The Arizona Civic Health Index has identied several key features of our state's civic health that require attention. The report also makes clear that Arizona lags many states in the nation in fully developing the attributes of a healthy society.

So, what are Arizonans to make of all this? Where do we go from here? How does Arizona, as a large and diverse state, nd a way to make improvements on the key features of a healthy society? Perhaps we should start with the larger context of work on civic renewal that is going on around the country.

In 2006, the Case Foundation published Citizens at the Center: A New Approach to Civic Engagement , which frames the larger issues of civic engagement and creates a context in which individual initiatives can be developed. 10 The report notes that many in the community service and civic engagement domain believe the United States is undergoing signicant civic renewal, citing evidence of growing volunteerism throughout the country, especially among young people.

Critics however, cite powerful evidence that Americans have become more isolated and powerless than ever, and see little connection between themselves and their public leaders. They note a societal drift from the core democratic values of community to those emphasizing materialism, celebrity, and “me” rather than “we.” They argue that “using politics, especially voting, as a proxy for civic engagement” has some dangers for it assumes that voting is “an inherently deeper and more developed form of civic engagement” at the very time many Americans
have turned away from politics.

The “Citizens at the Center” report proposes using approaches beyond voting and volunteering for community action by focusing on the “process of civic engagement where ordinary people come together, deliberate, and take action on problems or issues they themselves have dened as important and in ways they deem appropriate, whether through voting, volunteering, activism or organizing.” The Center for the Future of Arizona nds merit in this broader denition of the civic renewal movement yet believes, at the same time, that the Arizona Civic Health Index requires us to start with some basic steps that focus on voting, volunteering and connecting Arizonans to one another and their community.

Accordingly, the Center commits to playing a leading role in fostering a civic renewal initiative in Arizona with the goal of helping our state become known nationally as a leading force in civic renewal. To begin the process, the Center is establishing a two–pronged strategy for fostering civic renewal:

COMMUNITY–BASED PROGRAMS : Within a one–year timeline, the Center will facilitate a network of ve communities in Arizona. Each community will work with the Center to create an individualized local plan that includes an action agenda, timeline for implementation and budget. These ve selected communities will then partner with the Center to bundle the individual community plans together into a major national funding proposal. The objective is to provide the ve communities the resources required to implement their individual plans, to measure progress toward goals over time, to provide technical expertise, and to build the communications network needed to share results. A local collaborating funding partner will be invited to participate.

STATEWIDE CIVIC RENEWAL ACTIVITIES: Within a one–year timeline, the Center will also identify a lead partner from among the state's civic organizations to facilitate and coordinate a statewide civic renewal initiative. To develop the initiative, the Center will convene a roundtable of elected ofcials, business and civic leaders and other thoughts leaders from throughout the state to propose goals, objectives, process and timelines. The overarching initiative will be included in the major national funding proposal.

The Center for the Future of Arizona urges citizens and organizations throughout Arizona to join with us in this important endeavor.