Democratic Governance & Civic Engagement

Social Media: The New Face of Local Government

Social media is bringing a revolution to citizen’s expectations in how they interact with their local government.  In a workshop held at the 2011 Congress of Cities & Exposition in Phoenix, city leaders learned some key strategies for determining when and how to use these multi-channelled formats effectively to enhance and expand their outreach and engagement with residents.  In addition, the legal issues of language, privacy and management of records were addressed with authentic scenarios.  View materials from this workshop's speakers below.
Matt Leighninger, Executive Director, Deliberative Democracy Consortium, Washington, D.C.
Todd Hale, Esq., Lewis and Roca, LLP, Tucson, Ariz. 

As a culmination of NLC’s work over the last decade responding to the challenges of governing democratically, NLC’s democratic governance project has published Planning for Stronger Local Democracy: A Field Guide for Local Officials. This tool kit, made possible with support from the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation, is designed to assist officials in strengthening local democracy by cultivating transparency and inclusivity with citizens and key allies with shared responsibilities and mutual accountability for addressing and solving problems.  

As part of NLC’s extensive work on democratic governance and civic engagement, we have assembled a collection of promising practices in cities across the country. These examples represent the variety of programs and partnerships that can be used to encourage citizens to become more engaged in their communities and provide them with the opportunities to do so.

Although less visible than traditional currency, time banks — innovative methods for exchanging goods and services — are already in use in many communities, establishing networks of exchange between family, friends, neighbors and community.

As municipal budgets continue to tighten, city officials are encouraging businesses and their employees to work with local governments and non-profits to strengthen and expand services in the community. NLC’s Democratic Governance project interviewed several of NLC’s Corporate Partners and invited them to share their corporate responsibility focuses and programs. In their interviews, Fred Wacker of the Home Depot Foundation, Kathryn Brown and Christopher Lloyd of Verizon Communications, Inc. and Christine Ortega of Southwest Airlines spoke of the commitment and compassion of their employees for the communities in which they live and work.

Given the grim economic forecasts, local officials are asking for buy-in from citizens to determine their funding priorities and “new normal expectations” for government services. A webinar produced by NLC’s Democratic Governance project featured examples of local communities using deliberative processes and community conversations to determine budget priorities and other community initiatives. Watch a recording of the webinar.

The national discussion on civility, borne out of the terrible events in Tucson, demonstrates that many believe the current overheated rhetoric is not working as a means to solve the nation’s problems. This action guide assists city leaders in creating a framework democratic governance that encourages governing in a participatory, deliberative, inclusive and collaborative way.

This brief presents local practices that public officials and their staffs are incorporating in their communities to govern in more participatory, deliberative, inclusive and collaborative ways.

This brief illustrates the diversity of citizen volunteer programs and strategies that city officials are implementing to achieve city priorities and to strengthen and expand services.

This report compiles information from a survey conducted in the summer of 2009 to municipal officials, both elected and managerial, to find out more about their views, attitudes, and local practices in public engagement.

This guide presents local officials with the first steps and directions for developing or re-establishing efforts toward integrating immigrants into civic life. It provides guidance for conducting meetings with small groups of local leaders that are representative of the many cultural and ethnic facets of the community. It includes suggested agendas, background materials, planning considerations, and successful formats for civic engagement.

This research brief, based on the results of NLC's State of America's Cities survey, reports on municipal officials views related to participation in democratic decisionmaking, the public, the media and community groups.

Published with support from the Surdna Foundation, this guide offers practical tools for promoting meaningful youth participation in local government. The guide is informed by a year-long process in which the YEF Institute synthesized the knowledge and expertise of more than 300 youth development experts, academics, municipal leaders, community organization partners and young adult and youth leaders from across the nation through a series of focus groups, surveys and interviews conducted in 2008 and 2009.

This Research Brief, based on the results of NLC's State of America's Cities survey, reports on municipal officials' views about public engagement and their efforts to involve the public in deliberating issues and helping to solve problems.

