Introducing the Connective Tissue Policy Framework
What is the role of government in regenerating connection within American communities? Our new framework provides an organized, actionable starting point.
BLUF: We’re launching the Connective Tissue policy framework. This first-of-its-kind framework proposes a reimagined and tangible role for government in regenerating connection within American communities. Explore the framework site here and download the full framework here.
An interconnected origin story
Since the very beginning, the development of this framework and the development of this newsletter have gone hand-in-hand. When we first received the funding to create the policy framework, we decided to launch the newsletter as an opportunity to learn out loud. This was one of the best decisions we made. Not only were many of the curated lists, original pieces, and Q&As that we published informed by our research, but much of what you shared back with us also shaped the content of the framework. The Connective Tissue community has been an integral part of this project from the beginning. We’re excited to publicly release the framework to you all before anyone else, and we’re excited to share more on this framework in the months to come.
Why the framework is needed
The decline and sorting of our civic life has left today’s Americans less connected to one another and their communities than at any point in the last century. Regenerating connection within communities will demand civic, cultural, and policy change, but this is an emergent area of policymaking, and government leaders often don’t know where to begin.
That’s why we created the Connective Tissue framework: to provide policymakers with an organized, actionable starting point for connection-focused policymaking. With 150+ specific policy opportunities featured across 13 policy priorities, the framework provides both a holistic policy vision for regenerating connection within communities and tangible entry points for taking action.
How the framework works
With an experience as fundamental to being human as connection, and a setting as expansive as community, we needed to create a concrete way to think about organizing, devising, and implementing policy. We make the breadth of this framework accessible by structuring it into four complementary chapters, each including three to four related sections (see chart below). But we also make it actionable: offering policy opportunities within each section, organizing them by the stakeholder group who can take action (e.g., local, state, or federal government), and accompanying them with specific case studies and resources to inspire such action.
How to engage with the framework
Step 1: Read the Introduction and Executive Summary (p. 5). We designed the opening sections as a compass for the full document. They will provide you with a solid grounding for how the framework is structured and the sections that will be most relevant to you.
Step 2: Choose your own adventure. Because we drafted each section to be read as an independent, cohesive whole, you may start with the Problem Definition (p. 17) and read the entire document, begin with the Framework Overview (p. 37) and make your way through the full framework, or selectively identify and read the sections that are most of interest to you.
Step 3: Build on the framework. We designed this policy framework as a starting point to be built on — not as the final word on policy and connection within communities. We encourage you to explore our opportunity database and suggest additions, and apply the framework to your particular context while challenging and improving upon it.
What’s next
Beyond reading the framework — whether in part or in full — there are several other ways you can engage further with this project:
Attend a launch event. We’re hosting several live, virtual events with policymakers, practitioners, and academics to help you engage deeper with specific framework sections. You can check out all of our launch events — and register for the ones you’re interested in — on our framework landing page.
Spread the word. Please pass this framework along to any policymakers and practitioners who might be interested in learning more. Forward this Substack post, direct them to the framework website, or send them the full framework.
Partner with us. We’ve created several entry points to partner with us. You can schedule a meeting with me to learn more about the framework, email us about collaborating to host a joint event, or suggest additions to our living opportunity database.
While the decline of connection within American communities partially resulted from policy change, policy can also help build the foundations to make our communities more connected again. Policy change can orient our community institutions to center connection, help Americans flourish through more connected life transitions, and cultivate the enabling conditions for participation and connection within communities. This framework is a starting point, not an endpoint — it’s on all of us to apply, challenge, and build on it from here.