Civic Engagement: Supplementary Reading, Part One

When I began considering 'increasing the relationship of engagement between residents and their Councillors in local governance', while I was powerfully drawn to the notion, I really didn't have a clue where my ponderings would take either me or it. What route would be taken. How the notion might grow, take shape, become an approach and not just remain some short-lived, yammered-on thought. 

It helped that we were in the middle of an election campaign. 

It helped that my primary Life Challenge at the time was 'engagement'.

It helped that I had 24-7 Internet access, it helped that I can be a little 'fixated' (thank you, Virgo-rising in me...), it helped that I'm passively politically aware...

And it helps that I have some indulgent friends and family. Who've allowed me to yammer-on while I played with this concept. (More like they didn't insist that I give my head a shake and suggest I get another hobby.)

Last month I finally put my money where my mouth was; I published two series on practical ways people can move towards developing the lifestyle change, the value system that has civic engagement as a default. The one for Councillors begins here, while the one for residents begins here. Hopefully, I'll be adding to these lists as inspiration hits.

Further to this, there is a wealth of reading materials for those who want to look at things a little deeper. Admittedly, these materials are not for everyone. Meaning that it may well be that for the overwhelming majority of those people who migrate to being an active player in their local governance, 'going academic' isn't their cup of tea. They prefer to just be doing things in their community, participating in neighbourhood-building, making a difference in practical, hands-on ways, being engaged with their Councillor. They'd prefer to leave the theories and the navel-gazing to others. 

For those who are intrigued by how residents in other cities are dealing with getting to the place I'm talking about getting to, for those curious about things from a contextual standpoint, and for those who are behaviour and process weenies, I'm going to be providing links to papers, to blogs, to sites that deal with all of this. Mostly because I'm a shadow-weenie myself. 

Here then, is the first one: 'Deliberative Dialogue To Expand Civic Engagement: What Kind of Dialogue Does Democracy Need?' by Martha L. McCoy and Patrick L. Scully. Here's the introduction:

"The need to expand and deepen civic engagement is a central theme of a loosely defined and growing civic movement. A strong civic life and a flourishing democracy presume the active involvement of many people across society. Civic engagement is thus both a barometer of our public life and a focal point for action when we want to improve it. While regular citizen-to-citizen communication has always been a central part of democracy, public deliberation is just starting to be defined as a field of thought and practice. In this article we focus on face-to-face democratic deliberation as a means of enhancing civic engagement."

Let the dialogue begin.