Civic Muscle Resources – Civic Muscle Index

Organizations across the country are adopting civic muscle language and working towards thriving communities. Check out the resources below and learn more about how other communities are embracing the challenge.

Rippel Foundation: Thriving Together in America

A report from Gallup and The Rippel Foundation summarizing the science of well-being. The report shows how local changemakers are using life evaluation data to connect across organizational silos, expand assets, and make great strides toward thriving together.

Community Commons: The Science of Thriving

Measuring thriving offers a credible way to understand not just whether people are getting by, but whether they see their lives as going well now and if they are headed in a hopeful direction. The science of thriving offers a valid, useful measure of one core dimension of well-being: people’s evaluation of their own lives.

WE in the World: Well Being in the Nation

The original Well-Being In the Nation (WIN) Measures were developed by over 100 organizations and communities working together across sectors. The process of developing and updating the measures is stewarded by Well-being and Equity (WE) in the World and is done in collaboration with Healthy People 2030, and the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics.

Measure of America: Toward a Thriving Future

Toward a Thriving Future: New Jersey Dashboard is part of the A Portrait of New Jersey project, which includes this collection of indicators on the well-being of children and young adults by county and legislative district

National Civic League: Promising Practices

The database includes summaries of projects that leverage civic engagement from All-America Cities and other communities. Use the database to search for projects where civic engagement helped cities make progress on issues like health, racial equity, and more.

Rural Livability Project

The central idea behind this method for estimating quality of life is that individuals “reveal” how desirable a place is through their willingness to pay high housing costs and accept lower wages. Places with a high estimated quality of life are often rich with different types of amenities households value such as parks, good weather, scenic views, charming Main Streets, concert venues, and cultural celebrations.