreply@blogger.comBlogger311100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-81064657094732841952007-10-08T15:59:00.000-05:002007-10-08T16:03:38.118-05:00

I recently received an email announcing a forum about the difficulty young people are having in pursuing public service jobs because of the debt they incur in college, as well as the high cost of living in many cities that necessitates high salaries. As a result, young people have no choice but to favor earning some bucks over “doing good.”Good topic, but the invitation was enveloped in some

cingibnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-56548340536604212662007-10-08T15:30:00.000-05:002007-10-11T09:05:49.156-05:00

The citizen-centered concept has been rightfully bemoaned as somewhat elusive, naunced, and difficult to convey in two-second sound bites. (But, not everything can be.... It's like pornography; we know it when we see it.) Thus, it's been relatively difficult to measure or even include in studies about civic engagement, at least in rigorous ways.Happily, that's changed, thanks to the National

cingibnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-20755084793377876352007-10-08T15:28:00.000-05:002007-10-09T09:33:02.723-05:00

In a call for ideas from the folks at Tactical Philanthropy regarding how to help foundations more transparent and accountable, I sent the posting below ("Can Philanthropy be Citizen-Centered?" -- scroll down) as something that might be considered. Two lines were pulled from my post:Essentially, foundations need to start exploring new ways to develop stronger partnerships between the

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-10071440522747724742007-10-08T15:15:00.000-05:002007-10-11T09:06:51.999-05:00

Those of you who have been following this blog know that a favorite topic is whether or not philanthropy can follow in the footsteps of other institutions—such as schools and local legislatures—that are understanding that to be successful, they need to have the involvement of “real people” in their efforts.Last month, there was an opportunity to explore that issue, thanks to a story in the

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-23234081484290322562007-10-08T14:56:00.000-05:002007-10-11T09:12:44.005-05:00

A recent New York Times op-ed sparked some controversy by suggesting that attempts by adults to use Facebook and similar social networking sites to nudge young people toward civic and political pursuits were misguided. Why? Because Facebook, Alice Mathias writes in "The Fakebook Generation," is a form of entertainment and shouldn't be taken seriously. And contrary to popular belief, she adds,

cingibnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-9530736670972755492007-10-08T10:27:00.001-05:002007-10-09T09:26:35.217-05:00

For a long time, some of us have been trying to figure out why there's been so much attention on getting young people to vote and much less on acknowledging that today's political system isn't really quite conducive to encouraging such participation. So, shouldn't we be harnessing people's frustration toward changing that system? Isn't that what true democracy's all about?Happily, there's at

cingibnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-778150516515079492007-10-08T09:56:00.000-05:002007-10-09T21:50:56.469-05:00

Recently, the Minneapolis-St Paul Metro Area was declared the "number 1 metro area" for volunteering in the U.S., with 40.5 percent of residents--that's nearly half --volunteering annually, compared to a national average rate of 28.1 percent. The metro area also topped the rankings for retention of volunteers, with 77.3 percent of people returning to volunteer for the same organization or cause

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-61977244888421215192007-10-08T09:45:00.000-05:002007-10-08T13:38:32.291-05:00

Nick Longo’s recently-released book, Why Community Matters, is an important contribution to the dialogue about the relationship between citizenship and education. Longo, currently the director of the Harry T. Wilkes Institute at Miami University, argues that it’s not enough to teach about citizenship in schools; we must “rethink where education takes place,”and reimagine the relationship between

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-73114300021317980642007-10-03T16:35:00.000-05:002007-10-08T13:42:05.480-05:00

by Matt Leighinger, Executive Director, Deliberative Democracy Consortium “Democracy is a gift from the industrialized countries of the Global North to the lesser-developed nations of the Global South.”This seems to be one of the key assumptions behind the foreign policies of the United States and many other Northern countries, despite that in most of these places, voter turnout and other

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-56611639233593779622007-08-06T18:52:00.000-05:002007-08-07T19:38:09.964-05:00

A recent Boston Globe story announced a rather shocking assertion: That diversity may actually hurt, rather than help, to increase civic engagement. Perhaps even more startling is that the data comes from none other than the "guru of civic engagement,” Robert Putnam.The results of this new study emanate from a survey Putnam conducted among residents in 41 U.S. communities. Residents were asked

cingibnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-6509135143147334772007-08-06T18:30:00.000-05:002007-08-07T07:47:54.919-05:00

