Location: Lowell, MA
Website: lowellplan.org
The Lowell Plan, Inc. was established as a nonprofit economic development organization in 1980. For 30 years, the Lowell Plan has sustained constructive and productive dialogue among the city’s key leaders in business, government, education, and community development. Visitors from around the country and the world have asked how the city has become a model of urban revitalization. They want to know the formula. In its simplest terms, the answer is that Lowell’s public and private leaders have maintained an ongoing dialogue that has yielded practical responses to the challenges and opportunities facing the city.
The formula sounds simple, but it was revolutionary at the outset. The Lowell Plan created a neutral ground where public and private sector officials could speak candidly and collaborate on priority issues. Through the years the names and faces have changed, but the board’s structure and reputation for getting results ensure that the pieces keep coming together month after month.
The Lowell Plan has shown itself to be bold, versatile, and effective from funding the American City Corp.’s Downtown Master Plan and the Lowell Model for Educational Excellence in the early years to undertaking the feasibility study for the Tsongas Arena and the market analysis for a minor-league baseball team in the middle years—to recently funding the Urban Land Institute and Creative Economy Studies and administering the National Park’s trolley extension project. Click on past projects for a listing of the Lowell Plan’s involvement in Lowell since 1980.
Going forward, the Lowell Plan is committed to fostering a dialogue that will take Lowell well into the 21st century as a city with a productive and sustainable economy; lifelong educational opportunities; and vibrant and diverse cultural offerings. With a belief in the value of community service, the Lowell Plan make civic engagement a priority through its support of the leadership program “Public Matters.”
Lowell shines when the community’s best talent, backed by resources, is put to work to achieve common objectives. As we have done so often in our 30-year history, the Lowell Plan will work to achieve consensus on future courses of action to ensure the city’s ongoing revitalization.
Lowell will be the best city of its size in America. The Lowell Plan commits its resources to this goal, which will be achieved through partnership with the public sector in a renewed commitment to dialogue followed by action.
Showing posts with label Citizen participation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Citizen participation. Show all posts
Monday, December 5, 2016
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Citizens Institute for Rural Design
Location: Nationwide
Website: rural-design.org
Residents in America’s small towns and rural communities care deeply about the future of their towns and value their uniqueness, strong sense of community, and special places. However, they increasingly face urgent challenges: How can they add jobs and support local businesses? How do they create a positive future for their kids? How can they honor and protect local character and history? How do they use limited financial, human, and natural resources wisely?
Developing locally-driven solutions to these challenges is critical to the long-term vitality of these communities, and the arts and design can play a powerful role in this process. Across the country, community leaders and residents are coming together to tackle these challenges and to find creative strategies that address:
How to build strong economies and grow jobs; Where to locate new growth or redevelop older areas; How to design efficient transportation systems; How to protect the community’s historic and culturally significant resources.
Rural design is an important tool for rural communities to build upon existing assets and improve the way a community looks, its quality of life, and its economic viability. However, few rural communities have access to design assistance or the expertise to tackle these challenges on their own.
The Citizens' Institute on Rural Design™ (CIRD) provides communities access to the resources they need to convert their own good ideas into reality. CIRD works with communities with populations of 50,000 or less, and offers annual competitive funding to as many as four small towns or rural communities to host a two-and-a-half day community design workshop. With support from a wide range of design, planning and creative placemaking professionals, the workshops bring together local leaders from non-profits, community organizations, and government to develop actionable solutions to the community's pressing design challenges. The community receives additional support through webinars, conference calls, and web-based resources.
Established in 1991 as Your Town: the Citizens' Institute on Rural Design™, CIRD has convened more than 70 workshops in all regions of the country, empowering residents to leverage local assets for the future in order to build better places to live, work, and play. Initially a partnership among the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the State University of New York (SUNY) at Syracuse, the program was managed by Richard Hawks and Shelley Mastran from 1991-2012.
CIRD remains one of the NEA's key design leadership initiatives and is currently conducted in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Project for Public Spaces, Inc., along with the Orton Family Foundation and CommunityMatters® Partnership.
Website: rural-design.org
Residents in America’s small towns and rural communities care deeply about the future of their towns and value their uniqueness, strong sense of community, and special places. However, they increasingly face urgent challenges: How can they add jobs and support local businesses? How do they create a positive future for their kids? How can they honor and protect local character and history? How do they use limited financial, human, and natural resources wisely?
Developing locally-driven solutions to these challenges is critical to the long-term vitality of these communities, and the arts and design can play a powerful role in this process. Across the country, community leaders and residents are coming together to tackle these challenges and to find creative strategies that address:
How to build strong economies and grow jobs; Where to locate new growth or redevelop older areas; How to design efficient transportation systems; How to protect the community’s historic and culturally significant resources.
Rural design is an important tool for rural communities to build upon existing assets and improve the way a community looks, its quality of life, and its economic viability. However, few rural communities have access to design assistance or the expertise to tackle these challenges on their own.
The Citizens' Institute on Rural Design™ (CIRD) provides communities access to the resources they need to convert their own good ideas into reality. CIRD works with communities with populations of 50,000 or less, and offers annual competitive funding to as many as four small towns or rural communities to host a two-and-a-half day community design workshop. With support from a wide range of design, planning and creative placemaking professionals, the workshops bring together local leaders from non-profits, community organizations, and government to develop actionable solutions to the community's pressing design challenges. The community receives additional support through webinars, conference calls, and web-based resources.
