Approved by the Envision Arlington Standing Committee on June 16, 2021.

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Motion: To create a new Task Group within Envision Arlington, named Civic Engagement Group, with the following mission:

 

To foster inclusive forms of civic* engagement that reach, convene, and connect Arlingtonians from all walks of life, across diverse demographics and viewpoints; to improve civic participation in town elections, surveys, and civic events; and to create more and better avenues for Arlingtonians to engage constructively with each other and with the institutions and decision-making bodies of town government.

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* "Civic" as defined in the Oxford English Dictionary: "relating to the duties or activities of people in relation to their town, city, or local area."

 

Performance metrics for this group include, but are not limited to:

• turnout at annual town elections

• response rate of the annual town survey

• participation in civic events, especially recurring events where trends can be established over time, such as Candidates Night and Precinct Meetings

 

Initial responsibilities of this group include, but are not limited to:

• creation of a Civic Research Group that will report its findings and recommendations to the Standing Committee at regular intervals throughout the year; this group is charged with studying what Envision Arlington can and should be doing in the civic space, including:

  • gathering input from a wide range of residents and town staff

  • studying civic efforts in other communities that may be adopted here

  • identifying reusable civic infrastructure that can be developed and shared within and beyond Envision Arlington

  • develop metrics for measuring residents' satisfaction with opportunities for civic participation

• working with town staff, town committees, and other community groups and organizations to collaborate and coordinate on efforts that seek to improve civic engagement, e.g. continued collaboration with LWVA on Candidates Night and Town Meeting Members Candidate Statements ahead of annual town elections

• development, deployment, outreach, and analysis of the annual town survey

• helping with logistics, planning, and scheduling of Precinct Meetings, including management of resources such as use of town Zoom accounts

 

Organizational structure of volunteer efforts and decision-making within the Task Group are at the discretion of the Task Group Chair, whose appointment is ratified by the Envision Arlington Standing Committee.