A just-released story by the Chronicle of Philanthropy attempts to shed light on what appears to be a trend among foundations (and a few nonprofits such as NetSquared) to invite the public to vote online as to which groups should get their grant dollars. Several institutions are highlighted, among them, The Case, Knight, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundations.Overall, the piece is fairly balanced

cingibnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-35354814101464050882007-08-06T18:00:00.000-05:002007-08-08T11:01:02.010-05:00

Several years ago, I was interviewed for a job at a rather prominent institution by the president who spent several minutes ticking off the names and credentials of the experts s/he had planned to commission as consultants who would advise program staff on all facets of their activities. When I asked whether "real people" -- you know, the ones who are affected by the programs that this

cingibnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-4478637053599399322007-07-22T17:45:00.000-05:002007-10-08T16:41:49.151-05:00

I live for the day when we have presidential candidate forums that feature thoughtful discussion, rather than tiresome “debates” (the Latin derivative of that word is “to beat down” and that’s what we get in the current format). You know, events that aren’t scripted by the candidates’ hacks or the celebrity newsreaders at the networks. The ones that ask tough questions or call candidates on

cingibnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-61580209953426071492007-07-22T17:05:00.000-05:002007-07-22T17:29:34.553-05:00

Citizen-centered approaches underscore the importance of individuals, but does that mean that organizations are becoming less important in civic and political life? If so, why? Allison Fine, author of Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age, believes that technology helps to “break down the walls of institutions” in ways that promote more collaboration and reciprocity among

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-62469373839626552012007-06-18T19:21:00.000-05:002007-07-01T13:37:46.605-05:00

It may seem a contradiction in terms, given the very thick veil of secrecy that has long surrounded philanthropic institutions—and the lack of incentive to lift that veil—but let’s explore it anyway. As some have argued vociferously, philanthropy has become a cadre of elites whose decisions are rarely, if ever, made with the involvement of real people in real communities—other than using

cingibnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-36575940606164456372007-06-18T18:02:00.000-05:002007-06-23T13:15:33.897-05:00

A friend of who lives in a mid-sized town in Massachusetts was concerned that the sidewalks in her neighborhood were becoming so full of potholes that her kids couldn’t ride their bikes on them anymore. With a group of equally concerned neighbors, she marched down to City Hall to meet with her City Council member. “We want to help you do something about this situation,” she said to the member.

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-89307055355906505382007-06-15T18:51:00.000-05:002007-06-23T13:09:11.604-05:00

I’ve long believed that the incessant focus on “getting people to vote” is a bit short-sighted and ignores the fact that, today, there are little real incentives for people to vote, let along participate in other political processes that are equally important to our democracy. As Bob Herbert wrote in a recent New York Times op-ed, the system’s broken... Today, there is little substance in

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-56706009214735476662007-06-15T18:30:00.000-05:002007-06-23T13:11:07.332-05:00

Of all the critiques of Citizens at the Center, the charge that it is “yet another ideological attempt to promote a liberal (or conservative) agenda.” Yes, both have been levied at the concept, which, in practice, is neither, ironically, proving the adage that people will see what they want to see, despite a cigar sometimes being just a cigar... One of those discussions took place in Washington,

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-21214923403007112712007-06-15T18:27:00.000-05:002007-06-23T13:11:43.110-05:00

Some research has shown that people, especially young people, are more inclined to be civically engaged when they become interested in a specific issue or cause. I know that was certainly true in my case. This has raised questions about whether citizen-centered processes, which are deliberately cast as more open-ended or as public meetings that do not have a narrow or pre-determined issue focus

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-62541621186133839392007-06-15T18:25:00.000-05:002007-06-23T13:12:26.561-05:00

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to sit down with a group of community organizers to talk about the citizen-centered concept. A rich conversation ensued but what stood out was the concern some organizers had about where the concept of power fits in public deliberation and problem-solving. Echoing a common critique, they said that public deliberation can seem elitist because it tends to

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-85457776580937519152007-06-14T18:20:00.000-05:002007-06-30T20:35:34.288-05:00

While the civic engagement domain scurries to ramp up civic engagement through volunteering, voting, community service, organizing and other tactics, there’s another group of people attempting to do likewise, albeit through different—and some say more efficient—means. These are the Tekkies, the NetRoots folks, the Internet users, the geeks, and technologists—a rapidly growing swath of the

