Lab Updates

As of August 1, 2026, the Observing Civic Engagement Lab had documented over 162,000 people across 145 organizations from over 4,500 convenings. We have observed many of these community groups for more than a year across Bloomington (IN), the Adirondacks (NY), Kootenai County (ID), and Dubuque (IA).

My favorite part of the last year in the lab has been hearing the many incredible stories of civic groups engaging with their communities through volunteer work, weekly breakfasts, fundraising events, parades, carnivals, socials, and celebrations. Our research assistants document many activities and dynamics that occur during an organization’s convenings, but we also recognize the large amount of invisible labor that occurs individually at home or across email and messaging groups to make things happen. It’s inspiring to see people unite across a common purpose, whether it be a shared love of the outdoors, a commitment to improving the lives of children, or learning more about solving specific community problems.

Since the spring, we have presented some of our findings around technology, mobilizing, and leadership at academic conferences in Illinois, Indiana, New York, and Portugal. We have also enjoyed sharing some of our findings with practitioners and grant-givers. If your organization is interested in someone from our lab giving a presentation, please email us at ocelab@iu.edu. We’d be happy to arrange an in-person or virtual discussion.

We look forward to ongoing observations and other projects that support community work, including expanding the civic infrastructure maps that we’ve begun to build across our four observations sites.

Claire