Civic Shift: Action-Learning Lab for Systematic Civic Stewardship (SCS)

Cultivating transformative communities and cities for local & global well-being…

11LLC Webinar – June 3, 2013© 2012 William M. Snyder / wsnyder@socialcapital.com / worlddesign.org

world design, world design, world design

Link to expanded version

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SCS Vision: Transform cities to transform the world

2 *Parag Khanna, Director Global Governance Initiative, Foreign Policy, 2010

“The age of nations is over: The new urban age has begun.”

…get cities right, and we can get the world right.

•Half the world lives in cities; 70% by 2050

•Top 100 U.S. cities account for 75% of GDP; the top 100 cities in the world generate nearly 40% of global GDP

•Cities over 50,000 pop. generate 70% of carbon emissions

•Cultural product of the world is created primarily by people in cities

Cities are intricately interwoven webs of communities, and our global civilization is bound together by a vital network of cities.

Communities shape identity and foster sense of shared purpose

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In recent years, we have increased considerably our capacity to cultivate communities in all areas of our lives—private, professional, and public

"Whatever happens to the individual happens to the whole group, and whatever happens to the whole group happens to the individual. The individual can only say: 'I am, because we are and since we are, therefore I am.‘

*John S. Mbiti (African Religions and Philosophy, 1990), regarding the principle of Ubuntu

Communities of place can be framed as communities of purpose that foster both personal and civic well-being.

Evidence our current governance system is not working

Since the 1970’s, despite our best efforts via policy, technology and free-market forces, societal problems persist and unprecedented ones are emerging

Culture An exception that proves the rule?

HealthU.S. health costs ~15% of GDP and rising

Transportation Commuting time up 10% from 1980-2010

EnergyCost of carbon-based energy about $2 trillion/year in 2100

Public Safety Crime rate unchanged incarceration rate is 400% higher

Infrastructure U.S. infrastructure degraded from “C” grade in 1988 to “D” grade in 2009

Education ~25% drop-out rate in U.S. since 1970’s

Housing20% in U.S. lack safe, affordable housing

Economy Poverty 12+% since the 1970’s

Environment Loss of biodiversity through mass extinctions (40% of 40,000)

Recreation U.S. kids spend average of 7.5 hours watching screens

Civic Engagement Reduced levels of social capital and public trust

Social EquityPersistent racial and ethnic disparities in health, income, education outcomes

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Societal forces undermine the efficacy of conventional solutions

Communities are fundamental contexts for solving persistent problems

5⁴What Does Obama Really Believe In?, New York Times, August 15, 2012, p. 9

Neighborhood residents take ownership for local outcomes

Neighborhood opportunities for improving results

Energy: Shift household practices; use energy-saving appliances & building materials, and sustainable energy devices

Public Safety: Build social cohesion (e.g., by increasing the number of residents who know their neighbors)

Infrastructure: Changes in design & practices to enhance functions: water, roads, sewage, transport & Internet

Environment: Conservation, recycling, planting trees, and establishing community parks

Economy: Community networks & local businesses to help residents find jobs, build skills & create & fund start-ups

Education: Encourage and enhance parental involvement to help kids learn at home and school

Housing: Inform resident decisions about size, design, and density, buy/rent and financing options

Transportation: Increase use of carpooling, public transit, bikes, and walking

Recreation: Groups for dance and sports to encourage participation & enjoyment; turn vacant lots into playing fields

Culture: Organize events to spotlight local talent and encourage participation in culture-making for well-being

Health: Increase cancer screening rates for early detection and treatment; walking groups; community gardens

*A blog post (4/25/2012) at E-Democracy.org lists ways technology can enhance neighborhood-level initiatives. 6

Neighborhood stewardship teams lead community problem-solving to improve civic outcomes

Frame Challenge•What is the problem or opportunity?•What purpose are we striving to achieve?•How is it seen differently by diverse players?

Design Solution•What are ways to solve the problem?•What are best practices; proven tools and methods?•Who to engage?

