Civic Indicator Handbook

Posted by on December 2, 2005

Civic Indicator Handbook is now available!

Since the 1980s, the National Civic League has assisted communities in assessing civic health. The Civic Index provided communities with a tool to conduct a self-evaluation of the capacities and competencies that strengthen civic infrastructure. Many communities have used this tool to create a snapshot of current community strengths and to identify areas to further develop.

In 2000, NCL began to look at how a community could quantifiably track and measure progress in civic capacity building. Recognizing that civic health is much more complex than the standard measures applied such as voter registration and voter turnout, NCL began a project to identify and test a variety of civic indicators.

With the assistance of a National Advisory Council and four community level organizations, several ideas were tested and a number of lessons were learned. The result is detailed in the recently published Civic Indicators Handbook. This handbook provides a community with information, insight and a multitude of sample civic indicators to draw upon.

If you would like a complimentary copy of the handbook please email Derek Okubo, Vice President, at dereko@ncl.org