Habits of Heart and Mind: How to Fortify Civic Culture
Building Communities of Practice: Case Studies
Earlier in this publication, we introduced the essential pillars of healthy civic culture: norms, values, narratives, habits, and rituals—each vital to the health of our civic life. Like a chef who combines flavors, this publication offers recipes to blend these ingredients in various proportions, tailored to the unique needs of each community. Whether you are looking to spice up local governance, stir a sense of shared purpose, or cool down social tensions, our recipes can help. Two additional, detailed recipes—one from Arizona and one from Atlanta—offer case studies for building robust civic ecosystems.
Arizona
In one of the most purple states in America, fortifying civic culture is a year-round effort—and not only during presidential election cycles. This is thanks to several organizations that have taken it upon themselves to find ways to bring people together and to create opportunities for Arizonans to get involved in their community. Among these organizations is the Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA), which is at the cutting edge of both civic culture programming and the development of metrics to measure how change is unfolding.50
Below are descriptions of five projects within the state, many organized by the CFA, that put into practice many of the ideas about building healthy civic culture outlined in this publication.
1. Develop narratives of shared purpose
Can Americans agree on anything anymore? Thanks to the Gallup Arizona Project, residents of the Grand Canyon State know that the answer is yes. A partnership between the CFA and the Gallup organization, the Gallup Arizona Project is a decennial survey of policies and priorities. The 2020 survey report, The Arizona We Want, reveals a broad set of policy priorities that a supermajority (70 percent or more) of Arizonans agree on. Issue areas range from immigration reform to workforce development. In a time of polarization and too-close-to-call elections, The Arizona We Want provides evidence for finding common ground for broadly supported policies.51
2. Evaluate and measure results
A closely related project is the CFA’s Arizona Progress Meters. Based on priorities established by the Gallup Arizona Project, the meters use data from a range of sources to track changes in activities and outcomes over time.
Of particular relevance is the Arizona Civic Participation Progress Meter. While measuring civic health is notoriously challenging, the CFA pulls together data in partnership with the National Conference on Citizenship to gauge the progress, pitfalls, and challenges of building a healthy civic culture. The meter provides a picture of what is and is not working for the public, offering unique insights to help leaders across the state fine-tune their approach.
3. Bringing partners together to use data to strengthen civic culture
In 2021, the CFA and the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership at the Flinn Foundation came together to create the Arizona Civic Life Partnership.52 The two organizations are working together to activate Civic Health Progress Meters by
- bringing together partner organizations from across the state in data-driven dialogue about civic life today in Arizona;
- generating public discussion about the importance civic participation and connected communities have for effective civic leadership—and quality of life;
- sharing best practices and identifying opportunities for action to ensure more Arizonans are engaged in creating solutions for their communities and are stepping forward to become leaders for the state; and
- fostering agency and decision-making.
Participatory budgeting for schools in Arizona began in the Phoenix Union High School District in 2013 and has since expanded to more than seventy elementary, middle, and high schools across the state. Through this process, students make decisions about how to invest a portion of their school budget to improve their school community—typically ranging from $2,000 to $10,0000—following nominations, deliberations, and voting. School administrators then follow through on those choices, providing concrete evidence to students of the ways their voice can shape civic decision-making.
4. Free exchange of ideas
Founded in 1962, Arizona Town Hall tackles toxic polarization by organizing meetings dedicated to finding middle ground.53 Topics are chosen in advance, and the organization develops a research document to frame the conversation. During the discussions, facilitators employ a method that emphasizes respectful conversation, appreciates a variety of viewpoints, cultivates connections, and encourages the growth of leadership skills. Some town halls are run in partnership with municipal governments or other organizations. In 2021, Arizona Town Hall partnered with Vitalyst Health Foundation to run five convenings focused on how to spend the one-time influx of money from the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan.54
5. Foster civic love and joy
Named for a public servant who lost his life in 2011 while working at a constituency service event, the CFA’s Gabe Zimmerman Public Service Awards recognize the contributions of nonelected public servants who make Arizona better. Some recent winners include Dr. Sophina Manheimer Calderon, an HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention subspecialist in the Western Navajo Nation; Sherri Collins, whose work seeks to expand access to state services for the deaf and hard of hearing; and Joy Rich, who implemented both an ombudsman program to quicken permitting responsiveness and a 24/7 childcare center for frontline municipal employees. All three hold vital but out-of-the-spotlight jobs. The Zimmerman Awards offer a chance to recognize and celebrate the people whose work makes our society work.55
In one sense, these efforts to strengthen civic culture are unique to the state of Arizona. Place plays a formative role in shaping civic culture, after all, and local circumstances can make it more or less difficult to improve that culture. Arizona’s political diversity may present a challenge, but the state’s assets include committed organizations like the CFA, Flinn Foundation, Vitalyst Health Foundation, and other long-standing community foundations. No state should expect to achieve results similar to those in Arizona overnight. Much of what is happening there was built over time. And while some initiatives emerged only over the last few years, previous work in the state created the fertile soil necessary to help them thrive. Taken together, the programs underway in Arizona show how catalysts can cultivate civic culture in ways both large and small.
