The Civic Index: Theory, Practice and Learning Across American Cities

The Civic Index is projected by the National Civic League (NCL) as both a list of civic vital signs for communities and cities and as an instrument for assessing the efficacy of civic culture. Although broad, subject to varied interpretations and applications and weighted differently by local communities, the Index provides NCL and its network with a national forum and clearinghouse for discourse about cities and communities. Through its annual All-American Cities Program and annual national conference, NCL uses the Index as a way to identify citizen-driven best practices, to acknowledge deficits in civic and city policy behavior and to determine what changes the Index itself may occasionally require to be useful a tool for learning across cities.