This story is part of our latest super issue about civic engagement and why it’s important to be part of your community. Click here for our full guide to getting involved.
When LINK nky commissioned a survey asking Northern Kentuckians what they like about the region, there was one almost universal response:
Community.
“The people here genuinely care about each other and their community,” one respondent said.
But, the survey found, the people in Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties are feeling like they are becoming less and less connected to that community.
Individuals working together to solve problems for the good of the community, otherwise known as civic engagement, has dropped off since COVID, said Northern Kentucky University’s Shauna Reilly, though she said that isn’t necessarily unique to our area.
Reilly is a political science professor and assistant provost for experiential learning at NKU.
“When we look at community participation – coming to public lectures, participating in things going on around us, volunteerism – all of those things have really declined post COVID,” she said. “It’s easy to get lost in your job or all of your responsibilities that take a large portion of our days.”
So sometimes, she said, there isn’t a lot of time left for the community at the end of the day.
“It doesn’t mean people don’t want to,” Reilly said, “it’s just hard to make that a priority.”
Another way to look at civic engagement, Reilly said, is balancing community interests with personal interests.
“It’s about having conversations with your neighbors and friends and family about civic issues,” Reilly said. “Making sure you’re thinking about whether your neighbors have water when it’s hot. Looking out for one another’s wellbeing is part of a larger dynamic community that I think is overlooked but is truly about engaging with your community.”
Community, according to the National Civic League, is a joint endeavor.
“Great communities have, at their core, strong, inclusive civic engagement that capitalizes on the ideas and talents of all members of the community to ensure the common good and create lasting health and prosperity for all,” said a recent article from the national group, whose mission is to “advance civic engagement to create equitable, thriving communities.”
What is civic engagement?
Reilly told LINK nky that she would define civic engagement as being informed, active and engaged in your community.
“That looks like knowing what’s going on, being active in your community, and being engaged in the issues around you,” Reilly said.
Some ways that people can become more involved in their community, Reilly said, are things like going to a school board meeting, attending a public lecture, volunteering, doing cleanups or even donating financially.
She said to think about it in this way: Time, talent, treasure.
“That really summarizes how to engage,” Reilly said. “Taking your time, using your talents and then using your financial components.”
How does Northern Kentucky rank in civic engagement?
Press Forward, a group that raises resources for local news organizations, recently put together a civic information index that measures the strength of a community’s civic health.
The information comes from 21 publicly available, county-level datasets like volunteer rates, library visits, housing insecurity and medical debt. Each county in the country was given a score from 0 to 100 – a county with an overall score of 71, for example, indicates that the county performs better than 71% of counties in the nation.
Overall scores are tabulated based on scores in four pillars: News and information; civic participation; equity and justice; and health and opportunity.
The news and information category includes things like the presence of news deserts; percent of households with broadband internet access; how often people use libraries; and literacy levels.
The civic participation category includes engagement with the political process; percent of residents who volunteer; participation in community centers; and giving and philanthropy.
Equity and justice includes things like life expectancy; medical debt; neighborhood poverty; and youth disconnection from work and school.
And the health and opportunity category is made up of things like economic stability; access to healthcare and basic needs; access to education and lifelong learning; and access to transportation.
So what does that mean for Northern Kentucky?
According to the index, Boone County received an overall score of 79, meaning Boone measures better when it comes to civic health than 79 percent of the counties in the United States.
In the news and information category, Boone County scored a 61; in civic participation, it received a 70; the county got a score of 75 in equity and justice; and a 92 in health and opportunity.
Here’s how Campbell and Kenton counties ranked:
Campbell
Overall score: 67
News and information: 52
Civic participation: 61
Equity and justice: 74
Health and opportunity: 73
Kenton
Overall score: 70
News and information: 79
Civic participation: 63
Equity and justice: 53
Health and opportunity: 77
What can Northern Kentucky do with this knowledge?
National Civic League Director Matt Leighninger told Press Forward that the index is intended to help people understand the broader context and show the connections between different data points.
