Clear Vision Eau Claire a Finalist for National Honor

V1 Staff |

Mike Huggins, Clear Vision Eau Claire Board of Directors
Mike Huggins, Clear Vision Eau Claire Board of Directors (Photo: UWEC)

An organization dedicated to getting Eau Claire residents more engaged in their community IS a finalist for a national good-government award. Clear Vision Eau Claire, a civic engagement and community planning group, is one of four finalists for the Ash Innovations in Public Engagement in Government Award, which is given annually by the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Clear Vision representatives will make a presentation to a selection committee on May 20, and the final winner – who will receive a $100,000 grand prize – will be announced this summer. Clear Vision (www.clearvisioneauclaire.org) has its roots in a “countywide visioning process” that began in 2007 by bringing together local governments, schools, civic organizations, and regular folks. As a result of this process, the community has forged ahead with a number of projects, including a homeless shelter, community neighborhood gardens, the public-private Confluence Project performing arts center, and plans for a major event center. Other finalists for the award include the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for its ongoing approach to mental health awareness; the state of Oregon, for its Oregon’s Kitchen Table project, which connects elected leaders and citizens in joint projects at all levels of government; and the participatory budgeting process in New York City, which allows local people to directly decide how to allocated public funds. To learn more about the award, visit ash.harvard.edu.