Established in 1991 as Your Town: the Citizens' Institute on Rural Design™, CIRD has convened more than 70 workshops in all regions of the country, empowering residents to leverage local assets for the future in order to build better places to live, work, and play. Initially a partnership among the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the State University of New York (SUNY) at Syracuse, the program was managed by Richard Hawks and Shelley Mastran from 1991-2012.
CIRD remains one of the NEA's key design leadership initiatives and is currently conducted in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Project for Public Spaces, Inc., along with the Orton Family Foundation and CommunityMatters® Partnership.
Monday, June 22, 2015
Design Trust for Public Space
Location: New York, NY
Website: designtrust.org
The Design Trust for Public Space (DTPS) has improved the quality of public space and the dialogue around it in New York City for 17 years, championing new ideas and nascent projects. It has broadened the definition of public space by embracing a range of sites, issues and arenas. When DTPS was founded, it stood relatively alone in its field –though not without models and precedent –to provide think-tank-like planning services focused exclusively on public space.
Much has changed since DTPS’ inception. New York City has experienced the proliferation of organizations concerned with the quality of public space and design, many which have taken on similar issues and even adopted planning methodologies that follow DTPS’ successful fellow model.
DTPS itself is a much different organization today than it was 17 years ago, with paid professional staff, a professional leadership of stature, a growing Board, and and a track record that has set a standard for the quality of product delivered by each project. Yet DTPS’ impact and reputation are largely unknown beyond the design community.
Website: designtrust.org
The Design Trust for Public Space (DTPS) has improved the quality of public space and the dialogue around it in New York City for 17 years, championing new ideas and nascent projects. It has broadened the definition of public space by embracing a range of sites, issues and arenas. When DTPS was founded, it stood relatively alone in its field –though not without models and precedent –to provide think-tank-like planning services focused exclusively on public space.
Much has changed since DTPS’ inception. New York City has experienced the proliferation of organizations concerned with the quality of public space and design, many which have taken on similar issues and even adopted planning methodologies that follow DTPS’ successful fellow model.
DTPS itself is a much different organization today than it was 17 years ago, with paid professional staff, a professional leadership of stature, a growing Board, and and a track record that has set a standard for the quality of product delivered by each project. Yet DTPS’ impact and reputation are largely unknown beyond the design community.
Neighborhoods Partnership Network
Location: New Orleans, LA
Website: npnnola.org
The Neighborhoods Partnership Network (NPN) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization representing a citywide network of neighborhoods and community stakeholders. Its mission is to improve quality of life by engaging New Orleanians, individually and collectively, in neighborhood vitality and civic processes.
Established after the Hurricane Katrina disaster, NPN envisions a New Orleans where all neighborhoods are great places to live. We work towards this vision by facilitating neighborhood collaboration, building organizational capacity, increasing access to government and information, and strengthening the voices of individuals and communities across the city. NPN is guided by a board of community leaders which reflects the diversity of New Orleans neighborhoods. Its work is supported by a staff well-versed in coalition building, government relations and community engagement.
The Neighborhoods Partnership Network's foundation lies in the spirit of interdependency revealed in the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. It revealed significant weakness in many structures Americans took for granted – physical structures such levees and hospitals, but also governing and social structures from FEMA to state and local entities. Citizens had to become their own “first responders," from rescuing their neighbors to rescuing their neighborhoods. NPN was born from both the failures revealed and opportunities provided by the catastrophe.
NPN's leadership recognized the need for a citywide framework to assist communities in maximizing the use of limited resources and information while providing connections to those with similar obstacles, eliminating duplication of efforts and working toward shared goals. The organization's core infrastructure met the need for New Orleanians to be involved in the formal decision-making processes regarding addressing quality of life issues. That need continues to exist today and NPN continues to play a significant role in building the capacity of residents to stay involved and engaged.
Website: npnnola.org
The Neighborhoods Partnership Network (NPN) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization representing a citywide network of neighborhoods and community stakeholders. Its mission is to improve quality of life by engaging New Orleanians, individually and collectively, in neighborhood vitality and civic processes.
Established after the Hurricane Katrina disaster, NPN envisions a New Orleans where all neighborhoods are great places to live. We work towards this vision by facilitating neighborhood collaboration, building organizational capacity, increasing access to government and information, and strengthening the voices of individuals and communities across the city. NPN is guided by a board of community leaders which reflects the diversity of New Orleans neighborhoods. Its work is supported by a staff well-versed in coalition building, government relations and community engagement.
The Neighborhoods Partnership Network's foundation lies in the spirit of interdependency revealed in the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. It revealed significant weakness in many structures Americans took for granted – physical structures such levees and hospitals, but also governing and social structures from FEMA to state and local entities. Citizens had to become their own “first responders," from rescuing their neighbors to rescuing their neighborhoods. NPN was born from both the failures revealed and opportunities provided by the catastrophe.
NPN's leadership recognized the need for a citywide framework to assist communities in maximizing the use of limited resources and information while providing connections to those with similar obstacles, eliminating duplication of efforts and working toward shared goals. The organization's core infrastructure met the need for New Orleanians to be involved in the formal decision-making processes regarding addressing quality of life issues. That need continues to exist today and NPN continues to play a significant role in building the capacity of residents to stay involved and engaged.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Group Think
Location: International
Website: www.billmoyers.com/groupthink
We’ve all heard the famous, inspirational quote from Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has."
Makes it sound so simple. But change rarely comes easily. It requires not just commitment, but also creativity and strategy. In this Group Think, successful activists share organizing tactics they’ve found to be effective in recent campaigns.
