In 2001, the Kentucky League of Cities executive team and board of directors identified some disturbing trends within the cities and communities of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. People - citizens - seemed to be disengaging from public life and local public service at a time when they were most needed by their communities. In fact, civic apathy was a concern that crossed borders into many states located within America's heartland.
The Kentucky League of Cities concluded that a separate non-profit corporation should be formed to research, study, educate, and innovate communities about civic engagement. The NewCities Foundation was created with strong financial and staff support from the KLC to create citizen-driven initiatives that would foster locally sustainable efforts to engage the public in open conversation and seek common solutions to a community's problems.
A national symposium was held at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky on September 17, 2001 that convened experts and local leaders to discuss the issues of building civic capacity. At the conclusion of the three-day summit, twelve timeless principles of community building had been identified that would become the foundation for the NewCities Foundation's work. Armed with the principles, the NewCities board and staff launched several key partnerships and initiatives that would begin to transform the landscape of civic engagement. As the goal statement of the NewCities and Kentucky Community and Technical College System partnership states, "we seek to raise bar of civic capacity for the entire Commonwealth of Kentucky." Indeed, we do seek to increase civic capacity by showing ordinary citizens how they can create transformative change within their own communities.
The rest, as the saying goes, is history. In 2005, the NewCities Foundation board of directors changed the company's name to the NewCities Institute to more accurately reflect our research and education mission. In addition, local initiatives were launched in Moscow, Idaho and Morehead, Kentucky which have been highly successful and recognized nationally as models of excellence for their innovative strategies.
In 2007, the NewCities Institute began a series of discussions with the Kentucky Partnership for Successful Schools (PSS) about a potential merger to create greater corporate efficiency and to intensify the work of city leaders with school officials. PSS is a nationally recognized innovator in education reform and has a seventeen year proven track record of research and creative educational programming. The merger was completed in June 2008 and the companies merged under the NewCities banner.
Today, the Kentucky League of Cities remains a strong partner with the NewCities Institute. Without KLC, the NewCities Institute could not have had the success that it now enjoys. NCI continually strives to bring innovative ideas, techniques, and strategies back to KLC so that all of KLC's member cities may benefit from the experiences and lessons learned through NCI's research, partnerships, and initiatives.
New Cities Initiative
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Phone: (859) 977-3739
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