North Carolina's Civic Health Index provides an opportunity to afrm the state's strengths while also helping identify goals for the future. Every North Carolinian has a responsibility, and the potential, to ensure that our state remains a vibrant and thriving democracy. Individually, we can contribute to our state's civic health by keeping up with current events and discussing them with friends and family; casting informed votes in all elections; volunteering time , whether it be minutes, hours, or days; forming and maintaining connections with families, friends, and neighbors ; and taking on leadership roles
in our communities.

In addition to the personal responsibility we each have to contribute to the civic health of North Carolina, key individuals and institutions — policymakers, educators, and community organizations — have additional responsibilities to ensure that North Carolina's residents are equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources to participate in civic life.

POLICYMAKERS
North Carolina has taken important steps to improve voter participation while ensuring secure elections. Policymakers should continue to explore creative means of supporting informed participation in all of North Carolina's elections.

The future leaders of our state are North Carolina's least civically engaged residents. Policymakers can combat this trend by ensuring that our state's young people are learning about government (federal, state, and local) and civics in the classroom . Additionally,
our state's teachers deserve the professional development and resources to teach these subjects effectively.

North Carolina's leadership base is small and does not reect the diversity of our state. Policymakers can change this trend by recruiting and mentoring a diverse group of leaders who represent the varying interests of our state's residents.

K–16 EDUCATORS
Our state's K–12 schools are uniquely poised to prepare North Carolina's next generation of leaders for participation in civic life. Schools can prepare students to be active, responsible citizens by implementing promising approaches outlined in the 2003 Civic Mission of Schools report. These strategies include teaching students how local, state, and national governments work through civics, government, law, and history courses; simulations of town council meetings or General Assembly sessions; discussions about how current events affect residents at the local, state, and national levels; providing opportunities for meaningful student leadership , and service–learning that links students' work outside the classroom to what they are learning from their textbooks.

North Carolina's institutes of higher education can build upon this foundation of civic learning by promoting service–learning that connects students to the communities in which they live; offering leadership development programs that prepare students for leadership at the local, state, and national levels ; and encouraging students to register to vote and cast informed votes in all elections through candidate forums and “Get Out the Vote” efforts.

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS
Our state's community organizations are vital to North Carolina's civic health. They provide opportunities for us to volunteer our time, connect with one another, and develop important leadership skills.

Results of the Civic Health Index indicate that volunteerism in North Carolina may increase if residents are simply asked to volunteer. Community organizations can seize this opportunity by actively recruiting diverse groups of volunteers . Through meaningful opportunities for service, residents realize their ability to make a difference and become more involved in all areas of the democratic society.

Working individually or in collaboration, these organizations also provide important opportunities for residents to develop and hone their leadership skills. Through leadership programs such as those often offered by local chambers of commerce and local governments , youth and adults can become equipped with knowledge and skills to make them better local leaders. Community organizations can help diversify our state's leadership base by recruiting others than the “usual suspects” for advisory boards and commissions .