Community participation & engagement
Research and practical resources examining how participation, trust, contribution, and civic engagement shape stronger community life.
American Social Capital Survey
Survey Center on American Life, 2025
A large U.S. survey examining Americans’ social and civic engagement, community life, connectedness, and access to civic institutions. It is especially useful for understanding who participates in community life and who is being left out.
Explore the Research: American Social Capital Survey: American Social Capital Survey - The Survey Center on American Life
Socially Connected Communities: Solutions for Social Isolation
Healthy Places by Design
A practical report identifying community-level strategies for reducing social isolation and creating conditions that support trust, belonging, and meaningful social connection.
Read the Report: Socially Connected Communities
How Connected Do Americans Feel to Their Neighbors?
Pew Research Center, 2025
Research on how well Americans know and trust their neighbors, the kinds of help they exchange, and the everyday behaviors that contribute to stronger community ties.
Read the research: How Connected Do Americans Feel to Their Neighbors?
Action Guide for Building Socially Connected Communities
Foundation for Social Connection, Harvard Human Flourishing Program, and Healthy Places by Design
A practical toolkit designed to help community leaders and residents develop local strategies for strengthening social connection and belonging.
Explore the Action Guide: Building Socially Connected Communities
Relationality in Community Engagement: Its Role in Humanizing Health and Achieving Quality Integrated Health Services
World Health Organization, 2024
A practical report that reframes community engagement as a relational process, emphasizing trust, participation, lived experience, and stronger relationships between institutions and communities.
Read the report: Relationality in Community Engagement