Nonpartisan · Civic Education · Good Governance
Democracy doesn't maintain itself. It requires informed citizens, accountable institutions, and leaders who understand that governance is a public trust — not a private privilege.
Across the United States, civic knowledge is declining, participation is uneven, and trust in government institutions has reached historic lows. Civic Sphere was founded in 2026 in response to that reality. Built on the conviction that good governance is both teachable and measurable, Civic Sphere exists to give citizens the knowledge, language, and tools to engage meaningfully with the institutions that shape their lives — and to hold those institutions to a higher standard.
At the heart of Civic Sphere is the 12 Points of Good Governance — an original civic education framework developed by founder Daniel P. Devine and inspired by leading governance standards from institutions including the United Nations, academic political science, and decades of practical civic experience.
The 12 Points — covering principles from Rule of Law and Transparency to Local Power and Ethical Leadership — provide an accessible, nonpartisan standard that any citizen can use to evaluate their government. They are not a partisan checklist. They are a civic compass.
"When citizens can name what good governance looks like, they are better equipped to recognize its absence — and to demand something better."
Civic Sphere was founded by Daniel P. Devine, a Long Island–based civic advocate, grassroots organizer, and democratic activist with more than 25 years of experience in electoral campaigns, community organizing, and civic education.
In 2015, Daniel was nominated by the Nassau County Democratic Committee as a candidate for the County Legislature, representing a district of 128,000 residents. As a Field Organizer for the New York State Democratic Committee, he led teams of 100+ volunteers, conducted 100+ daily outreach calls, and worked across diverse communities to build the grassroots infrastructure that democracy depends on.
Daniel is also the founder of American Civic Power, a grassroots civic organization dedicated to empowering citizens and strengthening democratic participation across Long Island and beyond — serving as its newsletter editor, website designer, and chief organizer.
Civic Sphere and American Civic Power are separate but deeply complementary initiatives, united by a shared founder and a shared mission.
American Civic Power is a grassroots organization focused on community engagement, voter mobilization, and civic empowerment at the local level — the on-the-ground expression of civic advocacy.
Civic Sphere is the civic technology and education platform — developing frameworks, digital tools, and educational resources designed to connect citizens with the principles and practices of good governance. Where American Civic Power organizes communities, Civic Sphere equips them.
Together, they represent a complete civic ecosystem: knowledge and action, platform and people, education and engagement — all in service of a stronger democracy.
Civic Sphere is currently working toward formal incorporation as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, a milestone that will expand our capacity to pursue grant funding, build institutional partnerships, and grow our civic education programs across New York State and beyond.
In the near term, Civic Sphere is focused on:
A free, nonpartisan collection of guides, explainers, and educational resources designed to help everyday citizens understand how government works, how to participate meaningfully, and how to hold institutions accountable. All materials are free to access, share, and use.
Civic Sphere's flagship civic education framework — an accessible, nonpartisan standard for evaluating democratic institutions at every level of government.
| Resource | Format | Description |
|---|---|---|
| The 12 Points of Good Governance — Overview Guide | A concise introduction to all 12 principles, designed for general audiences and community presentations | |
| Rule of Law — Citizen's Guide | PDF + Web | What the rule of law means, why it matters, and how citizens can recognize when it is under threat |
| Transparency in Government — Citizen's Guide | PDF + Web | How open government works, FOIL requests, and how to access public records in New York |
| Accountability — Citizen's Guide | PDF + Web | How elected officials and institutions are held accountable, and what tools citizens have to demand it |
| Participation — Citizen's Guide | PDF + Web | The many forms civic participation takes — from voting to public comment to community boards |
| Consensus Orientation — Citizen's Guide | PDF + Web | How democratic governance mediates competing interests and builds community agreement |
| Equity & Inclusiveness — Citizen's Guide | PDF + Web | Why inclusive governance matters and how communities can advocate for equitable representation |
| Effectiveness & Efficiency — Citizen's Guide | PDF + Web | How citizens can evaluate whether their government is delivering results responsibly |
| Responsiveness — Citizen's Guide | PDF + Web | What responsive government looks like and how to engage when institutions fall short |
| Strategic Vision — Citizen's Guide | PDF + Web | The importance of long-term thinking in governance and how communities can advocate for it |
| Ethical Leadership — Citizen's Guide | PDF + Web | Standards of integrity in public life and how to identify and respond to ethical failures |
| Separation of Powers — Citizen's Guide | PDF + Web | How the division of legislative, executive, and judicial authority protects democratic governance |
| Local Power — Citizen's Guide | PDF + Web | Why local government matters most and how citizens can engage at the community level |
| 12 Points Self-Assessment Scorecard | A practical tool for evaluating your local, state, or federal government against all 12 principles |
Practical guides for citizens at every level of engagement — from registering to vote to running for office.
