This afternoon Knight Foundation will help lead a discussion on measuring civic health at the 66th Annual National Conference on Citizenship, an annual event that explores the revised roles of citizens, nonprofits, and governments in a 21st century democracy. The theme for this year’s conference is “Redefining America’s Social Compact.”

The Civic Health Index, funded in part by Knight Foundation, is an annual report that elevates the discussion of our nation’s civic health by measuring a wide variety of indicators. This effort to educate Americans about civic life also seeks to motivate citizens, leaders and policymakers to strengthen it.

Tomorrow on Sept. 23, Paula Ellis, vp/strategic initiatives at Knight Foundation will present on a panel titled “Best Practices in Creating Civic Strategies” from 10 – 12:15 p.m. The session, moderated by Lattie Coor, chairman, Center for the Future of Arizona will bring together local, regional and national leaders to talk about civic strategies that help communities thrive and discuss the future of our nation’s civic information infrastructure.

During the panel, Ellis will discuss Knight Foundation’s Soul of the Community project, a three-year study designed to determine the factors that make residents love where they live. According to Ellis, the role that community engagement plays in an area’s economic growth and well-being is vital:

“It matters if people are attached to and passionate about the place they live. We know that engagement matters because through Soul of the Community we’ve demonstrated in 26 cities over three years that communities that have more engaged people do better as measured by five years of economic growth.”

Many of the events over the next two days will be live-streamed, see the agenda to access livestreamed content. If you want to follow the conversation on Twitter @NCoC will be live-tweeting the conference using the hashtag #NCoC.