Introduction

This 2022 Rhode Island Civic Health Index—the first of its kind—allows all Rhode Islanders to understand the status of our state’s civic health. Civic health reflects the strength and resiliency of our communities, and as the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) describes it, “how communities are organized to define and address public problems.”1 With the Index, Rhode Island can draw upon data-driven indicators and information about diverse connections to civic life to join the 30 other states that have examined their own civic well-being. This report aims to provide a baseline to help us understand what challenges and opportunities Rhode Islanders share—the first step in determining where we want to go, together.

Like all Americans, over the last decade, Rhode Islanders have experienced profound changes in the fabric of civic life—an expansive category encompassing community, societal, and governmental relationships and infrastructures.

NCoC’s 2021 U.S. Civic Health Index reports on the underlying trends affecting all states: “Stagnating levels of civic education, dwindling community public membership, and worsening interpersonal and institutional trust.”2 Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Rhode Islanders have also navigated fundamental rearrangements of how we interact with our communities, societies, and governments. Longstanding social, racial, and economic inequities have manifested in new and troubling ways, while shifting connections between public health, partisan polarization (a wide and growing gap between the beliefs of political parties), and the information ecosystem (including media outlets and social media) have tested the fabric of democracy.

However, not all changes have been detrimental to civic life. The national Index also reports “signs of a vibrant civic nation with increased rates of volunteerism, political knowledge, and casting ballots, and millions of Americans joining together to protest police violence against Black Americans and other communities of color”—phenomena present in Rhode Island.3

This report is an invitation to all Rhode Islanders to reflect on our shared experiences. It is also a call to action. It can be used in many contexts, including public policy, public health, government, education, journalism, community development, and the humanities, arts, and culture sectors. We hope it proves a useful tool for collective growth and engagement in your own life, in your own communities, and in your own state.