Most communities we reviewed encompass cities or counties, some are broader regions, or otherwise cross jurisdictional boundaries. In some of these cities, counties, or regions, the focus of participation or measurement is sometimes narrowed to neighborhoods or multi-neighborhood community districts. Governance can be defined many ways, and to have many components besides these three. As described in section V, the Citizens League model especially examines the linkages among these elements. Together, these three elements can be leveraged to build effective governance that stimulates improved conditions in the community.
Governance is a broader notion than government.
Governance involves interaction between these formal institutions and those of civil society. Both government and citizens play varied roles in affecting the larger environment of community conditions and often both are crucial to achieving results. As a graphic representation of the Citizens League's model for effective governance, Figure 1 displays citizen engagement, government policy and implementation, and performance measurement as three overlapping elements that can affect community conditions. Private organizations are included primarily in the sense of their participation for public purposes, rather than only to protect narrow private interests. In this view, citizen engagement in a community is best when it is broad, inclusive, and representative of citizens and interests from the entire community.