Website: www.billmoyers.com/groupthink
We’ve all heard the famous, inspirational quote from Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has."
Makes it sound so simple. But change rarely comes easily. It requires not just commitment, but also creativity and strategy. In this Group Think, successful activists share organizing tactics they’ve found to be effective in recent campaigns.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Avaaz
Location: International
Website: www.avaaz.org/en/
Avaaz is a global web movement to bring people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere.
A transnational community that is more democratic, and could be more effective, than the United Nations.
— Suddeutsche Zeitung Avaaz—meaning "voice" in several European, Middle Eastern and Asian languages—launched in 2007 with a simple democratic mission: organize citizens of all nations to close the gap between the world we have and the world most people everywhere want.
Avaaz empowers millions of people from all walks of life to take action on pressing global, regional and national issues, from corruption and poverty to conflict and climate change. Our model of internet organising allows thousands of individual efforts, however small, to be rapidly combined into a powerful collective force.
The Avaaz community campaigns in 15 languages, served by a core team on 6 continents and thousands of volunteers. We take action -- signing petitions, funding media campaigns and direct actions, emailing, calling and lobbying governments, and organizing "offline" protests and events -- to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform the decisions that affect us all.
Previous international citizens' groups and social movements have had to build a constituency for each separate issue, year by year and country by country, in order to reach a scale that could make a difference.
Today, thanks to new technology and a rising ethic of global interdependence, that constraint no longer applies. Where other global civil society groups are composed of issue-specific networks of national chapters, each with its own staff, budget, and decision-making structure,
Avaaz has a single, global team with a mandate to work on any issue of public concern--allowing campaigns of extraordinary nimbleness, flexibility, focus, and scale.
Avaaz's online community can act like a megaphone to call attention to new issues; a lightning rod to channel broad public concern into a specific, targeted campaign; a fire truck to rush an effective response to a sudden, urgent emergency; and a stem cell that grows into whatever form of advocacy or work is best suited to meet an urgent need.
Each year, Avaaz sets overall priorities through all-member polls (See 2013 poll results here), and campaign ideas are polled and tested weekly to 10,000-member random samples—and only initiatives that find a strong response are taken to scale. Campaigns that do reach the full membership are then super-charged by, often, hundreds of thousands of Avaaz members taking part within days or even hours.
Avaaz staff write email alerts to the Avaaz community the way that an aide briefs a president or prime minister: we have just a moment to convey the vital information the reader needs in order to decide whether to get involved, and the campaign hinges on that decision.
To make that moment of attention count, it's the job of staff to find ways that a few minutes, multiplied across huge numbers of people, can make a genuine difference on something that matters.
Staff work with partners and experts to develop effective, member-driven campaign strategies; summarize them through clear and compelling alerts; and, if the Avaaz membership chooses to proceed, makes sure that the campaign is carried through—delivering petitions and members' messages, arranging member-funded ad campaigns, or whatever else is required.
In other words, Avaaz staff don't set an agenda and try to convince members to go along with it. It's closer to the opposite: staff listen to members and suggest actions they can take in order to affect the broader world. Small wonder, then, that many of our most successful campaigns are suggested first by Avaaz members themselves. And leadership is a critical part of member service: it takes vision and skill to find and communicate a way to build a better world.
We focus on tipping-point moments of crisis and opportunity
In the life of an issue or a cause, a moment sometimes arises when a decision must be made, and a massive, public outcry can suddenly make all the difference. Getting to that point can take years of painstaking work, usually behind the scenes, by dedicated people focusing on nothing else. But when the moment does come, and the sunlight of public attention floods in, the most crucial decisions go one way or another depending on leaders' perceptions of the political consequences of each option. It is in these brief windows of tremendous crisis and opportunity that the Avaaz community often makes its mark.
In any country or on any issue, those moments might come only once or twice a year. But because Avaaz can work in all countries and on all issues, these moments can crop up several times in a week.
Our member-funded model keeps us independent and accountable. Because Avaaz is wholly member-funded, democratic accountability is in our DNA. No corporate sponsor or government backer can insist that Avaaz shift its priorities to suit some external agenda—we simply don't accept funds from governments or corporations.
Instead of fragmenting, we grow—united by values, movements, coalitions, and organizations often fracture over time into many smaller pieces—or spend more and more of their time trying to hold warring factions together. At Avaaz, we recognize that people of good will often disagree on specifics; instead of straining for consensus, each of us simply decides whether to participate in any particular campaign.
But underlying Avaaz campaigns is a set of values—the conviction that we are all human beings first, and privileged with responsibilities to each other, to future generations, and to the planet. The issues we work on are particular expressions of those commitments. And so, over and over, Avaaz finds the same thing: that people who join the community through a campaign on one issue go on to take action on another issue, and then another. This is a source of great hope: that our dreams rhyme, and that, together, we can build the bridge from the world we have to the world we all want.
Website: www.avaaz.org/en/
Avaaz is a global web movement to bring people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere.
A transnational community that is more democratic, and could be more effective, than the United Nations.
— Suddeutsche Zeitung Avaaz—meaning "voice" in several European, Middle Eastern and Asian languages—launched in 2007 with a simple democratic mission: organize citizens of all nations to close the gap between the world we have and the world most people everywhere want.
Avaaz empowers millions of people from all walks of life to take action on pressing global, regional and national issues, from corruption and poverty to conflict and climate change. Our model of internet organising allows thousands of individual efforts, however small, to be rapidly combined into a powerful collective force.
