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Cities are becoming the most prominent context for social change in the world today, and they offer exciting opportunities for participative governance. A model of “systematic civic stewardship” frames the city as community-based, action-learning system. Leaders play key roles in neighborhood teams focused on local challenges (graduation rates, health outcomes, etc.), while learning and working with peers via city-wide communities of practice. We have much to learn about learning systems in any context—understanding how they work in communities and cities draws on organization experience and provokes new insights.
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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 / [email protected] / 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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Systematic civic stewardship can promote well-being worldwidePh
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Practicing civic stewardship transforms us as we transform the world…