“It’s a tool for investigating, inspiring coverage, and understanding the unique needs of different communities,” Leighninger said. “And it serves as a common language and a starting point for collaborative efforts to improve civic health.”
To learn more about the civic information index, go to civicinfoindex.org.
What does civic engagement look like?
The National Civic League uses what it calls a Civic Index to help communities measure their civic capital, which it defines as the formal and informal relationships, networks and capacities that enable communities to solve problems and thrive.
Here are some examples of successful engagement, according to the Civic Index:
In Cleveland Ohio, a group called Neighborhood Connections has provided small grants to groups of residents to do projects that improve the quality of life in their communities. The grants range in value from $500 to $5,000, and are reviewed by a committee of residents. So the residents are the ones who determine what projects will best improve their neighborhoods. Since 2003, more than 2,300 projects have received more than $7.5 million in funding.
In Placentia, California, the city decided in 2014 to create a task force to help responsibly chart a financial course for the city by identifying potential cost reduction and revenue enhancement strategies. The task force included an artist, professor, arborist, engineer, regional distribution center manager, financial consultant and two retirees. Over three years, the group held 30 public meetings at locations across the city, then analyzed the city’s finances and prepared a final report for city council. Among other recommendations, the group suggested the city declare a fiscal emergency. It also suggested exploring additional local revenue and the ongoing need for a citizens group to help reach fiscal sustainability.
A group called Neighborhood Services in El Paso, Texas realized when interviewing residents and neighborhood associations that the leaders who were better at communicating their needs were more likely to get help for those communities. Instead of allowing neighborhoods with stronger leaders to dominate community decisionmaking, the city worked to develop more effective leaders throughout the community to ensure equity in service provision.
Download the National Civic League’s Civic Index below to assess your community’s civic capital and create a plan for how to bolster engagement.
Civic Index by Meghan Goth on Scribd
There are other ways to measure your community’s civic engagement, Reilly said.
She described the way NKU worked with Newport to improve one of their parks. Rather than just coming in and saying, here’s what these people need, let’s build it, they talked to the community.
“They talked to the residents, had community meetings, did work with kids about what they wanted in a park, conducted infrastructure studies,” she said. “It wasn’t that, ‘We are going to come in and make this park.’ It was, ‘What does the community need?’”
What happens when people aren’t engaged?
Fewer people run for public office, for one.
“We aren’t aware of the issues in our community,” Reilly said. “You might not know about the school issues that are affecting our children.”
That lack of awareness, she said, leads to a lack of engagement.
“If you are unaware of the issues in your community, it’s hard to participate,” Reilly said.
That can look like people not respecting each other or supporting each other, she said.
“When you think about what you want in a community,” Reilly said, “I think all of that goes away if we aren’t engaged with it.”
Reilly did point out that there are people who just don’t want to engage with their community, and that that is certainly their right.
“We can’t force people to check in on their neighbors, but when we think about what we want for society, knowing who your neighbor is and what the issues are that are bothering them today, it’s hard to know that you’re part of a community,” she said.
We’re here to help
This issue of the LINK Reader is intended to help you find ways to be more engaged in the community based on what you’re interested in or what your passions are.
Do you love the outdoors? Go here to find groups like the Sierra Club or CORA (or flip to page X to find out what CORA is!) that you can join.
Are you passionate about education and aren’t sure how to get involved in a way that is doable for your schedule? Go here to learn more about how to join programs like Adopt a Class or to become a mentor.
Are you into sports? Here, sports editor Evan Dennison has a list of mentoring programs for youth sports, or other ways to get engaged, like becoming a referee or joining an adult sports league.
Thinking about starting a business or want to become part of the small business community in NKY? Find that here.
Do you want to become more involved with local government, whether that’s running for office or just showing up to local city council meetings? Find that here.
If you’re more of an arts and culture person, you can go here to find out where to audition if you like theater, where there are local book clubs, mic nights or comedy clubs.
Or maybe you’re a senior or recently retired and you want to find community. Go here for suggestions about programs you can find at the library, the Y, and local senior centers.
If you’re looking to get fit as part of a community, go here to find some places to work out that offer you not only the equipment, but the people to keep you motivated.