The Avaaz community campaigns in 15 languages, served by a core team on 6 continents and thousands of volunteers. We take action -- signing petitions, funding media campaigns and direct actions, emailing, calling and lobbying governments, and organizing "offline" protests and events -- to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform the decisions that affect us all.
Previous international citizens' groups and social movements have had to build a constituency for each separate issue, year by year and country by country, in order to reach a scale that could make a difference.
Today, thanks to new technology and a rising ethic of global interdependence, that constraint no longer applies. Where other global civil society groups are composed of issue-specific networks of national chapters, each with its own staff, budget, and decision-making structure,
Avaaz has a single, global team with a mandate to work on any issue of public concern--allowing campaigns of extraordinary nimbleness, flexibility, focus, and scale.
Avaaz's online community can act like a megaphone to call attention to new issues; a lightning rod to channel broad public concern into a specific, targeted campaign; a fire truck to rush an effective response to a sudden, urgent emergency; and a stem cell that grows into whatever form of advocacy or work is best suited to meet an urgent need.
Each year, Avaaz sets overall priorities through all-member polls (See 2013 poll results here), and campaign ideas are polled and tested weekly to 10,000-member random samples—and only initiatives that find a strong response are taken to scale. Campaigns that do reach the full membership are then super-charged by, often, hundreds of thousands of Avaaz members taking part within days or even hours.
Avaaz staff write email alerts to the Avaaz community the way that an aide briefs a president or prime minister: we have just a moment to convey the vital information the reader needs in order to decide whether to get involved, and the campaign hinges on that decision.
To make that moment of attention count, it's the job of staff to find ways that a few minutes, multiplied across huge numbers of people, can make a genuine difference on something that matters.
Staff work with partners and experts to develop effective, member-driven campaign strategies; summarize them through clear and compelling alerts; and, if the Avaaz membership chooses to proceed, makes sure that the campaign is carried through—delivering petitions and members' messages, arranging member-funded ad campaigns, or whatever else is required.
In other words, Avaaz staff don't set an agenda and try to convince members to go along with it. It's closer to the opposite: staff listen to members and suggest actions they can take in order to affect the broader world. Small wonder, then, that many of our most successful campaigns are suggested first by Avaaz members themselves. And leadership is a critical part of member service: it takes vision and skill to find and communicate a way to build a better world.
We focus on tipping-point moments of crisis and opportunity
In the life of an issue or a cause, a moment sometimes arises when a decision must be made, and a massive, public outcry can suddenly make all the difference. Getting to that point can take years of painstaking work, usually behind the scenes, by dedicated people focusing on nothing else. But when the moment does come, and the sunlight of public attention floods in, the most crucial decisions go one way or another depending on leaders' perceptions of the political consequences of each option. It is in these brief windows of tremendous crisis and opportunity that the Avaaz community often makes its mark.
In any country or on any issue, those moments might come only once or twice a year. But because Avaaz can work in all countries and on all issues, these moments can crop up several times in a week.
Our member-funded model keeps us independent and accountable. Because Avaaz is wholly member-funded, democratic accountability is in our DNA. No corporate sponsor or government backer can insist that Avaaz shift its priorities to suit some external agenda—we simply don't accept funds from governments or corporations.
Instead of fragmenting, we grow—united by values, movements, coalitions, and organizations often fracture over time into many smaller pieces—or spend more and more of their time trying to hold warring factions together. At Avaaz, we recognize that people of good will often disagree on specifics; instead of straining for consensus, each of us simply decides whether to participate in any particular campaign.
But underlying Avaaz campaigns is a set of values—the conviction that we are all human beings first, and privileged with responsibilities to each other, to future generations, and to the planet. The issues we work on are particular expressions of those commitments. And so, over and over, Avaaz finds the same thing: that people who join the community through a campaign on one issue go on to take action on another issue, and then another. This is a source of great hope: that our dreams rhyme, and that, together, we can build the bridge from the world we have to the world we all want.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Citizens for City
Location: India
Website:
www.citizensforcity.org
Our Indian cities, which have the potential to contribute enormously to the nation, are paradoxically victimized by their own growth!
Hyderabad is no exception. Our City, with transnational and Indian giants, world’s best research establishments, institutions of higher learning dotting its cityscape, has grown exponentially. However, the city administration is yet to reinvent itself to match the pace of city’s growth - needless to say that bad roads, traffic travails, garbage, poor sanitation, air and water pollution have become dining and board room discussions.
We, at Foundation for Futuristic Cities (FFC) – www.futurecities.org believe that every Indian city needs Citizen Architects urgently – citizens who can collectively transform the city.
Hyderabad city has 8.8 million Creative and Caring Citizens - Professionals with Panache and Pride, Smart and Savvy Students, Women with Wisdom and Verve, Sanguine Senior Citizens, Tolerant and Tech savvy Teenagers, Ambitious Artists and Real, Real Romantics...
A first in this genre, FFC’s CITIZENS FOR CITY initiative was specially crafted to capitalize on these very attributes of Hyderabadis, employing the “Crowd Sourcing” protocol.
It was run as a contest that invited strategies and solutions which were locked up in the minds of the citizens for transforming Hyderabad into a livable and world class city. It was designed to propel Hyderabad into a new orbit.
We believe that a city that has the support of its stakeholders creates a good brand and helps in its multifaceted growth.
Initiatives cocieved, steered & owned by citizens themselves for the problems hurting the city, will infuse a sense of urgency and accountability into the government agencies.