Adaptive Action•What adjustments are needed?•How are conditions changing?•What are critical skills, methods, resources?

Evaluate & Diffuse Did we achieve our goal?•Lessons learned?•Implications for sustaining and disseminating?

Residents work with health-care experts and determine that screening & early treatment for breast, cervical & colon cancers is a ripe area for improving neighborhood health outcomes.

Residents increase screening rates and treatment by 20%; will heal thousands and save millions in next decades; still, room to improve….

They gather data on results, analyze key factors (e.g., self-care norms); design outreach initiative; argue for more clinic access.

Engage doctors’ offices, schools, and businesses (such as beauty salons, pharmacies, and fitness centers) to promote awareness; city agency and health clinics change policies that increase access to screening and treatment services.

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Participative Action-learning

Processes

Illustrative¹

¹Healthcare reference case in Medical Care, 2008: pp. S74-S83.

Guiding and motivating community change via proven methods

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Goals and achievements for Diamond District neighborhoods in San Diego – Village at Market Creek

• Compelling, shared goals

• Valid measures of results

• Expectation that effort will improve results (access to skills, resources & influence)

* Goal theory and Expectancy Theory are two highly validated behavioral theories that have been widely applied in organization contexts, with much success. (Expectancy theory builds on goal theory, adding emphasis on participants’ expectation that actions will lead to results, influenced by perceived access to opportunities, support, and resources. The importance of perception is consistent with key element of Collective Efficacy , which argues that communities with expectations of control (“willingness to intervene’) over local conditions perform better than similar neighborhoods on health, safety, and other outcomes.) We have new opportunities now to apply related motivational tools and methods at the neighborhood level, given increasing access to population-based information and the growing use of civic indicators (in areas such as health, housing, education, etc.).

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Stewardship teams help various types of communities contribute to neighborhood wellbeing

Teams steward neighborhoods as communities of purpose

Neighborhood as a Community of Purpose

Collective Wellbeing

• Local gardeners and “foodies” organize a community vegetable garden.

• Social media mavens develop a marketing application to help neighborhood businesses respond to local needs.

• Parents organize a “play and learn” group for young kids.

• Faith-based groups join efforts to promote sustainable energy practices.

Friends

Ethnicities

Vocations

Hobbies

Face blocks

Families

Faiths

KeyVarious community types (friends, faith, vocation, etc.)

Stewardship teams focused on improving a civic outcome (health, education, safety, etc.)

Neighborhood boundary

Communities of place and practice build accountability and capability

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Neighborhood teams focus on achieving defined civic goals (e.g., reducing carbon-based energy use), while members of communities of practice share insights, skills & resources city-wide

Communities of practice build capabilities across neighborhoods

Category/ Neighborhood

Roxbury Fenway Jamaica Plain South End

Results*

• 30% colectoral screening (+5%)• 40% early treatment

(+10%)

• 40% colectoral screening (+0%)• 60% early treatment

(+5%)

• 45% colectoral screening (+5%)• 50% early treatment

(+0%)

• 50% colectoral screening (+5%)• 60% early treatment

(+5%)

Initiatives

• Resident outreach• Organization networking• City policy advocacy• Recruit doctor clinics

• Recruit doctor clinics• Hospital access advocacy

• Public awareness Resident outreach• City policy advocacy

• Public awareness• Resident outreach• City policy advocacy• Recruit doctor clinics• Hospital access

advocacy

Participants

• 50/5000 residents • 5/30 local organizations • City health department• Health center• Cancer Society• YMCA/YWCA

• 20/6000 residents • 4/40 local organizations • City health department• Doctors offices• Hospital

• 60/8000 residents • 7/50 local

organizations • City health

department• Cancer Society• Hospital

• 50/5000 residents • 10/50 local

organizations • City health department• Doctors offices• Hospital

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Healthcare Illustration*

Comparing results and related practices helps neighborhood teams see opportunities for improving local outcomes and for working together city-wide on policies and programs

*This illustrative mini-case draws on a government-sponsored effort, with teams based in 4 different cities, described in Medical Care, 2008: pp. S74-S83. These results (and related activities & participants) are illustrative, not actual. U.S. 2020 goal for and colectoral is 70%; average in 2010 was 40% .