| Resource | Format | Description |
|---|---|---|
| How to Register to Vote in New York | Web | Step-by-step guide to voter registration, deadlines, and same-day registration options |
| Your Ballot Explained | PDF + Web | A plain-language guide to understanding what's on your ballot — from federal races to ballot propositions |
| How to Find Your Elected Officials | Web | A guide to identifying and contacting your representatives at every level of government |
| How to Attend a Public Meeting | PDF + Web | What to expect at a town board, school board, or city council meeting — and how to make your voice heard |
| How to Submit a Public Comment | Step-by-step guide to participating in public comment periods for proposed legislation and regulations | |
| Filing a FOIL Request in New York | PDF + Web | How to use New York's Freedom of Information Law to access government records |
| How to Run for Local Office | An introductory guide to candidacy requirements, petitioning, and campaign basics in New York State | |
| Civic Participation Checklist | A practical checklist of civic actions every citizen can take — from voting to volunteering to organizing |
Local government shapes more of daily life than any other level. This collection helps citizens understand how local institutions work and how to engage with them effectively.
| Resource | Format | Description |
|---|---|---|
| How Local Government Works in New York | PDF + Web | An overview of counties, towns, villages, cities, and school districts in New York State |
| Your County Legislature Explained | Web | How county legislatures are structured, what they do, and how citizens can participate |
| How School Boards Work | PDF + Web | The role of school boards in local governance and how community members can engage |
| Understanding Your Local Budget | PDF + Web | How to read a municipal budget, where the money comes from, and how citizens can weigh in |
| Community Boards in New York City | Web | For NYC residents — how community boards work and how to get involved |
| Long Island Civic Guide | A Civic Sphere resource covering Nassau and Suffolk County government structures |
Exploring electoral reform topics through a nonpartisan, educational lens — because the rules governing how we elect our representatives matter deeply.
| Resource | Format | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ranked-Choice Voting Explained | PDF + Web | How ranked-choice voting works, where it is used, and what research says about its effects |
| Proportional Representation — A Primer | PDF + Web | An introduction to proportional representation systems and how they differ from winner-take-all elections |
| Gerrymandering and Redistricting | PDF + Web | What gerrymandering is, how redistricting works, and how citizens can advocate for fair maps |
| Campaign Finance Reform — Key Concepts | PDF + Web | An overview of campaign finance law, public financing options, and reform efforts |
| Electoral Systems Comparison Guide | A side-by-side comparison of major electoral systems used in democracies around the world | |
| Small-Dollar Democracy — Public Campaign Financing | PDF + Web | How small-dollar and public financing programs work and why reformers believe they strengthen democracy |
| Electoral Reform in New York State | Web | A current overview of electoral reform efforts underway in Albany, including RCV legislation |
All Civic Sphere resources are free to use in classrooms, community workshops, library programs, and civic education initiatives. Educators and community organizations are invited to contact us about incorporating the 12 Points framework into your programming.
Civic Sphere's work is rooted in a simple but powerful belief: that civic knowledge is civic power. Everything we build is nonpartisan, accessible, and free at the point of use.
Our Flagship Civic Education Initiative
The 12 Points of Good Governance is Civic Sphere's core civic education framework — an original, nonpartisan standard for evaluating democratic institutions at every level of government. Developed by founder Daniel P. Devine and informed by leading governance frameworks, the 12 Points cover the foundational principles of democratic governance: Rule of Law, Transparency, Accountability, Participation, Consensus Orientation, Equity & Inclusiveness, Effectiveness & Efficiency, Responsiveness, Strategic Vision, Ethical Leadership, Separation of Powers, and Local Power.
The platform makes the 12 Points accessible to everyday citizens and organizations through mycivicsphere.com. Users can explore each principle in depth, access supporting resources from the Civic Library, and use the 12 Points as a practical lens for evaluating their own government at the local, state, or federal level.
The platform is live at mycivicsphere.com. The framework is fully published and the Civic Library is actively being built out with supporting guides and resources for each of the 12 principles.
Civic Technology for the 21st Century
Civic Sphere is developing a suite of AI-assisted civic engagement tools designed to help citizens and community organizations navigate local government, identify opportunities for civic participation, and apply the 12 Points framework to real-world governance challenges.
This program is in active development. Civic Sphere is currently scoping the technical architecture and user experience design for the first suite of tools, with a planned initial release to be announced.
Bringing the Framework to Organizations and Communities
The Community Civic Education Initiative is Civic Sphere's outreach program — bringing the 12 Points of Good Governance framework and civic education resources directly to community and civic organizations and local government bodies across Long Island and New York State.
