Civic engagement: bringing in the real experts--a commentary on the Shaping America's Youth initiative.

Shaping America’s Youth (SAY) took a model of civic engagement, the town hall meeting, applied it to a critical national health issue, and then went a step further by scientifically analyzing the results. Because of my 30-year experience with the civic-engagement field as a practitioner, a foundation program officer, and a director of an academic research center, I was invited by the SAY leadership to review the SAY process and put in it context. From the point of view of an outside observer, I address here the implications of the SAY town-meeting process and provide a framework in support of civic engagement as a useful tool for addressing the complex issues that face society today.