Communities of practice build & share knowledge, organize collective action, and scale impact

12Source : Communities of Practice, Snyder & Briggs, 2003, pp. 13-16

An ecology of activities—formal and informal, face-to-face and virtual, at various frequencies--builds capabilities and relationships

Civic communities of practice: Integrating grassroots and grasstops

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Institutional focus

Neighborhood focus

Civic Stewardship Communities of Practice

Integrative structures for action-learning:

•Inter-level: Institutions and Residents

•Inter-local: Residents and organizations across Neighborhoods

We know collaboration is essential for achieving breakthrough results, but doing it via institutions or neighborhoods alone is problematic.

Grassroots grow up gaining capabilities and focused on results

Grasstops get rooted via communities of practice with local participation

Monetization

MeasuresMethods

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The multi-dimensional structure integrates and animates a civic stewardship system

Multi-Dimensional Structure

Media

Leadership development Environment design• Neighborhood Stewardship Teams• Civic Communities of Practice• SCS Meta-Community

Principles

Purpose

SCS Model components & related capabilities

Components of the SCS model enhance civic stewardship capabilities

Why now? Burgeoning array of civic stewardship tools and methods

New capacity for collaborative learning

and action

Media

•SeeClickFix•E-Democracy.org•Neighborland•Neighbors for Neighbors•Goodneighbors •Nextdoor•Blockboard•ChangebyUs•City 2.0•New Urban Mechanics•Code for America•MIT Civic Media lab •Climate Lab

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Methods (Social & Technical)

•Open Living Labs•Societal ”fixes” blog•Harvard Innovation lab

• 21st Century Town Meetings • Study Circles• Public workshops• City-design charettes (case) • Heart and Soul Comm. Plan• Community PlanIt• Future Search• Open Space

•Behavioral green policy•Behavioral science politics

Promoting civic shifts for societal well-being

•Washington DC data•San Francisco data•Chicago crime data•Charlotte civic results•Cincinnati educ. Data•Boston Civic Indicators•Somerville Wellbeing

Measures

• Social entrepreneurs • New social movements• Participative democracy• Government gridlock• Virtual communities• Worldwide urbanization• Collective Impact networks• Communities of practice

Millennial Mindset

•Social Impact Bonds(Examples)•Community funding•Sharing economy•Community shares

Monetization

* The lists of methods, measures, etc. provide representative examples of a growing array. For example, regarding participatory methods, a slide presentation on best practices for community-organizing mentions hundreds of them, and there are over 150 on dialogue and deliberation alone (see NCDD list).

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Civic Media examples•SeeClickFix•New Urban Mechanics•E-Democracy.org•Neighborland•Neighbors for Neighbors•Goodneighbors •Nextdoor•Blockboard•ChangebyUs•City 2.0•MIT Civic Media lab •Climate Lab

Civic media application – Cambridge Neighborhood listserv

Civic data creates opportunities for goal setting and innovation

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•Washington DC data•San Francisco data•Chicago crime data•Charlotte civic results•Cincinnati educ. data

 Civic Stewardship creates new “community economy” opportunities

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Community identity and social trust foster the success of local groups and organizations, which in turn, further strengthen a community’s sense of collective efficacy and shared purpose²

• Share goods, skills, and knowledge via cooperative methods.

• Create new income opportunities via local purchasing power, business incubators, microloans, community shares, arts fairs, neighborhood investments, etc.

• Leverage investments in institutional policies and programs via participation in planning, budgeting, continuous improvement, and provision (e.g., preferences for local vendors).

