Abstract
Civic engagement is a healthy way to solve problems, is good for community leaders, and is worth the inconvenience or bother that might be encountered along the way. The guide to civic engagement is neither an in-depth encyclopedia nor a step-by-step manual. Less of a how-to, the guide is more about encouraging community leaders that they can do more civic engagement.
The theme throughout the guide is that civic engagement is not the sole property of government or community members or community institutions - it is everyone’s responsibility.
To best serve this broad audience, the guide promises to not serve up a cookbook formula for successful civic engagement, but instead offers up three touchstones for our attention: (1) civic conversation; (2) inreach; and (3) civic governance…
The authors caution that the shift in communities toward civic governance doesn’t happen overnight, and it isn’t easy, but that, if done right, it ends up supporting both government and its constituents.