Forum for Civic Advancement

El Pomar Foundation in partnership with the National Civic League developed the Forum for Civic Advancement to facilitate greater participation in the civic and public life of the Pikes Peak Region through a series of six forums for emerging leaders in the community. The Chairmen of the Forum for Civic Advancement are Chuck Berry, who served in the Legislature for two consecutive terms from 1985-1998 and is currently the President and CEO of the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, and Jerome Page, former Executive Director of the Urban League of the Pikes Peak Region. This series of forums will continue from March through October 2002.

At the second forum in a six part series, NCL President Christopher T. Gates gave a presentation on "Collaborative Leadership for Challenging Times". He presented on the context and evolution of democracy in America and the current need for a stronger Citizen Democracy whereby local government and elected leaders engage citizens in the decision-making and problem-solving of the community to a greater degree. He argued that there should also be colloboration among the three sectors as well - nonprofit, business, government - to work together and with citizens to address the complex issues of our times.

The goal of this sesion was to bring awareness to the role of citizen democracy and collaborative approaches to problem solving and decision making in today's world, and to inspire emerging leaders to become actively involved in the public realm of the Pikes Peak Region.

In the last of a series of six forums held at the Penrose House in Colorado Springs, the National Civic League presented the results of a Civic Health Survey conducted in May 2002. The underlying factors of the results were discussed among the participants at the forum as well as how to move forward in strengthening the civic infrastructure of Colorado Springs. The areas of strength already present in the community included strong cross-sector collaboration, effective leadership programs, and plentiful opportunities for citizen education and citizen participation in the community. A few of the areas identified for improvement included bridging the diversity of the community, developing the information sharing capacity, and increasing citizen participation and responsibility in the community.

If you are interested in learning more about the Forum for Civic Advancement, please contact Matt Carpenter at El Pomar Foundation: mcarpenter@elpomar.org or 1-800-554-7711.

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