Promoting Civic Engagement
Civic engagement refers to the individual or group actions taken by community members to actively change conditions to improve health and well-being. Civic engagement includes various activities related to civic learning, volunteering, philanthropy, and community building. Civic engagement contributes to civic health, which is linked to better public health outcomes, self-reported health, and physical and mental health.
Community Building
Rural communities can bring citizens together to address public issues and strengthen capacity for working together. The University of Iowa Prevention Research Center (PRC) describes a community-building approach implemented in five stages:
- Define the issue – work with the community to identify an issue through casual conversation or formal data collection.
- Research the issue – gain a deeper understanding of the issue, including any helpful resources or potential strategies.
- Plan the strategy – establish community goals, identify the appropriate strategy, and create an action plan for the strategy, including identifying indicators of success.
- Act on the issue – work with the community to carry out the action plan.
- Evaluate the initiative – evaluate whether the strategy's outcomes met the community's goals.
Volunteerism
Volunteering is a form of civic engagement that may be particularly important for rural communities. Volunteers are often necessary to fill workforce or resource gaps in rural areas. For example, rural volunteers may engage in emergency preparedness and response or transportation services. Volunteers can also support implementation of other programs to address SDOH in rural communities, including those designed to improve education.
Examples of Rural Programs That Promote Civic Engagement
- The True North Organizing Network (TNON) adapted an urban community organizing model for the Building Healthy Communities Initiative (BHC) in the Del Norte and Tribal Lands (DNATL) community in northwest California. Early on, TNON engaged in conversations with the community to identify the following issues of interest: water and the environment, constitutional rights, police accountability, mental health and homelessness, and public education. Community members from different professional backgrounds were identified to serve as organizers. TNON found that prioritizing relationships over focusing on specific issues and bridging divides between different groups in the community is key to rural community organizing.
- Residents in Utica, Mississippi, supported through various partnerships with Sipp Culture, the municipal government, and the Jackson-Hinds Comprehensive Health Center, are working to increase food access through collective purchasing. The Utica Food Club was started by a Community Advisory Group. The process included holding an interest group meeting, determining where people shop and why, researching potential models, determining alternative options for access, sharing information, providing group education, and seeking additional resources and community support.
- A team from Texas State University's Translational Health Research Center adapted the COPEWELL (Composite of Post-Event Well-Being) Framework through community collaboration to train local library directors in Texas to convene community members for disaster resiliency planning. Librarians hosted an initial meeting to identify community strengths and challenges, the library's role in the community, and recent disaster events. Community members chose one of the five COPEWELL self-assessment rubrics addressing pre-event functioning (community functioning), prevention and mitigation, and recovery and discussed them during the next meeting. At the second meeting, community members also identified action steps. Future meetings were focused on continuing the planning process.
- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Rural Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing Program helps rural organizations and tribes create community development and affordable housing strategies. The program offers grantees training to support grant management.
Implementation Considerations
Timely access to accurate information is an important contributor to civic infrastructure and civic participation, which are key components of civic health. A lack of access to broadband internet and lack of funding for public libraries is a barrier to accessing accurate information in a timely manner, and it may hinder civic engagement in rural communities.
Outmigration, social isolation, and an aging volunteer base may be challenges to rural volunteerism. Volunteer recruitment and retention may be improved by fostering social connections among volunteers, providing food and sufficient breaks, being open to their ideas, and showing appreciation.
Due to barriers to civic participation, rural youth consistently have lower voter turnout than urban youth. Since rural areas often require greater travel distances than urban areas, and have limited public transit options, lack of transportation can prevent youth engagement. Youth in rural communities may need additional support and opportunities to participate in civic life, including actions like voting and volunteering.