Case Study #2.

Civic Engagement with TYTHEdesign

Designing curriculum, trainings, and resource materials for community-based organizations to support the implementation of civic engagement principles in youth-focused after school and summer programs

New York City’s Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) has developed a universal Framework for Civic Engagement that establishes Knowledge, Attitudes, and Skills, Action, and Reflection, as well as an environment co-created with participants through pedagogy and evaluation, as the key concepts in developing civic-mindedness among its staff and program attendees. 

As the Lead Curriculum Specialist for TYTHEdesign, I support the partnership with DYCD by co-designing experiences that build capacity, creating resources and toolkits, and collecting case studies of models of civic engagement work across New York City.

In addition to co-facilitating a series of virtual stand-alone workshops to build the capacity of the afterschool programs, I provided one-on-one support to program directors around curriculum and program design. To accompany these face-to-face supports, I worked with my team to develop a variety of toolkits to aid in the implementation of the Framework for Civic Engagement.

Civic Engagement Activity Guides. As a companion to workshop offerings, I designed a series of activity guides that highlight connections between the Framework for Civic Engagement and introduce concepts like storytelling, community research, and participatory decision-making, while providing “grab-and-go” exercises for staff to lead with young people of all ages. The primary goal of this tool is to support emerging educators in the facilitation of civic engagement activities regardless of their teaching experience. Each unique guide includes this following:

- Instructions for how to approach the activity guide

- An introduction to civic engagement and the DYCD framework

- Background and contextual information on the activity being featured

- Detailed procedures for setting up, introducing, facilitating, and reflecting on the activity

- Suggestions for scaling the activity down or up to meet the needs of a variety of populations

- Printable or digital materials for easy replication and distribution

View a sample Civic Engagement Activity Guide for Participatory Decision-Making exercises here.

Resource Guide for Civic Engagement. This toolkit functions as an introduction to civic engagement as well as an interactive guide to NYC-based opportunities for civic involvement. It includes a glossary of terms associated with civic engagement, and a collection of resources for youth and adults, categorized by domain, theme, and available online tools.