Advancing Civic Health for a Stronger Ohio

Introducing the Ohio Civic Health Initiative (OCHI)

Leadership Ohio (LO) is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) committed to making Ohio the best state in which to live and work. In recent years we have evolved to focus on leadership for a healthy democracy, advancing constructive dialogue across red and blue divides, and revitalizing Ohio’s landscape of civic associations to support vibrant and healthy communities.

In 2025 we are conducting an assessment of Ohio’s civic health (Ohio Civic Health Index) in partnership with the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) - and leveraging this analysis to inspire greater hope and engagement in Ohio’s civic life.

The strength of Ohio’s future depends on its civic health. A true belief in civic health recognizes that the real building blocks of a healthy democracy aren’t found in Washington DC - they’re found in ordinary neighborhoods, in the ways we engage with one another, in how we help each other, and in the trust we build through everyday interactions. In a world that often divides us into red and blue and us versus them, a commitment to civic health asks us to view the world not through the lens of division, but through the lens of community - and what we can accomplish together.

What is civic health?
Civic health is exactly what it sounds like - it’s a measure that reflects the degree to which citizens participate in their communities. More precisely, civic health “measures how effectively a community works together to promote the common good, address collective challenges, and improve the quality of life for all its members” (NCoC, 2024).

A Civic Health Index (CHI) is a report that analyzes existing valuable data on a multitude of civic behaviors such as volunteering, voting, charitable giving, attending public meetings, and participation in community life. The 2025 Ohio CHI will reveal how Ohio fares on these many counts, and how it compares to other states.

Ohio’s CHI will be used to innovate new ways to increase Ohioans’ civic participation, generate dialogue, and catalyze sustainable civic improvement strategies.

Why does civic health matter?
Representative Government 
Citizens are central to governance and representative democracy. Today, there are worrying signs that U.S. democracy is declining (NCOC, 2021), including downward trends in U.S. electoral confidence, government transparency, and increasing levels of corruption (NCOC, 2021; Repucci & Slipowitz, 2021). The state of our civic health will determine if citizens continue to respond to and improve the many public policies and laws that affect their lives daily and for whom the policies and laws are intended to serve. Citizens working together, sharing viewpoints, and communicating with democratic institutions – à la civic health - can reduce harms and errors, and build habits that ensure that democracy endures (2023 Indiana Civic Health Index).

Economic and Community Development 
Civic engagement is a powerful driver of both economic and community development. It is closely linked to higher levels of trust which strengthens the business environment - reducing friction, lowering risk, and enabling more reliable transactions.  Engaged communities also foster the social capital that keeps residents connected and committed to local well-being (2023 Indiana Civic Health Index).

Conversely, polarization carries real costs. The latest research highlights the economic toll of workplace incivility - estimated at $2 billion per day. Political polarization was ranked the #2 emerging risk for American businesses, just behind mass generative AI (Gartner, 2024). These findings underscore the value of social cohesion, constructive disagreement, and bipartisan collaboration to America’s economic competitiveness.

Politics is now a top driver of incivility at work with 78% of U.S. workers facing poor treatment because of their political views. “The staggering amount comes from SHRM’s latest Civility Index, released Aug. 7, 2024 which finds in its analysis that U.S. organizations collectively lose more than $1.2 billion in reduced productivity per day due to uncivil behaviors at work and $828 million per day due to absenteeism caused by incivility. According to the Index, workers who experienced or witnessed incivility at work reported an average productivity loss of approximately 31 minutes per occurrence, while incivility is causing others to intentionally avoid the workplace altogether” (Workplace Incivility Expected to Rise in 2025, 2024; Incivility’s Cost to Employers: $2 Billion a Day, 2024).

Health and Well-Being
Physical, psychological, and behavioral health and wellbeing are closely connected to civic health. Recent studies, including those conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Rand Corporation, document the important role civic engagement, including voting, volunteering, and participating in civic organizations plays in addressing community health related challenges. Being socially disconnected increases our risk of heart disease, dementia, depression, anxiety, and premature death, yet about a third of adults and half of young people experience loneliness.

Ohio itself is at the center of the opioid, substance use, and mental health crises, witnessing some of the highest rates of overdose and suicide deaths in the country. Nearly 25% of Ohioans live with a mental health issue and 1 in 13 live with a substance use disorder (SOAR, 2024). Individual purpose, anchored in helping others, can strengthen physical and mental health. Research shows that people with a strong sense of purpose may experience lower levels of depression and anxiety and greater resilience in the face of stress (Murthy, 2024).

Ohio CHI: Expected Outcomes
* Comprehensive assessment of Ohio's civic health
* Recommendations for improving Ohio's civic health
* Increased public awareness of Ohio’s civic health
* Foundation for long-term improvement in civic health

📩 Interested in supporting the Ohio Civic Health Initiative? Contact us at lisaduty@leadershipohio.org for more information.