Through CITIZENS FOR CITY Contest a knowledge bank of innovative strategies was created to draw from and fall back on if the city needs them. ( Read more about this in “Sculpt Your City”)
How does the city gain?
· Profits from the wisdom of diverse stakeholders of Hyderabad for some of the nagging issues plaguing the city,
· Heightened awareness amongst citizens on what they can do for the city leading to collective action,
· Attract the attention of government agencies to spur proactive actions, and
· Inspire creation of formal / informal citizen forums at various levels to carry forward the agenda of Citizens for City.
What are participant pay offs?
· Gain insights and contribute to challenges needing urgent attention,
· Hone research, analytical, documentation and persuasive skills,
· Hands on experience in getting a project off the ground,
· Stay in the minds of everyone as a Citizen Architect,
· Earn respect if other cities decide to adopt their stratergies, and
· Create opportunities for Social Entrepenuership.
FFC developed a model for large scale stakeholder participation and involvement in the governance process through the CITIZENS FOR CITY Contest, inviting strategies from the citizens for a World Class Hyderabad. The response to this initiative was tremendous - MNCs like ADP, Deloitte, Infosys, Honeywell, CB Richard Ellis, premier educational and research institutions like Indian School of Business, IIIT-H, NRSC-ISRO, NIN (ICMR), ICFAI Business School, and Institute for Public Enterprises, etc being some amongst the participants.
Website:
www.citizensforcity.org
Our Indian cities, which have the potential to contribute enormously to the nation, are paradoxically victimized by their own growth!
Hyderabad is no exception. Our City, with transnational and Indian giants, world’s best research establishments, institutions of higher learning dotting its cityscape, has grown exponentially. However, the city administration is yet to reinvent itself to match the pace of city’s growth - needless to say that bad roads, traffic travails, garbage, poor sanitation, air and water pollution have become dining and board room discussions.
We, at Foundation for Futuristic Cities (FFC) – www.futurecities.org believe that every Indian city needs Citizen Architects urgently – citizens who can collectively transform the city.
Hyderabad city has 8.8 million Creative and Caring Citizens - Professionals with Panache and Pride, Smart and Savvy Students, Women with Wisdom and Verve, Sanguine Senior Citizens, Tolerant and Tech savvy Teenagers, Ambitious Artists and Real, Real Romantics...
A first in this genre, FFC’s CITIZENS FOR CITY initiative was specially crafted to capitalize on these very attributes of Hyderabadis, employing the “Crowd Sourcing” protocol.
It was run as a contest that invited strategies and solutions which were locked up in the minds of the citizens for transforming Hyderabad into a livable and world class city. It was designed to propel Hyderabad into a new orbit.
We believe that a city that has the support of its stakeholders creates a good brand and helps in its multifaceted growth.
Initiatives cocieved, steered & owned by citizens themselves for the problems hurting the city, will infuse a sense of urgency and accountability into the government agencies.
Through CITIZENS FOR CITY Contest a knowledge bank of innovative strategies was created to draw from and fall back on if the city needs them. ( Read more about this in “Sculpt Your City”)
How does the city gain?
· Profits from the wisdom of diverse stakeholders of Hyderabad for some of the nagging issues plaguing the city,
· Heightened awareness amongst citizens on what they can do for the city leading to collective action,
· Attract the attention of government agencies to spur proactive actions, and
· Inspire creation of formal / informal citizen forums at various levels to carry forward the agenda of Citizens for City.
What are participant pay offs?
· Gain insights and contribute to challenges needing urgent attention,
· Hone research, analytical, documentation and persuasive skills,
· Hands on experience in getting a project off the ground,
· Stay in the minds of everyone as a Citizen Architect,
· Earn respect if other cities decide to adopt their stratergies, and
· Create opportunities for Social Entrepenuership.
FFC developed a model for large scale stakeholder participation and involvement in the governance process through the CITIZENS FOR CITY Contest, inviting strategies from the citizens for a World Class Hyderabad. The response to this initiative was tremendous - MNCs like ADP, Deloitte, Infosys, Honeywell, CB Richard Ellis, premier educational and research institutions like Indian School of Business, IIIT-H, NRSC-ISRO, NIN (ICMR), ICFAI Business School, and Institute for Public Enterprises, etc being some amongst the participants.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Location: National/International
Website: www.lincolninst.org
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is a leading resource for key issues concerning the use, regulation, and taxation of land. Providing high-quality education and research, the Institute strives to improve public dialogue and decisions about land policy.
As a private operating foundation whose origins date to 1946, the Institute seeks to inform decision making through education, research, policy evaluation, demonstration projects, and the dissemination of information, policy analysis, and data through our publications, Web site, and other media.
By bringing together scholars, practitioners, public officials, policy makers, journalists, and involved citizens, the Lincoln Institute integrates theory and practice and provides a nonpartisan forum for multidisciplinary perspectives on public policy concerning land, both in the U.S. and internationally.
Our work is organized into three areas of study:
- Planning and Urban Form
- Valuation and Taxation
- International Studies
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy traces its origins to John C. Lincoln, a Cleveland industrialist and investor who in 1946 established the Lincoln Foundation in Phoenix, Arizona. He was intrigued by the writings of Henry George, as expressed in the book Progress and Poverty (1879), in particular George's ideas about land ownership and taxation.
Lincoln created the Foundation to support other institutions in the teaching, research, and publication of information about George's work.
From the late 1940s through the early 1970s, the Lincoln Foundation sponsored a variety of university-based education and research programs on theoretical and applied economics and taxation.
