No Shutdowns Here!  

While the federal government struggles to keep the doors open, local governments continue to solve problems and improve lives. Our newly released Civic Index contains success stories from 25 communities that use civic capital to address key challenges, along with a self-assessment tool for measuring the problem-solving capacity of your community. Thankfully, the Index is not meant to be used at the national level; when it comes to qualities like leadership, collaboration and shared values, our federal policymakers would surely earn an F.

 
President, National Civic League
4th Edition, Civic Index 
Now Available
For 30+ years, the Civic Index has been the most powerful way to measure a community's civic capital--the formal and informal relationships, networks and capacities communities use to make decisions and solve problems. Building on decades of work in communities, the fourth edition updates the Civic Index with a specific focus on equity and engagement.  
Peggy Merriss: 
A Job Well Done
Decatur City Manager Peggy Merriss is a model public servant. After 35 years of dedication to her community, Peggy has retired. After working her way up through the City of Decatur, Georgia's agencies, Peggy became the first woman to ever serve as Decatur City Manager in 1993. Peggy is a true believer in the value of civic engagement and implemented local programs to engage residents. 
125 Examples of 
Civic Capital 
In honor of the League's 125th Anniversary, we will be using our newsletter to highlight 125 community initiatives that use civic capital to solve problems and build equitable, thriving communities. These cities have been recognized for engaging community members in collaborative efforts to improve education, health care, economic prosperity and the general quality of life. 

City of Denver
Tackles Issues 
Related to Growth
The rate of Denver's growth is one of the highest in the nation. With this growth has come benefits, yet the pace of growth has also produced challenges for the region. To address these challenges, The City of Denver has teamed up with CityCenter to foster a relationship between the public, private, and nonprofit sectors and the state's only public urban research university.

Professionalism and Democratic Innovation 
in America
Albert W. Dzur has been researching the relationship between professionals, civic engagement and democratic innovation.  In his recently released book, Democracy Inside: Participatory Innovation in Unlikely Places, Dzur takes an in depth look at three professionalized institutions that intersect with the public--education, the criminal justice system and local governments.

Webinar: Leveraging Education to Achieve Equity and Improve Futures
Join the National Civic League for an upcoming webinar,"Leveraging Education to Achieve Equity and Improve Futures," on February 13th. Stockton, CA will discuss Us History, their ethnic studies-based after school program, and El Paso, TX will speak about their public library's re-imagined approach to adult education and economic development.  
Additional Information & Upcoming Events

National Civic Review: 125th Anniversary Edition, Now Available
The focus of this edition is the capacity of communities to address difficult challenges by tapping the potential of an engaged public. Whether it is a "wicked problem" such as gentrification or an effort to improve local health outcomes, towns, cities and regions with ample "civic capital" find ways of bringing together diverse groups of associations and individuals in collaborative, community improvement initiatives.
Access the table of contents.  

2019 All-America City Award Application
This year's theme is "Creating Healthy Communities Through Inclusive Civic Engagement." 
Learn more and apply by March 6, 2019. 

All-America City Hall of Fame Project Application
To celebrate the Award's 70th anniversary and continue recognizing the great work of All-America Cities, the National Civic League has created a Hall of Fame Award to recognize an outstanding civic engagement initiative in the community since winning the All-America City Award. 

2019 Annual Conference, American Society for Public Administration
March 8-12, 2019 in Washington, DC
Learn more about ASPA's Social Equity Track and register for the main conference. 

Congressional City Conference (National League of Cities)
March 10-13, 2019 in Washington, DC

Forum 2019 (National Forum for Black Public Administrators)
April 3-7, 2019 in Orlando, FL

               
Thank you to National Civic League Sustaining Member  Cities and Towns:

Asheboro, NC
Aurora, CO
Chula Vista, CA
Decatur, GA
Denver, CO
Dublin, CA
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Illinois Municipal League
Gladstone, MO
Hayward, CA
Lakewood, CO
Little Rock, AR
Rancho Cordova, CA
Roanoke, VA
San Antonio, TX
Tallahassee, FL
Tampa Housing Authority
Tupelo, MS
Thank you to National Civic League Partner Organizations:

American Society for Public Administration
Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation
CGI
Comcast
Delta Dental
Government Finance Officers Association
Greenberg Traurig
ICMA-RC
International City / County Management Association
Kaiser Permanente
Kettering Foundation
National Coalition on Dialogue and Deliberation
National League of Cities
National Forum for Black Public Administrators
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Southwest Airlines
United Way Worldwide
W.K. Kellogg Foundation

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