DETROIT – Feb. 22, 2018 – To ensure Detroit’s residents have the information and access they need to influence civic decision-making, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation today announced $1.5 million in new funding to CitizenDetroit. This funding will enable the organization, an independent nonprofit, to scale its efforts, promoting regular online and in-person dialogues about important civic issues, and producing research to help residents better understand local government and their role in shaping it.
Citizen Detroit started as a project incubated at Wayne State University. Over the past five years, it has engaged roughly 2,000 Detroiters on multiple topics crucial to civic life. The nonpartisan organization educates residents on candidates and policy issues, and encourages them to think critically about elected officials and emerging political topics.
“CitizenDetroit has worked to create important community impact, including the long-term development of residents’ knowledge and skills to critically assess policy decisions and political campaigns,” said Sheila Cockrel, CitizenDetroit’s co-founder and executive director. “With this new support we hope to provide even more residents with quality, actionable information, giving them the tools they need to make informed voting choices and hold elected officials accountable.”
Knight Foundation funding will help propel two of the organization’s program areas: PolicyLab and Civic Exchange. PolicyLab is the research arm of CitizenDetroit; it works to produce information that helps residents make informed decisions and educate them about local issues. Civic Exchange delivers community education experiences to residents, including town halls with candidates and elected officials, dinner and dialogues about local issues, and interactive exercises designed to promote learning and participation. In addition, the organization will use Knight support to build an online platform that will highlight civic information, activities and programs, as a way to reach many more residents.
“When quality information, debate and participation feel accessible and urgent, and when residents feel that their voices matter in civic discourse and in their dialogue with elected officials, community engagement flourishes. CitizenDetroit is working to provide a safe, nonpartisan, welcoming venue to move this goal forward. Expanding their work has the potential to build a more inclusive, successful Detroit,” said Katy Locker, Knight Foundation program director for Detroit.
On Jan. 27, 2018, CitizenDetroit held its first Citizen Assembly with more than 300 participants, including City Hall leaders. At the Assembly, residents developed an action agenda to hold elected and appointed leadership accountable for supporting equity and opportunity for all Detroiters. The agenda will drive CitizenDetroit’s interactions with residents and public officials over the coming year.
In a December 2017 CitizenDetroit participant survey, 91 percent of respondents said that CitizenDetroit was “extremely effective” or “very effective” in helping them critically assess candidates and political platforms. The figure was 86 percent for understanding the roles and responsibilities of local elected offices, 84 percent for developing informed opinions about complex policy issues, and 80 percent for being equipped to engage more deeply in civic life.
“Democracies thrive when citizens can make informed decisions,” said Cockrel. “Residents’ priorities should drive the public agenda. CitizenDetroit is entering into an exciting phase of its existence where we can continue to educate, engage and mobilize citizens in the nonpartisan public policy decision-making of city life.”
Support for CitizenDetroit is part of Knight Foundation’s efforts in Detroit to promote democratic engagement and community information. Since 2008 Knight has pledged more than $100 million to Detroit.
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About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy. For more, visit knightfoundation.org.
About Citizen Detroit
Between 2018 and 2021, CitizenDetroit will expand and enhance its programming to reach every city council district and to connect with other organizations and efforts shaping the landscape of citizen participation. The organization will serve as an influential and effective platform for organizing and activating engaged citizens in the democratic process so that Detroit becomes the most civically active city in the country by 2021. For more, visit citizendetroit.org.
Contacts:
Sheila Cockrel, Executive Director, CitizenDetroit, 313-319-9600, [email protected]
Anusha Alikhan, Director of Communications, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, 305-908-2646, [email protected]