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-58004769509760883422007-06-14T18:19:00.000-05:002007-06-23T13:13:41.599-05:00

...is technology a magic bullet for engaging citizens more deeply in public problem-solving? Critics argue that face-to-face deliberation will always trump “faceless” emails when it comes to real engagement. Moreover, given evidence suggesting that the Internet tends to be better positioned as a tool for convening like-minded people, rather than those who disagree, is it possible that

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-6273899895049495352007-06-13T18:10:00.000-05:002007-06-30T20:36:45.112-05:00

I’m not a fan of the phrase “going to scale.” In addition to sounding a bit dated, it assumes that small, grassroots organizations or initiatives can and should be replicated to become part of a larger and more bureaucratic institution down the road—a notion that’s somewhat antithetical to citizen-centered work, which I believe is more a mindset than it is a model, project, or program. Perhaps

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-34511756862842942592007-06-12T18:41:00.000-05:002007-07-23T14:25:20.413-05:00

One of the glaring gaps in this area is the lack of hard data (or at least any data that’s been more rigorously culled) as to whether citizen-centered efforts enhance the civic proclivities and engagement of entire communities over the long-term. In Hearing the Other Side: Deliberative versus Participatory Democracy, Diane Mutz, A. Stouffer Professor of Political Science and Communication at

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-77536626631405722602007-06-01T19:10:00.000-05:002007-10-08T16:36:40.061-05:00

One of the most fertile grounds for citizen-centered efforts is school reform. Today, in scores of communities, citizens are coming together to rally around better schools but in ways that are now getting the rapt attention of the people in charge of their schools. Why? Because the people in charge are starting to realize that to be successful, they need public involvement—not just input—in

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-70576775430449538842007-06-01T18:25:00.000-05:002007-10-08T16:37:42.380-05:00

We’ve mentioned Common Sense California (CSC) previously in this blog space, but it deserves another mention because it’s helping to fuel one of the most striking examples of citizen-centered work in the country—and one of the few occurring at the state level. As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, on August 11, 2007, CSC, along with CaliforniaSpeaks, will convene more than 3,000

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-64707627570647092942007-06-01T17:48:00.000-05:002007-10-08T16:42:28.670-05:00

What do people think about the citizen-centered concept? In March, we got a chance to find out when I was asked to moderate a plenary panel discussion on citizen-centered work for the Hands On Network's annual conference. One of the stars of the nonprofit sector, Hands On has engaged thousands of people across the country in volunteering in their communities, including New Orleans where the

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-29691810357303740842007-06-01T10:00:00.000-05:002007-10-08T16:38:13.334-05:00

We all could probably think of ways to improve D.C., but who better to ask than the people who actually live and work there? That’s what D.C. Appleseed, a social justice advocacy group, thought, too, so they decided to asked people to give them their ideas. Specifically, they said, tell us what your biggest concern is, suggest a way to fix it, and then say how doing so would benefit the entire

cingibnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-47457233603560010022007-04-05T08:17:00.000-05:002007-05-28T18:02:27.448-05:00

I was reluctant to start this blog for a number of reasons. Serendipitously, a witty op-art artist helped me explain one reason why in today's New York Times...Seriously, though, are those of us who love technology and its potential to democratize the world (yes, I count myself as one of them... but still...) taking ourselves a bit too seriously? Are blogs in danger of becoming the next bastion

cingibnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-41936721946084571992007-04-02T14:00:00.000-05:002007-07-22T19:33:44.374-05:00

Welcome to a blog on all things citizen-centered.What does “citizen-centered” mean? Good question. An answer can be found in a white paper I wrote—with lots of input and ideas from a wide array of terrific people and support from the Case Foundation—Citizens at the Center: A New Approach to Civic Engagement.A lot of folks have asked why this paper was written... No, it wasn’t the result of some

cingibnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8232895059011672174.post-86078549580449102632007-04-01T13:08:00.000-05:002007-06-19T08:26:55.643-05:00

I do lots of things... write, research, analyze, synthesize, evaluate, communicate, and educate. And I've worked with all kinds of organizations. Right now, I'm doing all that under the auspices of my own consulting firm, Cynthesis Consulting, which specializes in public policy research and analysis, program development, strategic planning, marketing, and communications for nonprofit and

cingibnoreply@blogger.com