Today, we’re publishing a new report that gives new insight into the local information needs of Americans. It is anchored in a national survey done by EMBOLD research, a non-partisan, non-political data science and research company. Earlier this year, they surveyed over 2,000 Americans on their views of the importance of and satisfaction with information on local topics like economic opportunity, health and well-being, and education. They also asked about education topics, media habits, and civic engagement.
This national survey and report establish a baseline for local versions to come, first in Chicago and then in New York City. The Chicago results will be published next week.
Each of these efforts is a part of a pilot project at Civic News Company designed to support the emerging field of civic information: news organizations, libraries, schools, government agencies, individuals, and community groups coming together across the country to help people get the information they need. A changing media ecosystem, including the collapse of local American print newspapers, has contributed to meaningful challenges — including increased local government inefficiency and corruption, polarization, and civic disengagement. It has also created meaningful opportunities — including new ways to reach people and lower distribution costs.
The “Civic Information Needs Census” is an opportunity to formalize coalitions of local civic information practitioners by providing a shared data set they can all work from, so that they can ultimately understand whether each of their efforts is successful.
It builds on and complements work studying information ecosystems, including the Civic Information Index, Pew’s surveys on local news, and local surveys on information needs like those done in Philadelphia. Over time, we hope that studies like these are done in ways that are consistent (allowing comparison across populations), persistent (allowing for comparison over time), and, above all, actionable (informing actions taken by the field).
You can read the full report here.
The topline results of the survey it is based on are here, and the crosstabs of that survey are here. The full survey and an overview of the methodology are here.
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Here are 6 takeaways you’ll find in the report:
1. On 5 topics critical to overall civic health – health, economic opportunity, politics, the environment, and risks and emergencies – there is a 16 to 26% gap between the importance Americans place in having local information and their satisfaction with what’s available. (PAGE 16) 
2. For American parents there is a 27% gap between importance and satisfaction on education information, larger than any other topic. (PAGE 18)
3. 34% of Americans 18 to 34 turn to creators on social media when they are looking for quality information on the local issues that matter to them (PAGE 20) 
4. Within education, Americans have the largest information needs (~30% gaps between importance and satisfaction) on issues that require system-wide analysis (PAGE 26) 
5. 15% of Americans say they’ve worked to improve local community institutions, services, or policies in the last year. We call these people Civic Catalysts. (PAGE 30) 
6. These Civic Catalysts working to strengthen their communities report larger information needs across every topic, with gaps between importance and satisfaction as much as 15% larger than respondents overall. (PAGE 35) 
For more context on each of these takeaways (and more of them), the full report is here. And check back soon for new data from Chicago!
