Power of the people
The Penn Project for Civic Engagement aims to strengthen the ties between citizens and their governments.
Operated by Penn's Graduate School of Education, the Project brings citizens, government officials and policy experts together to address the most pressing problems facing local governments—and provide policymakers with tangible solutions.
The Project has tackled such thorny issues as the controversial development plans for Philadelphia's waterfront and the complicated redistricting of the nearby Lower Merion School District. And now, with the City of Philadelphia facing a budget crisis, the Project is hosting a series public forums to gather citizen input on how Mayor Michael Nutter should, and shouldn't, balance the city's 2010 budget. The city has pledged to use the information during the budgeting process.
"To me, this is really about giving residents a voice—a deliberative voice, a public voice—so we can come together and consider all the tradeoffs," says Harris Sokoloff, faculty director for the Project. "This will be residents telling the city, 'This is what we would do if we were in your shoes.'
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