Welcome to the 
New England Center for Civic Life

Welcome to New England Center for Civic Life (NECCL) at Franklin Pierce College, a consortium of individuals and organizations across New Hampshire and beyond working together to help students and citizens develop a more responsible public voice and work more effectively together to strengthen their communities through the understanding and practices of deliberative democracy.

The New England Center for Civic Life at Franklin Pierce University
was founded in 1998 on the premise that an engaged, deliberative citizenry is vital to a healthy democracy. NECCL seeks to promote the practice and understanding of democratic citizenship within the context of an academic community dedicated to excellence in undergraduate liberal arts education. From its location at the geographical center of New England in Rindge, New Hampshire, the non-partisan NECCL offers to students, faculty, community leaders, members of the media, elected officials and others opportunities to learn methods of dialogue and deliberation effective for building the capacity of citizens to make choices together and to act in the public interest. NECCL programs and projects encourage, support, and prepare students and citizens to be active co-creators of the public world through engaged and collaborative civic participation.