With social isolation rising and dwindling resources for local news and civic engagement across the U.S., it can be hard for residents to feel truly informed and involved in civic life. These issues can’t be solved with a single solution, so CivicLex in Lexington, KY is leading five integrated strategies to strengthen civic health, or what the National Conference on Citizenship defines as “the way that communities are organized to define and address public problems.” An overview of each CivicLex strategy is provided below:

1) Civic Education: CivicLex offers an extensive array of online resources and in-person workshops so local Lexington residents can learn more about all things civic life from “local government 101” topics about budgeting, voting, and policy processes to community advocacy strategies. Given that most of us don’t get much civic education after high school, these resources are a powerful way for residents of all ages to understand what to expect from the local political process and their role in it.

2) Local News & Reporting: Anyone who’s ever attended a local legislative body meeting knows it can be hard to follow the legalese, procedural steps and policy rationale in the decision-making process. To address this, CivicLex provides short, user-friendly issue explainers as well as recaps of local public meeting agendas and decisions as part of its free news resources. The purpose is to provide descriptive, fact-based information about civic issues without advocating for specific viewpoints.

3) Enhancing the Public Realm: Just like Innovate Memphis, CivicLex is part of the national Reimagining the Civic Commons movement to invest in parks and public spaces and leverage these resources to for community building and connection. They collaborate with residents on ways to improve public space infrastructure and programming so everyone can meet new people and explore new parts of their community. This includes a Park Equity Accelerator to ensure resources are equitably distributed across neighborhoods with inclusive decision-making processes with residents.

4) Convening & Bridging: CivicLex provides several kinds of events where community members and civic leaders can work together on common issues and goals. These include meet-and-greet forums with candidates, working with city government to rethink public comment and other resident feedback avenues so they are more meaningful, and coordinating a series of community-led small group gatherings to collect and share input through the On the Table program.

5) Civic Transformation: A theme throughout all of CivicLex’s strategies is innovating alongside residents and civic leaders to make it easier for constituents to understand and participate in local government. If you’re interested in learning more and testing out some ideas in your local context, you can sign up for the forthcoming “Build Your Own CivicLex” handbook here.