Civic Academy

Civic Academy: this workshop includes case studies of local public issues that involved effective community engagement with government and education decision-makers, and also provides an understanding of how to engage with local and county boards, government systems and officials to influence resolutions, policies, ordinances and laws. How does one engage, be part of a task force or working group? How does one have an impact from outside of a system ? What is “civics” and why should we care? Read more:

Existing civic academies are often sponsored and led by cities; presenters are city staff members talking about their departments, leading tours; dept. heads present about what their department does, and there is Q&A.

When the civic academies are focused on higher education, they may be sponsored by an external non-profit or a campus initiative, and include campus tours, with department heads and administrators sharing what their area does; these may be open to non-academic, non-university members to join committees or to partner around community-based learning arrangements for connecting with community issues and organizations.

Dorothy Cotton Institute’s Civic Academy uses a mix of presenters from within and outside government and higher education to present a more complex perspective. It will focus on themes (public issues) rather than departments, work from “live cases,” and have a strong focus on building people’s skills to engage, not just share information.

● Make local government more accessible and less intimidating to a wide range of community residents
● Show people how local government works so they can influence decisions on public issues in effective ways
● Help build interest, skills and capacities for effective, meaningful engagement
● Develop a pipeline for elected and appointed leadership, particularly among currently underrepresented communities
● Provide civic leadership development and cross-network-building for a diverse group of community residents