In collaboration with Franklin Tomorrow, Franklin is one of two cities selected by the National Civic League and the Bridge Alliance to participate in the “The Healthy Democracy Project.”
This joint effort will work with two communities to build the skills of civic leaders and equip them with the tools they need to address important civic challenges. Through one year of work, these communities will have increased capacity for solving community problems through inclusive civic engagement. The other community participating is Edinburg, Texas.
The first step in this process is to complete a survey on civic engagement, specifically how citizens connect, collaborate and contribute to civic life.
The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete and can be accessed at https://bit.ly/FranklinHealthyDemocracy
Franklin was named an All-America City by the National Civic League in 2020 based on a joint application by the City of Franklin and Franklin Tomorrow which recognized “Franklin’s work in inclusive civic engagement to address health and well-being and create stronger connections among residents, businesses and nonprofit and government leaders.”
“We believe the Healthy Democracy Project can help us further the mission of Franklin Tomorrow which is to engage the community, foster collaboration, and advocate for a shared vision for the future of Franklin,” said Mindy Tate, CEO of Franklin Tomorrow, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2025.
The Healthy Democracy Project, which builds on the infrastructure provided by the Healthy Democracy Ecosystem Map, will support this “civic gardening” in the two pilot communities. As part of the process, the Bridge Alliance and National Civic League will:
- Help identify and convene a set of civic leaders in that community, including people already in established decision-making positions and new leaders who are just starting to step forward. Each community cohort should be diverse in terms of age, race and ethnicity, sector, and political affiliation, with a particular emphasis on inclusion of underrepresented populations.
- Conduct Civic Infrastructure Scans, using the Healthy Democracy Map as a starting point, to help leaders take stock of the history of engagement, levels of social capital and inclusion, and civic assets of their communities.
- Support skill development in collaborative leadership, deliberative dialogue, digital engagement, facilitation, civic measurement, relational organizing, cultural competence, outreach throughout the community, and other civic competencies.
- Provide training on and access to tools such as the Map, Engagement Scorecard, Text Talk Act, Civic Index, Perfect City’s participatory theater process, Better Neighbors Better Neighborhoods, Civic Health Action Guide, Guide to Local Civic Measurement, and other resources that help leaders understand their communities and engage fellow community members and regional partners.
- Assist leaders as they develop large-scale civic engagement processes that:
- Tackle a major local problem or policy decision – creating agency and power for citizens on the issues that most impact them.
- Build civic infrastructure and equity in the process.
The pilot communities were chosen through a collaborative process, focusing on diverse mid-sized cities that offer the opportunity to engage distinct groups.
Outcomes
Through the Healthy Democracy Project, each community will have a stronger civic infrastructure, with a diverse cadre of community leaders who are better able to:
- Form and maintain cross-sector, multicultural leadership groups.
- Create investment strategies for sufficient local and national resources to scale and sustain the work in their community.
- Understand how media organizations can best engage and inform the public and reach all populations, and how the public can best support and engage media organizations
- Use the Healthy Democracy Map and other approaches to identify allies, survey their community’s civic infrastructure, and find compelling examples in other places
- Use attitudinal research tools to understand citizens’ preferences on ways to strengthen inclusive democracy.
- Engage large, diverse numbers of people in the development and implementation of plans to strengthen civic infrastructure and local democracy, with a particular emphasis on involving underrepresented populations.
In these polarized times, it is more important than ever for citizens to become engaged and feel they can make a difference. The Healthy Democracy Project will not only provide the tools needed to help civic leaders affect key issues facing their communities, it will also provide the inspiration, purpose, and belief they need to energize their fellow citizens.