Government costs at neighborhood level

Informal economy opportunity Local economy opportunity

Key

Leverage $90m

Capture $10m

Create $10m

Share $5m

Community Economy Opportunities

• Capture a percentage of savings in government expenditures by monetizing civic gains—e.g., healthcare via accountable care organizations and safety via social impact bonds).

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Ecology of leadership functions

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Community leader for overall coordination related

to a civic practice

Thought leader to provide expertise and credibility

Networker for linking across personal networks

and organization or practice boundaries

Evangelist to recruit interest and support

Sponsor for legitimacy, influence and political cover

Broker to combine complementary constituencies and capabilities—e.g., business and science; idea generation and implementation

Connector to link key players—within and across groups

Event organizer to pull people together and catalyze community

Project leader to organize projects and drive for results

Source: “Organizing for Economic Development in Chicago,” 2001, W.M. Snyder

Guiding principles and purposes for transformational civic stewardship

SCS promotes the practice of universal principles for shared purposes

Learning about the issues and innovative solutions…even when these challenge long-held basic assumptions

Aligning to shared goals for the greater good…even as the vision evolves based on new experiences and insights

Building civic capacity to improve results in terms of strength, scale, scope, and sustainability

Achieving results in targeted areas (health, education, etc.)

Becoming more conscious, loving members of interwoven, transformational communities, for current and future generations¹

Connecting with diverse others to build trust and reciprocity…even with those who have conflicting interests and ideologies

Purposes

Principles

¹cf. Martin Luther King’s assertion that “Love is mankind’s most potent weapon for personal and social transformation” 20

Purposes complement principles, both fundamental…and transformational

Design Charettes help organize action-learning labs

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The charette process begins by engaging a community-based team or coalition, which takes the lead in a public, participative analysis of a targeted outcome.

Meta-community provides coaching, system-development, institutional access, and scaling

Neighborhood #1 forms design team to collect and analyze data (re: local outcomes, priorities, opportunities, assets, etc.) as prep for charettes

Target priority outcome (e.g., reduce human and financial costs of chronic diseases)• Collect and analyze population-level results, influencing factors, segment characteristics, etc.• Talk with outcome-related (e.g., health) experts and relevant organizations to learn about

improvement strategies (e.g., screening, prevention, early treatment, etc.)• Connect with process experts about ways to engage residents and stakeholders in participative

problem-solving and collective action

Neighborhood #2forms design team…

Neighborhood #3Forms design team…

Healthcare stewardship team continues action-learning efforts for improved results

Neighborhood #3 stewardship team

Engage participants via charettes, conversations, surveys, public dialogues, pilot projects, etc.: How can we best discover and apply solutions in our community for breakthrough results?

Action-Learning Lab

Communities of Practice

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Meta-community

Neighborhood #2 stewardship team

Community of practice promotes learning, innovation, and collaboration across localities

Participation methods Monetization Leadership Social media MeasuresHealth Strategies

Design Charette Activities

*See Civic Shift proposal

How is SCS distinctive as an organizing approach?

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•Oppositional organizing against injustice (collective action, typically to address exploitive or ineffectual institutions and policies, cf. Rules for Radicals)•Ad hoc organizing (informal groups focused on areas of interest)•Comprehensive community initiatives (CCIs) (explicit goals, multiple issues, resident participation, typically externally initiated and managed)•Systematic civic stewardship (local ownership for measurable goals, synergistic array of methods, inter-local collaboration, continuous action-learning)*

*Systematic civic stewardship also applies elements of other approaches, including collective action, informal organizing, and strategies that address interdependencies across issues (i.e., “comprehensive”).

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Meta-Community fosters systematic civic stewardship city-wide

Collective Wellbeing

Meta-community functions • Support systematic stewardship in neighborhoods

• Replicate and interweave SCS efforts across localities

• Engage and influence institutions

• Build the discipline and lead a global social movement

“By making communities of our cities we take a giant stride toward world community, and in the end lasting peace will come when…world community has been achieved.”

-- Lawrence Hayworth, The Good City

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Practicing civic stewardship transforms us as we transform the world…