A Proposal to Foster Civic Leadership and Participation in Knoxville

The ineffectiveness of leadership and a low level of citizen participation in public affairs in Knoxville prompted this study. Research showed that Knoxville's leaders are dissatisfied with their own ineffectiveness and there are few opportunities for citizens to participate in the decision-making process for major community issues.

Based on a contemporary theory of leadership, this thesis suggests that the ineffectiveness of leadership reflects an ineffectiveness of followership. Leaders and citizens must engage in an interactive process in order to achieve a mutual empowerment and to build a tradition of civic leadership. This thesis proposes that such an interactive process could be achieved in Knoxville by the creation of a citizen organization which offers a comprehensive, consensus-building approach to finding solutions to community problems.

A model for a Knoxville citizen organization is developed which describes goals, structure and organization, program and activities, and steps for implementation. It is modeled after three successful citizen organizations which are examined in the thesis: the Citizens League of the Twin Cities area, Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee, and Chattanooga Venture.

The thesis describes several factors currently existing in Knoxville which support the feasibility of a citizen organization. It concludes that the success of a Knoxville citizen organization depends upon a strong commitment of resources from a core group of initiators and the recruitment of an active broad-based membership.