In 1966 the Foundation established the John C. Lincoln Institute at the University of Hartford in Connecticut, and in 1968 it supported the creation of the Land Reform Training Institute in Taiwan (renamed the International Center for Land Policy Studies and Training in 1998).
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy was established as a school in 1974 and became the Foundation's primary grant recipient to develop multidisciplinary education, research, and publications programs.
The Institute focused on property valuation and taxation policy, urban planning and development, land economics, and property rights. To expand its work internationally, the Institute established the Program on Latin America and the Caribbean in 1993 and the Program on the People's Republic of China in 2003.
In 2006 the Lincoln Foundation and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy merged to become a private operating foundation whose mission is to be a leading center for the study of land policy and land-related tax policy throughout the world.
The organization continues its focus on teaching, research, and publications while also expanding its fellowship programs, joint venture and evaluation projects, Web-based resources, and other programs.
Website: www.lincolninst.org
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is a leading resource for key issues concerning the use, regulation, and taxation of land. Providing high-quality education and research, the Institute strives to improve public dialogue and decisions about land policy.
As a private operating foundation whose origins date to 1946, the Institute seeks to inform decision making through education, research, policy evaluation, demonstration projects, and the dissemination of information, policy analysis, and data through our publications, Web site, and other media.
By bringing together scholars, practitioners, public officials, policy makers, journalists, and involved citizens, the Lincoln Institute integrates theory and practice and provides a nonpartisan forum for multidisciplinary perspectives on public policy concerning land, both in the U.S. and internationally.
Our work is organized into three areas of study:
- Planning and Urban Form
- Valuation and Taxation
- International Studies
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy traces its origins to John C. Lincoln, a Cleveland industrialist and investor who in 1946 established the Lincoln Foundation in Phoenix, Arizona. He was intrigued by the writings of Henry George, as expressed in the book Progress and Poverty (1879), in particular George's ideas about land ownership and taxation.
Lincoln created the Foundation to support other institutions in the teaching, research, and publication of information about George's work.
From the late 1940s through the early 1970s, the Lincoln Foundation sponsored a variety of university-based education and research programs on theoretical and applied economics and taxation.
In 1966 the Foundation established the John C. Lincoln Institute at the University of Hartford in Connecticut, and in 1968 it supported the creation of the Land Reform Training Institute in Taiwan (renamed the International Center for Land Policy Studies and Training in 1998).
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy was established as a school in 1974 and became the Foundation's primary grant recipient to develop multidisciplinary education, research, and publications programs.
The Institute focused on property valuation and taxation policy, urban planning and development, land economics, and property rights. To expand its work internationally, the Institute established the Program on Latin America and the Caribbean in 1993 and the Program on the People's Republic of China in 2003.
In 2006 the Lincoln Foundation and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy merged to become a private operating foundation whose mission is to be a leading center for the study of land policy and land-related tax policy throughout the world.
The organization continues its focus on teaching, research, and publications while also expanding its fellowship programs, joint venture and evaluation projects, Web-based resources, and other programs.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The Civic Crowd
Location: International
Website: www.theciviccrowd.org
The Civic Crowd aims to map amazing initiatives and ideas for citizen-powered change, providing an open public domain resource where people can:
- Share the projects they are working on and get feedback and support from the community.
- DIscuss Ideas for improvements to their area and help realise them through local collaboration.
- Offer their skills and support for the benefit of the community.
- Appreciate great projects or Ideas to express their gratitude and backing.
- Propose actions they are willing to take to help others realize their projects
- Volunteer to support each other to turn proposals into reality.
The Civic Crowd is inspired by the Compendium for the Civic Economy, Hand Made, the Community Lover's Guide to the Universe series, and the Britain's 50 Top New Radicals project by The Observer and NESTA; but the map belongs to everyone.
This infrastructure was designed by 00:/Espians, Social Spaces, and Cassie Robinson. Special thanks to NESTA and the Hub Islington. The Civic Crowd is sponsored by Design Council.
Website: www.theciviccrowd.org
The Civic Crowd aims to map amazing initiatives and ideas for citizen-powered change, providing an open public domain resource where people can:
- Share the projects they are working on and get feedback and support from the community.
- DIscuss Ideas for improvements to their area and help realise them through local collaboration.
- Offer their skills and support for the benefit of the community.
- Appreciate great projects or Ideas to express their gratitude and backing.
- Propose actions they are willing to take to help others realize their projects
- Volunteer to support each other to turn proposals into reality.
The Civic Crowd is inspired by the Compendium for the Civic Economy, Hand Made, the Community Lover's Guide to the Universe series, and the Britain's 50 Top New Radicals project by The Observer and NESTA; but the map belongs to everyone.
This infrastructure was designed by 00:/Espians, Social Spaces, and Cassie Robinson. Special thanks to NESTA and the Hub Islington. The Civic Crowd is sponsored by Design Council.
CITY2.0
Location: International
Website: www.thecity2.org
The City 2.0 website is a platform created to surface the myriad stories and collective actions being taken by citizens around the world.
We draw on the best of what is already being discovered by urban advocates and add grassroots movers and shakers into the mix. What's emerging is a complex picture of the future city--a place more playful, more safe, more beautiful, and more healthy for everyone.
Here are some tips for how you can enliven this site with your inspiration, stories, and projects. This site is most fundamentally about—city dwellers, urban entrepreneurs, organizers, dreamers, doers.
Create a Profile:
This is the best space to tell us who you are. What is a city, after all, without its citizens?
