Many have lamented the loss of public support for public education.  Indeed, Dave Matthews 1996 book, Is there a Public for Public Schools? tackled this question head on.  Now, the Public Education Network, long a leader in promoting civic engagement in public education, has published The Civic Index for Quality Public Education.  This tool:

Helps communities [...]

UK institutions continue to set the pace in efforts to promote authentic civic engagement.  The newest publications from the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability (Citizenship DRC) at the University of Sussex offer lessons learned from a cross country comparison across 15 nations.  The Centre, an international network of researchers and activists exploring [...]

Why should nonprofits compete when they can do more through collaboration?
That’s the question the Lodestar Foundation hopes nonprofits answer as they compete for The Collaboration Prize.  The Collaboration Prize recognizes collaborations among two or more nonprofit organizations that each would otherwise provide the same or similar programs or services and compete for clients, financial resources [...]

Enough is enough.
America’s politics should be driven by the priorities of the people, not sound bites, special interest money, partisan gridlock, and polarizing rhetoric.
It is time for a change.
We believe that politics cannot and should not be a spectator sport. No politician, party or ideology will solve America’s mounting problems alone. [...]

The Local Government Association in the UK sponsors IDEA, the Improvement and Development Agency, a very active learning network for local government. In addition to an active website, they also produce high quality guides. One of their newest publications, Local Development Frameworks: Effective Community Involvement, provides a thoughtful guide to constructing a multi-layered [...]

I don’t know what heaven is like, but I know it has changed recently. John Parr, mentor, colleague and friend, recently entered; much too early as they say. Remembrances of John as well as of Sandy, his wife, and Chase, his daughter have been circulating on the internet, our town square for dispersed communities. John, [...]

Governor Ritter notes, “As much as anyone, John Parr taught me that the way we do business is just as important as what we do. “  His entire address follows:
To all Coloradans outside this chamber, good morning.
To Lieutenant Governor O’Brien, President Groff, Speaker Romanoff, Mayor Hickenlooper, Executive Directors, Board of Education members, Supreme [...]

Collaboration DC, a network of practitioners working to build civic capacity and solve community problems in the Nation’s Capital, has been working with residents and community based organizations in Near Southeast and Southwest for over a year to help forge a collective approach to neighborhood change.  Collaboration within the community has not always been the case.  As [...]

Colleagues around the world are working to improve their public conversation. The Canadian International Development Agency, UN Development Program, and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance and several other organizations have published Democratic Dialogue: A Handbook for Practitioners. Backed by a technical assistance team of 90 practitioners, the Handbook is [...]

Civic engagement, we often forget, is more than residents and stakeholders offering their perspectives on the issues. As many think about how to best engage families in DC public schools, we can learn from the lessons of Families and Schools Together (FAST), an evidence based intervention that strengthens families and schools. The cover [...]