2011 American Democracy Project National Meeting

Orlando, FloridaJune 3, 2011

Strengthening Local Democracy Through Civic Engagement: Active Citizenship in Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Mike Huggins, ICMA-CM, Eau Claire City Manager

Tom McCarty, ICMA-CM,Eau Claire County Administrator

Donald Mowry, PhD, Director, Center for Service-LearningUniversity of Wisconsin – Eau Claire

Local Governance Crisis

• Wicked problems

• Lack of political will

• Formal government models

• Declining civic problem solving

Lack of Political Will

The structural inability to generate timely and responsive policy decisions

• Fragmented political and institutional decision-making

• Diminished citizen problem-solving skills

• Lack of public space

Formal Government Models

•Elected Boards, Councils and Committees

•Problem/Analysis/Solutions formally reviewed through public hearings, public input sessions, etc.

•Elected officials determine solution

Declining Civic Problem-Solving

1. Fragmented institutional decision-making

2. Citizens’ loss of effective problem-solving skills

3. Limited public space opportunities

4. Mystique of professional expertise

5. Formal citizenship paradigm

Stuck? Try Public Work!

Clear Vision Eau Claire

• 2007 citizen visioning initiative

• $40,000 jointly funded• Facilitated by National

Civic League• Partner—Center for

Democracy and Citizenship• 6 performance goals/125

priority actions• Civic engagement as core

strategy• Civic organizing

framework

Embedding Collaboration: the Clear Vision Project

• Citizen-led community visioning in 2007

• $40,000 jointly funding by 10 organizations

• Facilitated by Derek Okubo, Nat. Civic League

• 200 stakeholders/125 strategic actions

• Civic engagement as key performance area

• Partnered w/ Center for Democracy and Citizenship to develop civic training

Clear Vision Facilitation

• Center for Democracy and Citizenship

• UW-Eau Claire Strategic Planner

• National Civic League

• Local “train the trainers”

Clear Vision Strategies

• Public Work 101 Training (8 hrs)

• Relational organizing concepts and practices

• Issue-based civic work groups

– Jobs for underemployed

– Treatment instead of prison

– Public park funding

– Collaborative education

– Performing arts facilities

– Regional transit

Civic Organizing

A framework for integrating active citizenship into everyday environments to solve public problems and build the broad civic base necessary to govern effectively in a democracy

“. . . democracy as a way of life is controlled by personal faith in personal day-by-day working together with others.”

-John Dewey

Civic Engagement

Individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern:

1. Naming and solving problems

2. Discussing and choosing alternatives

3. Making trade-offs

“Effective and enduring civic engagement in the Greater Eau Claire Community will require that citizens learn and practice more effective problem-solving skills, and that community organizations and institutions create more opportunities and public spaces for active citizenship.”

Clear Vision Action Report July 2008

Key Characteristics

• Emphasizes conceptual/reflective thinking

• Redefines core civic concepts

• Teaches civic problem-solving skills

• Creates public spaces

• Builds group process skills

• Develops public leadership

• Restructures mediating institutions

• Builds civic agency

Core Civic Concepts

• Power

• Politics

• Public Work

• Public Life

• Self Interest

• Diversity

• Mediating Institutions

• Relationships

• Free Spaces

Civic Problem Solving Skills

• One-on-one interviews

• Mapping power and interests

• Values house meeting

• Creating public spaces

• Cutting Issues

• Taking action

• Public evaluation

• Dynamic, iterative

One-to-One Interviews

• Purpose is to build public relationships• Schedule interviews• Keep it informal• 20-30 minutes• No note-taking during interview• Ask direct, open-ended questions• 80/20 active listening• Look for interests, passions, connections

Values House Meeting

• Facilitated public conversations about personal values and public life

• Round robin responses:1. What values and traditions are important to you?

2. What are the values and traditions of this community?

3. What are the forces endangering these values?

4. What can we do to strengthen our civic life

Power Mapping

• Visual map of political environment

• List who has power to influence

• Map organizations and individuals

• Do 1:1 interview to identify interests

• Map power connections and relationships

• Do 1:1 interviews to build public relationships

Public Evaluation

• Debrief each meeting – 10 minutes• Assess progress of work• Prevent misunderstanding• Clarify roles and future tasks• One or two word responses• What worked? What didn’t? What could we do

better?• Check areas of group tension

Evaluation—Do Something About It!

Civic Action Teams

• 10-20 member work groups

• Diverse membership

• Shared self-interest in issue

• Recruited to participate

• Chair trained as coach

• Action oriented – fixed duration

• High-energy participation

2009-2010 Eau Claire Teams

• Jobs for underemployed• Treatment instead of incarceration• Public parks funding• Collaborative education• Community events facilities• Veterans re-entry• Regional Transit Authority

2011 Eau Claire Teams

• Fairfax Pool Funding• County Exposition Center Future• Community TV • Neighborhoods• Homeless Shelter• Immigrant Drivers License Cards

Findings

• Action oriented

• Inexpensive

• Adaptable

• Reinforces facilitative role

• Builds effective work groups

• Creates public space for joint work

• Strengthens community

“American citizenship in its most expansive sense is understood as public work: visible effort on common tasks of importance to the community or nation, involving many different people.”

-Harry Boyte

Clear Vision Obstacles

• Community marketing and outreach• Hacked Clear Vision web site• Leadership succession for Board of Directors

(formerly Implementation Committee)• Balancing citizen and public official

participation• Incorporation • Stable funding• Institutional Limitations

Civic Engagement Challenges

• Diminished civic work skills of most citizens

• Funding and ongoing administrative support

• Few public spaces for civic conversations

• Community silos

• Continued fiscal and budgetary cutbacks

• Integrating Civic Agency into citizenship preparation at all age levels

Change is Challenging, Threatening, and Exciting

Additional Information• www.publicachievement.org

• Center for Democracy & Citizenship www.augsburg.edu/democracy/

• Harry Boyte, The Citizen Solution

• Harry Boyte, Everyday Politics

• Frances Moore Lappe and Paul Martin DuBois, The Quickening of America

• Carmen Sirianni, Investing in Democracy: Engaging Citizens in Collaborative Governance

• Matt Leighninger, The Next Form of Democracy

• Contact Mike Huggins, City Manager, City of Eau Claire, 715-839-4902, mike.huggins@eauclairewi.gov Tom McCarty, Eau Claire County Administrator, 715-839-5106, jt.mccarty@co.eau-claire.wi.us Donald Mowry, Ph.D., Director, Center for Service-Learning, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 715-826-4649, dmowry@uwec.edu