Share an Inspiration:
This is the best space for brief thoughts, favorite quotes, snapshots etc. Think of it as your own urban focused Twitter.
Submit a Story:
This is the best space for more thorough explanations of your most informative urban experiences. It's structured with a series of prompts, so it's fun and creative.
Website: www.thecity2.org
The City 2.0 website is a platform created to surface the myriad stories and collective actions being taken by citizens around the world.
We draw on the best of what is already being discovered by urban advocates and add grassroots movers and shakers into the mix. What's emerging is a complex picture of the future city--a place more playful, more safe, more beautiful, and more healthy for everyone.
Here are some tips for how you can enliven this site with your inspiration, stories, and projects. This site is most fundamentally about—city dwellers, urban entrepreneurs, organizers, dreamers, doers.
Create a Profile:
This is the best space to tell us who you are. What is a city, after all, without its citizens?
Share an Inspiration:
This is the best space for brief thoughts, favorite quotes, snapshots etc. Think of it as your own urban focused Twitter.
Submit a Story:
This is the best space for more thorough explanations of your most informative urban experiences. It's structured with a series of prompts, so it's fun and creative.
Citizens Union
Location: New York, NY
Website: www.citizensunion.org
Citizens Union is a nonpartisan good government group dedicated to making democracy work for all New Yorkers. Citizens Union serves as a civic watchdog, combating corruption and fighting for political reform.
We work to ensure fair and open elections, honest and efficient government, and a civically‐engaged public.
We are New Yorkers from diverse backgrounds and political beliefs, connected to our communities and united in our commitment to put the city’s long‐term interest ahead of all special interests.
Principled and pragmatic, Citizens Union is an independent force for constructive reform, driving policy and educating the public to achieve accountable government in the City and State of New York.
We accomplish our mission through three entities:
- Citizens Union of the City of New York is a 501c4 organization that advances legislation to improve our government and political system, and conducts evaluations of candidates for city and state offices.
- Citizens Union Foundation is a 501c3 organization that conducts in-depth research on public policy, provides information to the public, and promotes public policy solutions.
- Gotham Gazette, a New York City-based online watchdog publication that covers city and state government, elections, environment, education, public safety, health, transportation and housing. Gotham Gazette is an independent publication of Citizens Union Foundation.
Citizens Union is also guided by a set of overarching organizational values that define our union of New Yorkers and the way we work:
- Independent of Any Political Party,
- Principled, Pragmatic and Problem‐Solving,
- Rooted in New York City,
- Representing Diversity in Political Beliefs, Community, and Backgrounds,
- Mutual Respect and Civil Dialogue,
- Honoring our Tradition of Standing up to Tammany Hall,
- Striving for the “Highest Common Ground” Policy Solutions and
- Collaborative with Strategic Partners.
The term “good government” means different things to different people and too little to too many. For Citizens Union good government in the City and State of New York is expressed through these values, qualities, and actions:
- Open Elections and Transparent Government,
- Accountability for Public Officials,
- Fair Process in Decision‐making,
- Efficient and Effective Administration of Government,
- Public Knowledge of Candidates, Public Officials and Policy,
- Reduced Influence of Money and Special Interests in Politics, and
- Public Participation in New York’s Civic Life.
Citizens Union finds common ground and uses the tools of public policy, public education and public engagement to:
- Reduce the influence of money and special interest power in politics and policy making,
- Improve voter access to, and participation in, the selection of candidates and elections,
- Foster accountability and openness in government to increase public trust,
-Make more information available, increasing access to public records and expanding public knowledge of government actions; and
- Provide leadership in finding the highest common ground needed to achieve effective solutions to issues of city and statewide importance.
Website: www.citizensunion.org
Citizens Union is a nonpartisan good government group dedicated to making democracy work for all New Yorkers. Citizens Union serves as a civic watchdog, combating corruption and fighting for political reform.
We work to ensure fair and open elections, honest and efficient government, and a civically‐engaged public.
We are New Yorkers from diverse backgrounds and political beliefs, connected to our communities and united in our commitment to put the city’s long‐term interest ahead of all special interests.
Principled and pragmatic, Citizens Union is an independent force for constructive reform, driving policy and educating the public to achieve accountable government in the City and State of New York.
We accomplish our mission through three entities:
- Citizens Union of the City of New York is a 501c4 organization that advances legislation to improve our government and political system, and conducts evaluations of candidates for city and state offices.
- Citizens Union Foundation is a 501c3 organization that conducts in-depth research on public policy, provides information to the public, and promotes public policy solutions.
- Gotham Gazette, a New York City-based online watchdog publication that covers city and state government, elections, environment, education, public safety, health, transportation and housing. Gotham Gazette is an independent publication of Citizens Union Foundation.
Citizens Union is also guided by a set of overarching organizational values that define our union of New Yorkers and the way we work:
- Independent of Any Political Party,
- Principled, Pragmatic and Problem‐Solving,
- Rooted in New York City,
- Representing Diversity in Political Beliefs, Community, and Backgrounds,
- Mutual Respect and Civil Dialogue,
- Honoring our Tradition of Standing up to Tammany Hall,
- Striving for the “Highest Common Ground” Policy Solutions and
- Collaborative with Strategic Partners.
The term “good government” means different things to different people and too little to too many. For Citizens Union good government in the City and State of New York is expressed through these values, qualities, and actions:
- Open Elections and Transparent Government,
- Accountability for Public Officials,
- Fair Process in Decision‐making,
- Efficient and Effective Administration of Government,
- Public Knowledge of Candidates, Public Officials and Policy,
- Reduced Influence of Money and Special Interests in Politics, and
- Public Participation in New York’s Civic Life.
