Civic Engagement
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Communities and Strong Civic Engagement. Presented at the 2007 International City/County Management Association (ICMA) 2007. Learn about the National Citizen Survey here: http://www.n-r-c.com/survey-products/the-national-citizen-survey/.
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Civic Engagement
- 1. Civic Engagement Tom Miller, Ph.D. President, National Research Center Monday, October 8, 2007
- 2. “Civic engagement means working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non- political processes.” Civic Responsibility and Higher Education, edited by Thomas Ehrlich, published by Oryx Press, 2000.
- 3. Outcomes for Communities with Strong Civic Engagement • Government is “more effective and more innovative” • Less crime • Less poverty • More employment • Better and more sustainable policies • More frequent resident cooperation Adapted from: ASPA Task Force on Civic Education in the 21st Century and Putnam, R.B. Bowling Alone, America’s Declining Social Capital. Journal of Democracy, 1995.
- 4. Outcomes of Civic Engagement for Local Government • Greater levels of trust in local government officials* • Increased support for community-wide solutions recommended by elected council members* • Re-election of council members* • Collective self-restraint in the face of community need** *Rahn and Rudolph 2005 ** Tyler and Deguey, 1995
- 5. Civic Engagement on the Wane in American Cities • Decreased levels of voting • Reduced levels of volunteerism • Less time spent on activities with neighbors The American Democracy Project: Civic Engagement, Higher Education and the 21st Century. A cooperative project of the AASCU and New York Times “By almost every measure, Americans, direct disengagement in politics and government has fallen steadily and sharply over the last generation.” Putnam, R.B. Bowling Alone, America’s Declining Social Capital. Journal of Democracy, 1995, page 2.
- 6. What can the National Citizen Survey Tell Us about the current status of Civic Engagement in America?
- 7. Brief Background on NCS • ICMA/NRC initiative – Low-cost turnkey omnibus citizen survey service – Normative comparisons • Primary purposes of the survey – To track resident perspectives about quality of community characteristics and amenities – To evaluate local government and resident participation in local activities – To create a performance score card
- 8. What kinds of questions does The NCSTM ask? • Quality of life in the community • Quality of local government services • Resident participation in local activities, including civic engagement • Policy options • Community demographics
- 9. How is The NCS™ Conducted? • Mail, phone, Web* • 1,200 randomly selected households (HH) • Person within HH selected without bias • Average response rate = 39% – across more than 130 administrations • Sample reweighted
- 10. Civic Engagement Analysis • Based on over 100,000 completed surveys from 190 jurisdictions • Objectives: – Assess current level of civic engagement in American cities – Examine relationships among civic engagement and government/community outcomes
- 11. Outcomes Public Trust Recycling Quality of Local Government Services Sense of Community Community as a Place to Live Measures of Civic Engagement Electoral Participation Volunteerism Public Meeting Attendance Participation in Community Life (Library and Parks & Rec) Respondent and Community Characteristics
- 12. Electoral Participation Indicators of Electoral Participation Percent of Residents Registered to vote 78% Voted in last election 70% Likely to vote in next election 81% Said “yes” to all 3 above 61%
- 13. Civic Attentiveness Indicators of Civic Attentiveness Percent of Residents Read jurisdiction newsletter 89% Watched a meeting of local elected officials or other local public meeting on cable television 47% Attended a meeting of local elected officials or other local public meeting on cable television 28%
- 14. Volunteerism Residents Volunteering in 12 Months Prior to Survey At Least Once 44% Never 56%
- 15. Participation in Community Life Community Amenity Percent of Residents Visited a public library or used the library services 73% Used a recreation centers 56% Participated in a recreation program or activity 54% Visited a parks 85%
- 16. Residents with Higher Levels of Civic Engagement tended to be: • Middle-aged or older – (lowest levels in 18-34 year olds) • Non-Hispanic White • Live in households with higher incomes • Own their homes • Live in detached housing units • Live in regions other than the South
- 17. Relationship of Civic Engagement to Outcomes Electoral Participation Volunteerism Public Meeting Attendance Participation in Community Life (Library and Parks & Rec) Public Trust Recycling Quality of Local Govt Services Sense of Community Community as a Place to Live
- 18. Relationship of Civic Engagement to Outcomes Electoral Participation Volunteerism Public Meeting Attendance Participation in Community Life (Library and Parks & Rec) Recycling Public Trust Quality of Local Govt Services Sense of Community Community as a Place to Live
- 19. Relationship of Civic Engagement to Outcomes Electoral Participation Volunteerism Public Meeting Attendance Participation in Community Life (Library and Parks & Rec) Quality of Local Government Services Public Trust Sense of Community Recycling Community as a Place to Live
- 20. Relationship of Civic Engagement to Outcomes Electoral Participation Volunteerism Public Meeting Attendance Participation in Community Life (Library and Parks & Rec) Sense of Community Public Trust Quality of Local Govt Services Recycling Community as a Place to Live
- 21. Relationship of Civic Engagement to Outcomes Electoral Participation Volunteerism Public Meeting Attendance Participation in Community Life (Library and Parks & Rec) Community as a Place to Live Public Trust Quality of Local Govt Services Recycling Sense of Community
- 22. Civic Engagement Levels by Population and Income Population Size Median Annual Household Income Public Trust Recycling Quality of Local Government Services Sense of Community Community as a Place to Live 25,000 $35,000 Relatively Low 56.2 15.4 53.8 47.8 61.0 25,000 $35,000 Relatively High 56.2 21.8 55.7 53.7 66.8 25,000 $55,000 Relatively Low 61.1 18.1 60.6 52.4 68.4 25,000 $55,000 Relatively High 61.1 24.5 62.5 58.3 74.2 120,000 $35,000 Relatively Low 55.6 17.7 53.3 46.9 61.0 120,000 $35,000 Relatively High 55.6 24.1 55.2 52.8 66.9 120,000 $55,000 Relatively Low 60.6 20.4 60.1 51.5 68.5 120,000 $55,000 Relatively High 60.6 26.8 62.0 57.4 74.3 Predicted OutcomesCharacteristics Civic Engagement Levels
- 23. Civic Engagement and Older Residents • Older residents were, in general, less civically engaged than younger counterparts: – They volunteered less – Participated in community life less often (except for use of recreation centers) – Reported lower rates of attendance or watching public meetings – But they voted more often! Huge untapped community resource!
