The International City/County Management Association’s (ICMA) capstone team was asked to evaluate the citizen engagement programs for the city of Montgomery, Ohio.  ICMA has prepared a report, Measuring Community Engagement, which offers a guide to define success, measure efforts and share stories.  This report describes in detail the measures developed by the city’s citizens’ academy and volunteer program and explores how a community can determine the outcomes of all its engagement efforts, specifically:

• The most common civic engagement activities;
• Six factors that ultimately determine successful engagement;
• How to clearly articulate program goals and objectives;
• How to evaluate success using national and local indicators;
• How to choose the right kind of measurement to match your goals; and
• Plus, sample surveys, a review of data collection tools, an index of engagement activities, and program resource list.

Available for purchase from ICMA at:  http://bookstore.icma.org/Measuring_Community_Engagement_P2192C35.cfm.