Civic Sphere's programs begin at home — on Long Island and across New York State — with the long-term vision of scaling to communities nationwide.
Establishing the platform, building the Civic Library, and developing the first community partnerships across Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
Expanding community partnerships and civic education programming to organizations across New York State, with a focus on underserved communities.
Scaling the 12 Points platform, AI-assisted tools, and civic education resources to communities across the country through digital distribution and partnerships.
A monthly publication covering civic education, democratic participation, and good governance — through the lens of the 12 Points of Good Governance framework. Written by founder Daniel P. Devine. All content is nonpartisan, free to read, and free to share.
Civic Sphere is proud to announce the official launch of mycivicsphere.com — a nonpartisan civic education platform dedicated to strengthening democratic participation and good governance at every level of civic life.
The platform launches with the full publication of the 12 Points of Good Governance framework, an original civic education resource developed by founder Daniel P. Devine. Also launching today is the Civic Library — a growing collection of free guides, explainers, and educational resources covering the 12 Points, civic participation, local government, and electoral reform. New resources will be added monthly.
Civic Sphere is the civic technology companion to American Civic Power, a Long Island–based grassroots civic organization. Together, they represent a complete civic ecosystem connecting civic education with grassroots community action.
Civic Sphere is currently working toward formal incorporation as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and is actively seeking community and organizational partners on Long Island. Get in touch if your organization is interested in partnership.
We talk a lot about bad governance. Corruption. Dysfunction. Gridlock. Abuse of power. The language of democratic failure is rich and well-worn — we reach for it instinctively when institutions let us down, which they do with increasing frequency.
But what about good governance? What does it actually look like? Can you name its principles? Can you describe it to a neighbor, a student, a first-time voter?
Most people cannot. And that is a problem.
If we cannot name what good governance looks like, we cannot recognize its absence. If we cannot articulate a standard, we cannot hold anyone to it. And if civic education gives us only a vague sense that democracy should work better — without the vocabulary to say precisely how — then we are left with frustration but no framework for action.
That is why Civic Sphere built the 12 Points of Good Governance.
The 12 Points are not a partisan platform. They are not a policy agenda. They are a civic vocabulary — a set of principles, drawn from leading governance frameworks and decades of civic experience, that give citizens a common language for evaluating the institutions that shape their lives.
Rule of Law. Transparency. Accountability. Participation. Consensus Orientation. Equity and Inclusiveness. Effectiveness and Efficiency. Responsiveness. Strategic Vision. Ethical Leadership. Separation of Powers. Local Power.
Twelve principles. Each one both an aspiration and a standard. Each one something that every citizen — regardless of party, ideology, or background — can recognize, apply, and demand.
Good governance needs a name because democracy needs citizens who can hold it to account. The 12 Points are that name. That is what Civic Sphere is here to do.
Ask most people to name their elected officials, and they will start at the top. The President. Their U.S. Senators. Maybe their member of Congress, if they can remember the name.
Ask them to name their county legislator, their town supervisor, their school board members, or their village trustee — and most will draw a blank.
This is one of the great paradoxes of American civic life. The government that affects us most directly — the government that sets our property taxes, runs our schools, maintains our roads, issues our building permits, and shapes the character of our neighborhoods — is the government we pay the least attention to.
Local government is democracy at its most immediate. It is the level at which a single engaged citizen can walk into a meeting, speak for three minutes, and actually change something. It is where the gap between civic participation and civic impact is smallest. And it is, by almost every measure, the most underleveraged arena in American democratic life.
The 12 Points of Good Governance were designed with local government in mind. Consider just a few through that lens:
Transparency — Can you find your town board's meeting agendas online? Are the minutes published promptly and accessibly? Is the budget written in language a resident can understand?
Participation — Does your local government hold public hearings at times when working people can attend? Are there meaningful opportunities to comment on decisions before they are made?
Local Power — Are decisions being made at the most local level possible, or are they being pushed up to county or state government in ways that remove accountability from the community?
Responsiveness — When you contact your local officials, do you hear back? Does it matter?
The next time you think about civic engagement, start close to home. Find out who represents you on your town board, your county legislature, your school board. Attend one meeting. Ask one question. Submit one public comment.
Local government is the most important government you never think about. It is also the one most responsive to your voice — if you use it.
Few electoral reform topics generate more heat — and more confusion — than ranked-choice voting. Depending on who you ask, it is either a cure for political polarization or a recipe for electoral chaos. It has been adopted in New York City, Maine, and Alaska, and rejected or repealed in other jurisdictions.
