Tufts University, Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life

The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), part of Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University, is a non-partisan, transdisciplinary research institute focused on illuminating systemic shifts in policy and practice needed for equitable civic development, engagement, and leadership of young people. It works nationally with youth-serving organizations to help them understand and assess the impact of their programming, as well as make the case for policy and infrastructure that supports youth engagement. This grant provides flexible support to CIRCLE to create actionable knowledge about a range of factors influencing youth civic engagement, with a special focus on the role media plays in supporting an expanded youth electorate. Activities will include building awareness of the vastly different civic media ecologies in which youth live and conducting research to build recommendations for stakeholders in varied media contexts. CIRCLE leverages its research to improve opportunities for all young people to acquire and use the skills and knowledge they need to meaningfully participate in civic life.

The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), part of Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University, is a non-partisan, transdisciplinary research institute focused on illuminating systemic shifts in policy and practice needed for equitable civic development, engagement, and leadership of young people. It works nationally with youth-serving organizations to help them understand and assess the impact of their programming, as well as make the case for policy and infrastructure that supports youth engagement. This grant provides flexible support to CIRCLE to conduct research on youth civic and political participation, with a focus on exploring the role media plays in young people’s civic and political development. CIRCLE leverages its research to improve opportunities for all young people to acquire and use the skills and knowledge they need to meaningfully participate in civic life.

The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), housed within the Tisch School for Civic Life at Tufts University, is a nonpartisan research institute that focuses on the civic development, engagement, and leadership of young people, especially those marginalized or disadvantaged in political life. Over the past 18 months, CIRCLE has helped to launch and implement the 22 x 20 campaign, a nonpartisan national media literacy and civics campaign targeting the 22 million young people who will be eligible to vote in 2020. Through partnerships with youth-focused organizations across the country, CIRCLE’s goal is to broaden and diversify youth voice about public issues in the lead-up to national and local elections while expanding knowledge and scholarship about the relationship between the media and youth civic engagement. This grant supports CIRCLE to continue to support educators and community leaders across the country in efforts that engage youth in civic and political life through media creation. It also will gather and analyze data based on these activities to provide insight into the connections between youth media making, civic engagement, and voting.