Otis White

The skills and strategies of civic leadership

  • About
  • Archives
You are here: Home / Archives for Citizen engagement

How Communities Can Thrive in a Post-Newspaper World

August 29, 2018 By Otis White Leave a Comment

How can local governments communicate if the only sources of information left are the social media? They have to create an army of informed and engaged citizens willing to speak up when others spread rumors and falsehoods.

When Bad Things Happen to Good Governments

February 7, 2018 By Otis White Leave a Comment

Governments sometimes lose their way. But there’s a group you can always call on for help, if you know how to ask. It’s not an organized group, but its members do have a name. We call them “citizens.”

How Citizen Engagement Could Save State Politics

October 24, 2017 By Otis White 1 Comment

And why it ought to be done, year in and year out, by a political party. That’s right. A political party.

The Seedbed of Civic Involvement

February 26, 2013 By Otis White Leave a Comment

If you want strong local leaders and involved citizens in the future, start today by helping people find one another and get organized for any legitimate purpose. Then be patient. The good news: Cities are good at helping people make connections. With a little effort, they could be great.

Why the Goals of Citizen Engagement Are Not What You Think

November 20, 2012 By Otis White 3 Comments

Most local officials have it wrong about citizen engagement. The point isn’t to hear what the citizens think about issues before the government. It’s about something deeper: understanding citizens’ long-term interests and desires. If done right, it can then lead to a second important goal: Recruiting citizens in taking on a community’s greatest problems and opportunities.

Next Page »

Recent Posts

  • The Next Urban Comeback
  • A Reservoir for Civic Progress
  • How a Leader Assembles a Winning Team
  • What Smart Mayors Can Learn from the Turnaround of Central Park
  • How Communities Can Thrive in a Post-Newspaper World
  • Seven Habits of Highly Successful Civic Projects
  • When Bad Things Happen to Good Governments
  • How Citizen Engagement Could Save State Politics
  • How Odd Couples, Complementary Needs, and Chance Can Change Cities
  • A Better Way to Teach Civic Leadership
  • The Worst Management Idea of the 20th Century
  • How to Deal with a Demagogue
  • What Government Is Good At
  • Return to Sender
  • The Loneliness of the Courageous Leader
  • A Better Way of Judging Candidates
  • How to Build an Army of Supporters
  • A Beginner’s Guide to Facilitation
  • The Temperament of Great Leaders
  • Units of Civic Progress
  • Leadership as “a Kind of Genius”
  • How to Read a Flawed Book About Cities
  • A Mayor’s Test for Good Decisions
  • How to Manage a Crisis Before It Happens
  • Lesson Seven: Process and Results

Categories

About Otis White

Otis White is president of Civic Strategies, Inc., a collaborative and strategic planning firm for local governments and civic organizations. He has written about cities and their leaders for more than 30 years. For more information about Otis and his work, please visit www.civic-strategies.com.

The Great Project

Otis White's multimedia book, "The Great Project," is available on Apple iTunes for reading on an iPad. The book is about how a single civic project changed a city and offers important lessons for civic leaders considering their own "great projects" . . . and for students in college planning and political science programs.

For more information about the book, please visit the iTunes Great Project page.

Follow Us on Twitter and Facebook

You can find Otis White's urban issues updates by searching for @OtisWhite. And you can "like" us on Facebook.

Copyright © 2019 · Civic Strategies, Inc. PO Box 15250 Atlanta GA 30333-0250 USA