SRI conducts many surveys each year that measure the aspects of civic health in New York. One way that SRI coordinates the ndings of these surveys is to place the data generated into a framework that allows us to discuss community health.

This report highlights ve independent areas in which citizens connect with one another and contribute to the development and maintenance of civic health. In an ideal community citizens would:

• (S) Be very socially connected in a variety of ways to other members of the community,
• (T) Trust other members of the community and social institutions,
• (R) Actively participate in shared responsibility for addressing unmet legitimate social needs like poverty, hunger, homelessness, etc.,
• (I) Be informed about the issues, events, and news in their community and region, and
• (D) Perform civic duties like voting, community meetings and events.

New York Civic Health Indicators, based on CIRCLE's CPS data analysis, show that New Yorkers are socially connected, tend to trust each other and to a lesser degree local institutions, and stay informed about local and regional issues. However, despite an apparent value commitment to those who are less fortunate, New Yorkers demonstrate social responsibility and engage in civic duties —with the exception of voting behavior—at a lesser rate.

SRI data shows that New Yorkers spend social time with friends and acquaintances and see people they know in day–to–day interactions. In other words, New Yorkers are meaningfully connected with members of their community. At the same time, while New Yorkers are cautious about people they meet, New Yorkers trust their neighbors, other community members, and local institutions. Signicant numbers of New Yorkers responsibly volunteer their time to address community needs, donate to local organizations, help neighbors or community members with projects, and serve in leadership capacities for local organizations. Still the percent at which New Yorkers perform these needed community activities sits currently at no more that 50% of what is possible. New Yorkers are informed about and discuss local community issues with family and friends. New Yorkers are not inclined to attend community events, religious services, a club, community, public, or political meeting, or a political rally. While New York Civic Health Indicators suggest that adding voting and voter registration into the category of civic duties would increase New Yorker's engagement in civic duties , they also indicate that New Yorkers register and vote at rates below the national average.

Policy makers and other stakeholders in New York should celebrate the relatively high levels of sociability and trust and continue to support the mechanisms that keep New Yorkers informed. They should also tap into the strong feelings of responsibility for the common good found among New Yorkers to mobilize higher levels of active engagement to address community needs. Finally, policy makers and other stakeholders should work to develop New Yorkers' sense of civic duty beyond merely registering to vote and voting to include participation in community meetings and other aspects of participatory democracy.