Endnotes
- 50
- 51
Gallup and Center for the Future of Arizona, The Arizona We Want: The Decade Ahead (Phoenix: Center for the Future of Arizona, 2021).
- 52
- 53
- 54
- 55
Gabe Zimmerman Public Service Awards, Center for the Future of Arizona.
Atlanta
“I commit to offering my video production services to help disseminate information.” “I commit to advising on communications to ensure the messaging resonates with the community.” These types of commitments can be heard regularly during Civic Collaboratory gatherings—and by design and by ritual these pledges of help always begin with the words “I commit.”
A Local Civic Collaboratory is a mutual-aid club of civic leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs from the nonprofit, business, arts, education, government, and philanthropy sectors—who cross ideology, race, generation, and other divides. As part of a Collaboratory, members invest in building trusting relationships that form the basis for circulating resources, all in the service of strengthening community investments and revitalizing democratic citizenship. Unlike other coalitions, the point of the Collaboratory is not to work together toward specific shared outcomes but to create civic infrastructure for members to grow their own projects.
Developed by Citizen University in 2011, the Civic Collaboratory approach is an antidote to a culture of competition and zero-sum individual achievement. While cities are often rich in civic assets—innovative problem solvers, passionate organizers, willing volunteers—a growing feeling of resource scarcity is turning collaborators into competitors. Polarization and distrust are poisoning the relationships that sustained strong communities in the past. Historical models for the Collaboratory include lending circles used by ethnic immigrant communities and mutual-aid networks established by communities of recently emancipated African Americans. The groups also echo the experiences of small-town farmers who, lacking access to both financial capital and social capital, have long pooled seeds, skills, tools, and other resources.
The heart of this modern-day cooperative model is the Rotating Credit Club. A few participants take turns presenting projects they are working on and identifying areas where they need support. The group then provides specific and firm commitments of help rather than feedback or critique.
This form of circulating mutual aid is most effective when bolstered by the structure, habits, and norms that come with regular gatherings. At the heart of this spirit of mutuality lies civic love: the understanding that caring for our fellow citizens constitutes the foundation of a robust constitutional democracy. This principle urges participants to act with generosity, compassion, and empathy, fostering a civic culture that values connection.
Citizen University maintains a National Civic Collaboratory, and organizations across the country are adapting this model to their local communities. One example is the ATL Civic Collab in Atlanta, convened by the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, the Atlanta History Center, and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.56 The ATL Civic Collab was established as a citywide initiative to foster mutual aid among civic leaders and to reduce polarization, disconnection, and competition.
ATL Civic Collab meetings occur every four months. They have all the markings of a ritual, beginning with a welcome dinner followed by a day-long meeting. During group discussions, participants are encouraged to share their perspectives on significant issues facing Atlanta. The sharing of ideas—and the sharing of a meal—strengthens the fabric of local partnerships, enabling a more effective response to community needs.
As always, the centerpiece of the gathering is the Rotating Credit Club. At one meeting, Saba Long from the Atlanta Civic Circle, Maria Saporta and Ann Cramer from Atlanta Way 2.0, and Liz Lapidus from Root Local presented their respective projects.
Going first, Long outlined her organization’s goal to address the communication breakdown between Metro Atlanta residents, stakeholders, and elected officials. She detailed Atlanta Civic Circle’s objective to create a data-driven community engagement platform, powered by a ten-thousand-person regional panel, to serve as a real-time sounding board. Then, Saporta and Cramer from Atlanta Way 2.0 introduced their concept of uniting diverse stakeholders to enhance community relationships, share resources, and strengthen the civic fabric of their city through strategic meetings. Finally, Lapidus from Root Local shared her organization’s aim to expand the sustainability movement in Metro Atlanta by growing their established Pollinator Network to 250 individuals and doubling their public programming. All three organizations requested support from the entire group, and commitments of aid rolled in. These commitments are just the beginning. The Collaboratory not only circulates resources, expertise, funding, and connections but also builds a “pay it forward” culture that ripples out into communities at large.
The Civic Collaboratory embodies a dynamic approach. By creating a space for collaboration and mutual support, the Collaboratory model bolsters individual initiatives while also deepening connections, trust, and collaborations within the community. In the process, its impact is felt beyond the member network. Participants bring the connections gained from the Collaboratory back to their communities, where this social capital can catalyze civic improvement and democratic renewal.