About the Demonstrations:
Civic Business | Civic Education | Civic Non-Profit
Civic Organizing Inc. | Renewing the Public Congregation
 About MACI
The Minnesota Active Citizenship Initiative (MACI) uses a civic organizing approach to build the civic infrastructure needed for a just society. Civic organizing draws upon the authority and the obligation of citizens to govern for the common good. It builds the civic infrastructure by:
- Develops civic leaders
- Helps leaders develop the civic capacity of their institutions
- Connects leaders in a cross-sector base that works to renew the civic infrastructure
The Civic Organizing Approach
MACI leaders integrate civic principles and practice into the work of their institutions. They work together to develop and implement a civic policy agenda, a catalyst for widespread civic renewal.
MACI supports five demonstrations—Civic Business, Civic Education, Civic Non-Profit, Civic Organizing Inc./Civic Organizing Foundation, and Renewing the Public Congregation. Each demonstraton has member institutions that conduct 3-year pilots, testing and further developing the civic organizing approach. Kowalski’s Markets, the Citizens League, Cretin-Derham Hall, Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Civic Center, and others are currently conducting pilots.
Organizations conduct pilots over three years. Leaders within the pilot organizations:
- Establish an internal organizing agency
- Develop operating principles that integrate the organization’s particular purpose and its public purpose as part of a democracy
- Use civic disciplines (life work, value-driven calendar, power analysis, work plans, public meetings, evaluation, civic policy making) that build the civic capacity of individuals and hold people accountable to achieving goals in keeping with the organization’s identity and principles.
- Establish policies that sustain civic practices and outcomes within their institutions and contribute to the overall MACI Civic Policy Agenda.
- Establish policies that sustain civic practices and outcomes within their institutions and contribute to the overall MACI Civic Policy Agenda.
- Commit resources to work with other institutions and sectors to create a base for civic policy making
Stages of Civic Organizing
MACI achieves its goals in four stages, each spanning approximately 5 years. Overarching goals are achieved through yearly work plans.
In the first stage, leaders in each institution or sector develop an organizing agency of 10 to 15 leaders who have the authority to implement civic organizing. The organizing agency works to integrate civic principles and practices into all functions, and establishes internal policies that sustain civic practice.
In stage 2, leaders develop an educational track to further develop civic capacity. They document outcomes and develop a civic policy agenda that shows the potential for influencing policy throughout the state and across the nation. In stages 3 and 4, the base implements the civic policy agenda and works to transform institutions into the foundation for a strong civic infrastructure.
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About MACI
These pdf documents provide more detailed information:
Mission
The Minnesota Active
Citizenship Initiative
To build a new base for
policy making in the state
of Minnesota that places
the obligation to govern,
justly and wisely, in the
role we all have as citizens.
This obligation, democratic
and human, transcends
other legal and more narrow understandings of citizenship.
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