The National League of Cities, in collaboration with The Urban Institute, has developed a ten part educational series of materials and tools to help local elected officials obtain and use information about the results and outcomes of government services in helping their citizens.

The purpose of NLC’s work on Democratic Governance is to help local officials respond to governance challenges. Drawing on case studies of successful projects, the Panel has explored ways to educate, involve, and mobilize citizens in a variety of events and initiatives. The Panel’s research and written materials describe how communities have used democratic governance approaches to address key issues such as:

• Planning and development;
• Race, diversity, and equity;
• Crime and public safety;
• Education and school improvement; and
• Public finance.

The panel's activities include:

• Conduct workshops and seminars that assist city and town officials at NLC conferences and as part of NLC’s Leadership Training Institute Program;  
• Encourage and enable city officials to enhance democratic governance by articulating and delivering a strong, compelling message, using a variety of venues;
• Work with state municipal leagues and other networks to reach out to a broader array of local officials; and 
• Work with the Deliberative Democracy Consortium  (DDC) on the Democracy Helpline and other key services for local leaders.

Public libraries, with their sustained stature as the most trusted government entity, are ideal resources to shape and lead discussions, decisions, and strategies that encourage active and purposeful civic engagement. This Leadership Brief from the Urban Libraries Council explores how to move libraries from supporting players to valued leaders in today’s civic engagement space. It identifies five leadership roles to help libraries broaden their impact as the go-to resource for building a culture of enlightened, engaged, and empowered citizens.

By participating in local government, youth gain work experience, acquire new skills, learn responsibility and accountability, develop a greater sense of confidence and empowerment, and forge meaningful connections to other youth and adults. Youth involved in positive activities such as community service are also less likely to pursue risky behaviors.  In addition, youth voice in local decision-making can help city officials enact better policies and programs, especially with regard to youth issues.

The National Citizen Survey™ (NCS) is a low-cost citizen survey that helps local governments determine what a statistically valid sample of residents thinks about the quality and breadth of local government services, giving local officials public input from an important voice that is often insufficiently represented in public-policy discussions.

From Columbus to Boise, mayors, law enforcement and other city leaders are using an unusual tool – a 30 minute documentary & screening toolkit -- to help break the ice and build trust between Muslim newcomers and other members of their receiving communities. “Hawo’s Dinner Party: The New Face of Southern Hospitality” tells the story of a refugee and former nurse from Somalia who has come to work at a chicken processing plant in a small rural town where she works hard to learn English and connect with neighbors, despite news of “home grown terrorism.” This intimate glimpse into the honest -and often uncomfortable- confrontations that emerge is helping audiences connect the story to their own communities. Learn more or request a DVD (free while supplies last).
Contact: Sahar Driver, Project Coordinator, Active Voice, 415-487-2000, sahar@activevoice.net.  

The Deliberative Democracy Consortium (DDC) is a network of practitioners and researchers representing more than 50 organizations and universities, collaborating to strengthen the field of deliberative democracy. The Consortium seeks to support research activities and to advance practice at all levels of government, in North America and around the world.

The IBM Center for the Business of Government release a report, Using Online Tools to Engage - and be Engaged - by the Public, written by Matt Leighninger, Executive Director of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium. The report describes various online engagement tactics and tools for public participation. More than 40 different engagement technologies are highlighted that are in use both nationally and internationally.

The purpose of this white paper is to identify ways that local governments can work with residents and local organizations to achieve a higher level of citizen engagement by strengthening connections—with the community, in the community, and across the various actions that local governments can take to involve citizens.

This page highlights the Obama Administration's efforts of promoting transparency in government.

The NCDD's Resource Guide on Public Engagement ( 2010) contains a directory of valuable resources, points of contact, and case studies of collaborations that work for public engagement. The Online Engagement section holds a database of resources, including some promising practices in online engagement. Also, the Upgrading the Way We Do Politics portion of the manual addresses common issues found when politics and public engagement intersect.

A list of democratic governance resources and organizations working in democratic governance related fields in research, education, advocacy and training.

This webpage, hosted by Harvard University's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, provides a database of award winning and innovative government initiatives for excellence in the public sector.