Tufts University
For Support Of Research By CIRCLE To Understand And Encourage Collaboration Across The Civic Sector
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Amount$49,967
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Program
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Date Awarded11/22/2013
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Term12 Months
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Type of SupportProject
Overview
As a preliminary step in testing opportunities to strengthen America's civic sector, this grant will support research to better understand America's most civically engaged citizens. Civic engagement in the United States continues to decline, presenting real challenges to the health of US democracy. Yet while the average American remains less engaged, an estimated one million Americans are heavily invested in civic work. However the motivations and activities of these "grasstops" leaders, as well as the networks connecting them, are not well understood. Little has been done to explore why and how civic leaders are doing their work, to understand key challenges and opportunities to expanding their efforts, or to test opportunities to strengthen ties across a network of civic leaders in ways that enhance their cumulative civic impact. Civic Leaders are often active in particular communities and issue areas, but the conditions that enable and encourage civic engagement at larger scales are not well understood; nor are the conditions that enable collaboration across these issue areas and communities. This grant would interview twenty-five civic leaders from across the political spectrum to better understand these leaders and the what, how, why, and when of their work across organizations to strengthen civic engagement more broadly. Interviews will also test the utility of and help to shape potential questions for a possible follow-on large-scale survey of active citizens. Findings from this research will be shared in a report with those interviewed and select leaders in the broader field.
About the Grantee
Grantee Website
www.tufts.edu
Address
28 Sawyer Avenue, Medford, MA, 02155, United States
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