Do you want to start a civic engagement project, but you're not sure how to begin? Have a great idea, but not a lot of organizing experience? Scroll down for resources to help you design and implement a successful project, or use these quick links to access content.
- Getting Started
- Introduction
- Step 1. Have an Idea
- Step 2. Research Your Project
- Step 3. Consult Stakeholders and People with Experience
- Step 4. Determine Feasibility and Sustainability of Your Project
- Step 5. Write a Description of Your Project
- Step 6. Prepare a Preliminary Budget
- Step 7. Develop a Proposal and Budget for Funders
- Step 8. Recruiting Volunteers and Participants
- Step 9. Publicize Your Project
- Step 10. Project Reporting
- Step 11. Identify/Quantify Impacts
- Detailed Guides
- See Examples
- Download
Civic Engagement Handbook
Step 11. Identify/Quantify Impacts
As your project develops, you are going to have to consider how you can quantify the project’s impacts. Obviously, in some cases this might take some advanced social science techniques, but in the short run you should carefully keep track of the number of participants in your events, provide short surveys to participants seeking feedback about the activities, and tracking the impact, where appropriate, of people who have participated in your project. For example, a project in high school may examine project impacts on academic performance/grades, likelihood of graduation, or college attendance. The larger the project, the more carefully you will need to consult with people to develop proper metrics. However, even basic information, like numbers of participants and evaluations of participants are a good start.Types of Civic Engagement
With more to come...
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Engaging in civil discourse is a fundamental element of active citizenship. These resources will help you create and host debates, learn the formal rules of argument, and see how others have done it well. -
Helping others learn the communal language is a valuable way to engage non-English-speaking community members. These guides and tip sheets will help you connect with your students. -
Living an ecologically sustainable lifestyle is more important than ever. These resources will help you reduce your carbon footprint and maintain the health of the local and global environment.
Take Action
Check out the Activism Resource Guide from the Stevenson Library!
A one-stop repository for resources related to activism & civic engagement in the U.S. Find local and national resources, activism tools, events calendars, and more.