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We build tools to get cities on the path to better technology, help citizens get the responsive government they should expect, and scale up small discussions to city-wide change. We are an impartial, informed guide to civic technology, incorporating technology, transportation and city planning, an open-source approach, and the standards knowledge necessary to deliver valuable tools to our clients.

Since our founding as a multi-partisan and non-profit organization in 2005, The Davenport Institute (formerly Common Sense California) has worked to engage the citizens of this state in the policy decisions that affect our everyday lives. It is our firm belief that, in today's world of easy access to information, and easy connectivity to others, California's municipal and education leaders are seeking ways to involve the residents of their communities in the important issues they confront. Done legitimately, this new kind of leadership produces better, more creative policy solutions and better, more engaged citizens committed to the hard work of self-governance.

Surely, people could be empowered to share and exchange their opinions, particularly if they knew their views would be taken seriously and result in better services, better products and better facilities for themselves, their family, and their friends. In a nutshell, people could become real 'communities of influence'. Imagine the savings, imagine the efficiencies, and imagine the returns. Couldn't greater gains also be made if the providers and commissioners of services were prepared to work together? Rather than feeling uncomfortable about sharing information, why not make collaboration the norm.

More detailed video on mapping system for Healthy City is an information + action resource that unites community voices, rigorous research and innovative technologies to solve the root causes of social inequity.

Video mapping system for Healthy City an information + action resource that unites community voices, rigorous research and innovative technologies to solve the root causes of social inequity.

The closing keynote at the Economist Conferences Event, "Creating tomorrow's liveable cities", presented byProfessor Jan Gehl, founding partner of Gehl Architects,Copenhagen. This video provides a good deal of information on the benefits bicycling and walking have on a livable community when integrated into the community landscape.

The Institute's mission is to provide innovative strategies, working models and timely information to support environmentally sound and equitable community development. To this end, ILSR works with citizens, activists, policymakers and entrepreneurs to design systems, policies and enterprises that meet local or regional needs; to maximize human, material, natural and financial resources; and to ensure that the benefits of these systems and resources accrue to all local citizens.

The Knight Digital Media Center @ USC Annenberg is dedicated to increasing the flow of critical news and information by helping organizations and community leaders develop digital skills and strategies for the 21st Century. The Center provides training and resources in several formats including self-directed web-based learning modules, instructor-led virtual classes as well as conferences and workshops throughout the country. In addition, the Center offers customized training and consultation to organizations seeking to engage their communities on critical issues.

We believe that governments can make better use of scarce technology dollars by working together to solve common problems. We're helping them share their solutions, knowledge, and best practices. Civic technology experts have recognized the benefits of sharing technology among governments and institutions. However, instances of successful collaboration and sharing are still few and far between, in part because there is no easy, structured way to share knowledge about this software, let alone the software itself. There is no one place to go to look for civic software that cities need, and no roadmap to share what they have. Enter the Civic Commons. As infrastructure for the open government movement, Civic Commons is a community-edited resource to find out what's working, where. Ok, so what is it, really? Civic Commons is an information product, made up of the Marketplace, Engagement Commons, and the Wiki:

CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) conducts research on civic education in schools, colleges, and community settings and on young Americans' voting and political participation, service, activism, media use, and other forms of civic engagement. It is based at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University.

imply put, governance is the science of decision-making. The concept of governance refers to the complex set of values, norms, processes, and institutions by which society manages its development and resolves conflict, formally and informally. It involves the state, but also the civil society at the local, national, regional and global levels.

Welcome to Cities.Data.gov Showcasing the applications and opportunities for harnessing the power of open data across the nation. City officials and developers working together to help improve the information available to city residents. Data in Cities.Data.Gov is not federal data and not subject to the Data.gov data policy.

OppSites is revolutionizing economic development by creating a single platform where cities and the investment community work together to unlock economic potential. Cities can identify districts and sites, and share local knowledge about what they want to see built and where. Investors leverage this information to find underexposed real estate opportunities.

Voter Participation. By keeping voters informed throughout the year on issues that matter most to them, more people will see how legislation affects those issues, and recognize the importance of voting and engaging with their representative year-round. Voters will have a more informed view their representatives during election season.

We're a nonpartisan nonprofit that engages Americans directly to solve shared challenges and craft better policy. Our mission is to strengthen democracy by advancing informed, citizen-developed solutions to challenging public issues. We advance the public interest by creating opportunities for in-depth citizen education and deliberation that generates informed, inclusive solutions to today's toughest problems. To ensure the work of citizens makes an impact, we cultivate creative partnerships and pursue high-impact organizing and outreach strategies that help decision makers and the broader public work together effectively.

EJSCREEN is an environmental justice mapping and screening tool that provides EPA with a nationally consistent dataset and approach for combining environmental and demographic indicators. EJSCREEN users choose a geographic area; the tool then provides demographic and environmental information for that area. All of the EJSCREEN indicators are publicly-available data. EJSCREEN simply provides a way to display this information and includes a method for combining environmental and demographic indicators into EJ indexes. 

Facebook page for Healthy City an information + action resource that unites community voices, rigorous research and innovative technologies to solve the root causes of social inequity.

Through our innovative deliberative tools such as our 21st Century Town Meeting®, more than 160,000 people across the country and around the world have had an impact on their communities. These tools give citizens an opportunity to have a strong voice in public decision-making within the increasingly short timeframes required of decision-makers. As a result, citizens can impact decisions and those in leadership positions can make more informed, lasting decisions.

RIC provides access to resources for Community Development in each of the subject areas listed below. Link is broken and seemingly the system behind it.