Civic Engagement

Civic engagement or civic participation has been defined as "Individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern." Civic engagement has many elements, but in its most basic sense it is about decision making, or governance and about who and how and by whom a community's resources will be allocated. The principle of civic engagement underscores the most basic principle of democratic governance, i.e. that sovereignty resides ultimately in the people- in the citizenry. Civic engagement is about the right of the people to define the public good, determine the policies by which they will seek the good, and reform or replace institutions that do not serve that good.