In 2022, the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities is conducting the first-ever data-driven Civic Health Index for the state. Many factors impact civic health, including community participation and community well-being.
Rhode Island will join over 30 states to have a data-driven baseline assessment that can be utilized in many contexts: public policy, public health, government, education, journalism, community development, and the humanities, arts, and cultural sector. This assessment will help Rhode Islanders understand the current status of civic health and innovate new paths forward, together.
This initiative is supported by the “A More Perfect Union” initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Rhode Island Foundation and is being produced in partnership with the National Conference on Citizenship (NCOC) and the Rhode Island Department of State.
Click here for a PDF with more information.
Engagement Facilitator – request for applications:
The Humanities Council seeks an Engagement Facilitator for an eight-month contract to assist with the Council’s Civic Health Index initiative, managing opportunities for community engagement with the Index and its use across sectors (cultural, health, economic, policy, etc.) for future planning and collaboration. Click here for details and information about how to submit an application.
Deadline to apply: Friday, August 12, 2022 at 5:00 pm EST
Rhode Islanders have experienced changes in the fabric of civic life during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have navigated fundamental rearrangements of how we interact with our communities and our government, as well as shifting connections between public health, political polarization, and media that have tested participatory democracy. The NCOC’s 2021 U.S. Civic Health Index reports on the underlying trends: “Stagnating levels of civic education, dwindling community group membership, and worsening interpersonal and institutional trust.” However, the NCOC Index also reports “signs of a vibrant civic nation with increased rates of volunteerism, political knowledge, and casting ballots, and millions of Americans joining together to protest police violence against Black Americans and other communities of color.”
While there have been recent reports on aspects of civic health, such as media literacy and civic education, an overall report on the status of our state’s civic health with established metrics does not exist. The Humanities Council seeks to bridge this gap with the RI Civic Health Index. In doing so, Rhode Island will join over 30 states to have a data-driven baseline assessment that can be leveraged in many contexts: public policy, public health, government, education, journalism, community development, arts, culture, and the humanities, and so on. This assessment will help Rhode Island understand who we are and what matters as we face the challenges from the pandemic and embrace new civic opportunities such as the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Ten Community Partners with strong connections within their communities (geographic, religious, educational, racial/ethnic, gender and sexual identity, cultural, etc.), who have taken a formal or informal leadership role within those communities will support this initiative. Community Partners will shape the development of the Civic Health Index based on their own experiences and insights, ensuring that the Index reflects the stories and truths they hold about Rhode Island, and about how their communities participate in civic life in the state. The Humanities Council and its partners will promote the finished Index statewide and nationwide, making it a powerful opportunity to present civic life in Rhode Island as Rhode Islanders experience it.
RI Civic Health Index Community Partners include:
Cathleen Carr (she/her), South Kingstown
Christine Costa (she/her), Tiverton
Diana Figueroa (she/her), Pawtucket
Wanda Hopkins (she/her), Hopkinton
Mariam Kaba (she/her), Woonsocket
Alex Kithes (he/him), Woonsocket
Joel Rosario Tapia (he/him, they/them), Providence
Doug Victor (he/him), Providence
Kilah Walters-Clinton (she/her), Providence
Jannessa Ya (she/her), Cranston
If you or your organization are interested in supporting the Civic Health Index as Community Ambassadors, please see the FAQs below for more details about how to sign up for this volunteer opportunity.
FAQs