Citizens Union finds common ground and uses the tools of public policy, public education and public engagement to:
- Reduce the influence of money and special interest power in politics and policy making,
- Improve voter access to, and participation in, the selection of candidates and elections,
- Foster accountability and openness in government to increase public trust,
-Make more information available, increasing access to public records and expanding public knowledge of government actions; and
- Provide leadership in finding the highest common ground needed to achieve effective solutions to issues of city and statewide importance.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Philadelphia Parks Alliance
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Website: www.philaparks.org
The mission of the Philadelphia Parks Alliance is to champion the public’s interest in outstanding parks, recreation and open spaces, key to making Philadelphia a healthy, vibrant and sustainable city for all.
The Parks Alliance’s vision of a great city is one with great parks and interconnected green spaces. The Parks Alliance leads the diverse and expanding citizens’ movement which shapes public policies required to build the nation’s premier parks and recreation system.
The Philadelphia Parks Alliance will strive to become a primary advocate and information resource for parks and open space in our city. We are committed to building a strong and unified parks and open space coalition that will advocate for all citizens.
We will endeavor to create strategic and collaborative alliances with government and with organizations that care about our parks and open space.
Our membership and board will be broadly representative of the demographics of our city. Collaboration will be the hallmark of our interaction with others.
We will be a fiscally sound and responsible organization.
The Philadelphia Parks Alliance is:
- Effective: We establish and achieve goals that will contribute to constructive change.
- Inclusive: We welcome contributions and input from others. We strive to remain open to different points of view within the context of our mission and priorities.
- Dedicated: We are willing to do what it takes to be effective.
- A Model of Integrity: We act with honesty, directness, conviction, and determination.
- Bold: We are forward thinking, willing to think and act creatively, to question the status quo. We are oriented toward taking action, even courageous action.
Website: www.philaparks.org
The mission of the Philadelphia Parks Alliance is to champion the public’s interest in outstanding parks, recreation and open spaces, key to making Philadelphia a healthy, vibrant and sustainable city for all.
The Parks Alliance’s vision of a great city is one with great parks and interconnected green spaces. The Parks Alliance leads the diverse and expanding citizens’ movement which shapes public policies required to build the nation’s premier parks and recreation system.
The Philadelphia Parks Alliance will strive to become a primary advocate and information resource for parks and open space in our city. We are committed to building a strong and unified parks and open space coalition that will advocate for all citizens.
We will endeavor to create strategic and collaborative alliances with government and with organizations that care about our parks and open space.
Our membership and board will be broadly representative of the demographics of our city. Collaboration will be the hallmark of our interaction with others.
We will be a fiscally sound and responsible organization.
The Philadelphia Parks Alliance is:
- Effective: We establish and achieve goals that will contribute to constructive change.
- Inclusive: We welcome contributions and input from others. We strive to remain open to different points of view within the context of our mission and priorities.
- Dedicated: We are willing to do what it takes to be effective.
- A Model of Integrity: We act with honesty, directness, conviction, and determination.
- Bold: We are forward thinking, willing to think and act creatively, to question the status quo. We are oriented toward taking action, even courageous action.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
E-Governance Institute
Locarion: Newark, NJ
Website: www.spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/home/ncpp/institutes/e-governance-institute.html
The E-Governance Institute's mission is to explore how the internet and other information and communication technologies (ICTs) have and will continue to impact productivity and performance on the public sector and how e-governance fosters new and deeper citizen involvement within the governing process.
The institute is committed through its work to supporting the gathering and sharing of knowledge, information and data in order to increase the understanding of how e-governance can strengthen the fundamental partnership between the public sector and the private citizen.
Governments at all levels have been transitioning to e-governance platforms for delivering better services, improving government efficiency and effectiveness, achieving transparency and accountability, and facilitating direct citizen participation. Through research, examples of best practice and scholarly discourse regarding ICTs and their impact on government performance, the Institute provides a source of information that continues to push the study of e-governance to new frontiers.
Information-age governing presents an entirely new set of challenges for decision-makers, public sector professionals and citizens. Finding solutions to these challenges is the primary role of the E-Governance Institute. As part of Rutgers University's National Center for Public Performance, the institute focusus its activities on emerging e-governance issues impacting on all levels of government, the nonprofit sector, the private sector, and the civil society.
Website: www.spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/home/ncpp/institutes/e-governance-institute.html
The E-Governance Institute's mission is to explore how the internet and other information and communication technologies (ICTs) have and will continue to impact productivity and performance on the public sector and how e-governance fosters new and deeper citizen involvement within the governing process.
The institute is committed through its work to supporting the gathering and sharing of knowledge, information and data in order to increase the understanding of how e-governance can strengthen the fundamental partnership between the public sector and the private citizen.
Governments at all levels have been transitioning to e-governance platforms for delivering better services, improving government efficiency and effectiveness, achieving transparency and accountability, and facilitating direct citizen participation. Through research, examples of best practice and scholarly discourse regarding ICTs and their impact on government performance, the Institute provides a source of information that continues to push the study of e-governance to new frontiers.
Information-age governing presents an entirely new set of challenges for decision-makers, public sector professionals and citizens. Finding solutions to these challenges is the primary role of the E-Governance Institute. As part of Rutgers University's National Center for Public Performance, the institute focusus its activities on emerging e-governance issues impacting on all levels of government, the nonprofit sector, the private sector, and the civil society.
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