In a standard plurality election, you vote for one candidate. Whoever gets the most votes wins — even if that is only 30% of the electorate. In a ranked-choice election, you rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and those ballots are redistributed to their voters' next choices. The process continues until one candidate has a majority.
Supporters argue that ranked-choice voting produces winners with broader support, reduces the spoiler effect, and decreases the incentive for negative campaigning — since candidates need to appeal to their opponents' supporters as second or third choices, not just fire up their own base.
Critics argue that ranked-choice voting is confusing for voters, particularly in communities with lower civic literacy or limited English proficiency. They point to longer ballot counts and cases where the candidate with the most first-choice votes did not ultimately win.
Research on ranked-choice voting is genuinely mixed. Some studies find modest reductions in negative campaigning and increased voter satisfaction. Others find little significant difference in turnout or representation. The experience varies significantly by jurisdiction and implementation quality.
Civic Sphere takes no position on whether ranked-choice voting is the right reform for any particular jurisdiction. That is a democratic question — one that communities should debate, deliberate, and decide for themselves. What we believe is that citizens deserve clear, honest, nonpartisan information about electoral reform proposals so they can participate in those debates as informed voices. That is what the Civic Sphere Civic Library is here to provide.
There are many ways to support Civic Sphere's mission — whether you are an individual citizen, a civic or community organization, or a foundation or funder. Every form of engagement matters. Every connection strengthens the work.
Subscribe to the American Civic Power newsletter — Civic Sphere's editorial partner — for monthly civic education content, updates on the 12 Points of Good Governance platform, new Civic Library resources, and civic news from Long Island and New York State. Free, nonpartisan, and published monthly.
The Civic Library is free and open to everyone. Download guides, share explainers, and use the 12 Points of Good Governance framework in your own civic life — at town board meetings, school board elections, community forums, and everyday conversations about governance.
Civic Sphere is actively seeking its first community and organizational partners on Long Island and across New York State. As a partner, your organization will receive:
Civic Sphere invites local government bodies — town boards, county legislatures, school boards, village boards, and other civic institutions — to use the 12 Points of Good Governance as a voluntary self-assessment and transparency tool. Adopting the 12 Points framework signals to your constituents that your institution is committed to the principles of good governance.
Civic Sphere is currently working toward formal incorporation as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Once established, we will be fully positioned to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. In the meantime, we welcome conversations with foundations, philanthropic organizations, and individual funders who share our commitment to civic education and democratic participation.
Civic Sphere is not yet able to accept tax-deductible charitable contributions, as our 501(c)(3) application is pending. We are committed to transparency about our organizational status and will update this page as soon as that milestone is reached.
Strengthening democracy is not the work of any single organization. It is the work of a community — a growing network of civic organizations, educational institutions, government bodies, and nonprofits united by a shared commitment to informed citizenship, accountable governance, and meaningful democratic participation.
Community Partners are the foundation of the Civic Sphere network — the civic leagues, neighborhood associations, block clubs, advocacy groups, and community organizations that do the daily work of democratic participation on Long Island and across New York State. Community Partners receive the full Partner Resource Kit, partner listing on mycivicsphere.com, and invitations to Civic Sphere events.
Ideal for: Civic leagues, neighborhood associations, block clubs, advocacy organizations, voter registration groups, and community development organizations.
Become a Community PartnerEducational Partners incorporate the 12 Points of Good Governance framework and Civic Library resources into formal or informal educational programming — from high school civics classes and college political science courses to library civic education series and community learning programs. Educational Partners receive all Community Partner benefits plus an Educator's Resource Pack.
Ideal for: High schools, colleges and universities, public libraries, community colleges, adult education programs, and civic literacy initiatives.
Become an Educational PartnerInstitutional Partners have a formal, ongoing relationship with Civic Sphere — collaborating on programming, co-developing resources, or using the 12 Points of Good Governance framework as an institutional transparency and accountability tool. Institutional Partners receive all Community and Educational Partner benefits, plus priority access to AI-assisted civic engagement tools and co-branding opportunities.
Ideal for: Local government bodies, county agencies, established nonprofit organizations, civic technology platforms, community foundations, and regional civic coalitions.
Become an Institutional PartnerEstablish five inaugural Community Partner organizations across Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Identify at least one Educational Partner to pilot the 12 Points framework in a formal educational setting.
Expand the partner network to civic organizations and educational institutions across New York State, with a focus on underserved communities where civic education resources are most limited.
Scale the Civic Sphere partner network nationally through digital outreach, organizational relationships, and grant-funded programming.
Civic Sphere is a new organization and our partner roster is open. Being an early partner means you will help shape how the 12 Points framework is used in community settings and be recognized as a founding partner of a civic education platform built for the long term.
Effective Date: April 12, 2026 · Last Updated: April 12, 2026
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