A nation’s developmental progress is a reflection of the level of trust and connectivity of its communities—whether on or offline—and how each of the communities thrive by finding talent and passion residing in the community. NCoC has long been committed to supporting the growing engagement of American citizens in their communities. It also strives to connect partners in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

On May 16, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation hosted a webinar about the recently released Connected Citizens report. It notes that digital technology is changing our relationship to news and information from that of passive consumer to active participant. Working at the intersection of media innovation and civic engagement, the report examines how funders can help individuals make a positive difference in their communities and the world amid increasing levels of interdependence, decentralization and transparency. These are robust issues and may bring major consequences.

The report defines “network” as the relationships we’re embedded in, where people co-produce information, knowledge and action, integrate online and offline strategies, and bridge differences across communities. The report focuses on both networks that are place-based and those that cut across geographies. This comes from an understanding that strengthening network ties within a group can be a powerful means of aligning and mobilizing action around shared social goals.

As Bill Clinton said, “[Interdependence] could be good, bad or both, and today it’s both. My simple premise is that the mission of the 21st century is to build up the positive and reduce the negative forces of interdependence.”

So the pressing question is how to ignite the good that can come from a networked citizenry and mitigate the bad. The report suggests the complex social problems of the 21st century can be addressed only through networked solutions that bring together the input and action of many citizens.

In an attempt to explore citizen engagement today and strategies that are helping citizens connect, make their voices heard and take action, the Knight Foundation studied 70 experiments – mostly in the United States and some in other countries – that are helping individuals make the change they want in the world. They detected the following patterns of network-centric practices that are already working today, and could be promising for future civic engagement:
1. Designing for serendipity: Create spaces that focus on people and less on specific results. Such environments are inviting to people and makes it easy to connect with others and new ideas and resources.

2. Bridging differences: Deliberately connecting people with different perspectives.

3. Catalyzing mutual support: Helping people help each other; by building trust in the community, leveraging existing and unutilized resources, provide enough structure for immediate benefit and enough openness for new opportunity.

4. Providing handrails for collective action: Giving enough direction for individuals to take effective and coordinated action.

Connected Citizens also highlights that the future of social connectedness is uncertain, and poses the question of how the certain and the uncertain can come together in the future. The report offers three sketches of 2015 that are provocative for citizen engagement. They explore how communities might be brought together or pulled apart, and the ways in which citizens may be well informed, or misinformed.

In the face of such uncertainty, Connected Citizens suggests that philanthropy is in a unique position to influence this future and invest in creating the condition for positive citizen engagement. It calls upon funders to embrace a network-centric mindset, support network-centric work, and contribute to learning.