- 24. New to the NCSTM • Ratings of: – community opportunities to participate in local government matters – likelihood of community residents cooperating with requests of city officials for community problem solving • Neighborliness • Participation in: – civic groups – religious or spiritual activities – informal service to friends and neighbors • Visits to jurisdiction web site
- 25. • “Democracy is more than a form of government; it is primarily a mode of associated living, of a conjoint communicated experience.” John Dewey “The performance of our democratic institutions depends in measurable ways upon social capital.” Robert Putnam The American Democracy Project: Civic Engagement, Higher Education and the 21st Century. A cooperative project of the AASCU and New York Times
- 26. Relationship of Civic Engagement to Community and Government- level Outcomes • Volunteerism, participation in community life, community problem solving and newsletter readership all had weak but significant positive relationships with all outcomes • Electoral participation had positive correlations with all outcomes except public trust • Meeting attendance had positive a relationship with community ratings but a negative relationship with governmental ratings • Watching meetings had negative relationships with all but one outcome (sense of community) –
- 27. Thank you!
Editor's Notes
- These definitions suggest that a civically engaged community consists of individuals who accept responsibility for the state of local affairs and who do not expect local government officials alone to solve all of the community’s problems. The members of a civically engaged community will work with staff and elected officials to improve quality of community life including supporting policy changes and revenue enhancements that will improve the community. But
- Researchers even have discovered that American states with the highest levels of resident civic engagement (quoted in Putnam p.6 in “The American Democracy Project…”) are “more effective and more innovative.” Where there is strong civic engagement, researchers have seen less crime, less poverty, more employment, better and more sustainable policies and more frequent resident cooperation. (Putnam from MK, p.2 1995 interview).
- Increased support for community-wide solutions recommended by elected council members* *Rahn WM, Rudolph TJ: A Tale of Political Trust in American Cities. Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 69, No. 4, Winter 2005 pp. 530-560. ** ibid Tyler and Deguey, 1995
- More troublesome is the news that civic engagement is on the wane in America. In the 1830’s Alexis de Tocqueville noticed widespread social networks – “…associations in which all take part…of a thousand different types,” that distinguished America from other places. Since researchers have looked carefully at de Tocqueville’s observations, many have concluded that there has been a run on the bank where America once stored it’s social capital. Although the general trend has been away from civic engagement and social networks, the circumstances are not dire everywhere.
- Not part of scientific sampling, yet Average response rate: 39% Median response rate: 38% Lowest response rate: 20% (way to go Pasadena, TX) Highest response rate: 63% (South Daytona, FL who mailed only to registered voters) Highest response rate using OUR methods: 60% (Milton, WI)
- Note: the actual number of respondents or jurisdictions is often lower than shown on slide for any particular analysis because not all jurisdictions asked all of the questions, and some respondents may have chosen not to answer some questions.
- Outcomes: Public Trust is the average of the PTM of the following questions: Please rate the following statements by circling the number that most clearly represents your opinion: I receive good value for the XYZ of ABC taxes I pay I am pleased with the overall direction that the XYZ of ABC is taking The XYZ of ABC government welcomes citizen involvement The XYZ of ABC government listens to citizens Recycling is ever/never recycled Quality of Local Government Services (PTM): Overall, how would you rate the quality of the services provided by…The XYZ of ABC? Sense of Community (PTM) Sense of community (q2a) Community as a Place to Live (PTM): How do you rate the overall quality of life in ABC? (q1e) Civic Engagement Electoral Participation (100=all yes, any no/DK=0) Are you registered to vote in your jurisdiction? noyesdon’t know Did you vote in the last election? noyesdon’t know Are you likely to vote in the next election? noyesdon’t know Volunteerism Volunteered your time to some group/activity in ABC Public Meeting Attendance Attended a meeting of local elected officials or other local public meeting Participation in Community Life (Library and Parks & Recreation): Used ABC public libraries or their services Used ABC recreation centers Participated in a recreation program or activity Visited a neighborhood or XYZ park
- Only attending a meeting was used in the analysis, as many jurisdictions did not ask the first two questions.
- Tom, see the tab “comparing models--jur-level” to see where I got these
- Tom, see the tab “comparing models--jur-level” to see where I got these
- Tom, see the tab “comparing models--jur-level” to see where I got these
- Tom, see the tab “comparing models--jur-level” to see where I got these
- Tom, see the tab “comparing models--jur-level” to see where I got these
- Tom, You can decide whether you want to keep this slide. Notes below are from Michelle, I think – not from me (erin). Volunteerism (33 vs 44) Community life: Library 56 vs 73 Rec center 93 vs 56 Parks 66 vs 85 Attended meeting 11 vs 28 Watched meeting 40 vs 47 Registered 93 vs 78 Voted 87 vs 70
- If public officials asked everyone in ABC to conserve water or electricity because of some emergency, how likely or unlikely is it that people in your community would cooperate?