CLDE Theory of Change Tool Foundry

Since the publication of the A Crucible Moment report in 2012, members of the AASCU’s American Democracy Project and NASPA LEAD Initiative networks have been engaging in conversations about our collective work in the CLDE field in the hopes of fulfilling the vision laid out by our colleagues to create a more socially just, civically engaged, and democratically-minded future. In doing so, the CLDE Theory of Change has evolved through the annual CLDE Meetings and an exploration in blog format in hopes of considering how  these components of a thriving democracy -- civic ethos, civic literacy and skill building, civic inquiry, civic action, and civic agency -- are actualized on and off our campuses.

This session is intended to further explain the CLDE Theory of Change and to share emerging tools with which to incorporate the four question framework into your work. Specifically the session will explore a Civic Autobiography Tool and a social distance reduction tool developed outside of and in conjunction with the Tool Foundry at UMBC. Presenters will provide attendees with an illustration of the process of creating and implementing these and other tools for democratic practice.

This session is a continuation of the CLDE: Emergent Theory of Change session from December 2017.

Learning Outcomes

By attending this session, participants will:

• learn more about the CLDE Theory of Change;
• explore ways in which they can use tools to actualize the CLDE Theory of Change; and
• discuss the process of creating tools that align with the CLDE Theory of Change.