Developed by Tharini Rouwette
Founder, Allies in Colour | CEO, COMPELL
Definition
Civic Capability Infrastructure refers to the systematic frameworks, educational programs, and institutional mechanisms designed to build foundational knowledge, skills, and networks that enable individuals, particularly those from marginalised or underrepresented communities, to meaningfully participate in civic and political life.
This concept is distinguished by three core commitments:
- Infrastructure: systematic, scalable, and sustainable frameworks (not isolated interventions or one-off programs)
- Capability: actionable skills, networks, and strategic capacity (not abstract knowledge or passive information)
- Civic: encompassing formal political participation, governance pathways, and broader democratic engagement (not limited to voting or volunteering)
Provenance
The term “civic capability infrastructure” was coined by Tharini Rouwette in 2024 through her work establishing the Australian Civic Education (ACE) Leadership Program at the Centre of Multicultural Political Engagement, Literacy, and Leadership (COMPELL).
The concept emerged from a practical observation: while some Australians inherit institutional political knowledge through family networks and established connections, marginalised communities especially must deliberately build this infrastructure for themselves. Civic capability infrastructure names both the gap and the solution.
Relationship to Existing Concepts
Civic capability infrastructure builds on and extends existing frameworks:
| Concept | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Civic education | Provides the what; civic capability infrastructure provides the how and the scaffolding |
| Social capital | Measures existing networks; civic capability infrastructure builds networks where none exist |
| Democratic resilience | Describes the desired outcome; civic capability infrastructure is the mechanism |
| Multicultural advocacy | Secures symbolic recognition; civic capability infrastructure secures structural access |
Applications
The civic capability infrastructure framework currently informs:
- Australian Civic Education (ACE) Leadership Program (original application)
- Multicultural WHIP (Women Hustling in Politics) and its Power in Practice Lab
- COMPELL‘s political literacy initiatives
- The Governance Authority governance pathways/initiatives
- Allies in Colour multicultural peak body advocacy and capacity building
Attribution
When referencing this concept, please attribute as follows:
Academic or formal contexts:
“Civic capability infrastructure” (Rouwette, 2024), developed through the Centre of Multicultural Political Engagement, Literacy, and Leadership (COMPELL).
General or media contexts:
The term “civic capability infrastructure” was coined by Tharini Rouwette, founder of Allies in Colour and CEO of COMPELL.
When citing specific applications:
…using COMPELL’s civic capability infrastructure framework.
Use and Permissions
This concept is offered to advance democratic participation and civic inclusion.
You are welcome to:
- Use the term with attribution as above
- Apply the framework in non-commercial community and educational settings
- Reference this document in your own work
For commercial use, substantial derivative works, or collaboration inquiries:
Please contact to discuss acknowledgment, partnership, or licensing.
Contact:
Tharini Rouwette
Email: tharini@compell.com.au
Website: www.compell.com.au
© 2024 Tharini Rouwette. This document may be shared with attribution.
Q: Hasn’t “civic infrastructure” been discussed for years?
A: Yes. The term “civic infrastructure” is well-established in academic and policy circles. It generally refers to the places, policies, programs, and practices that enable civic participation, such as libraries, community centres, engagement platforms, convening bodies, and the formal and informal spaces where civic life happens.
Organisations like the Aspen Institute, the Kettering Foundation, and others have published valuable work on building inclusive civic infrastructure, particularly over the past decade.
Q: So how is “civic capability infrastructure” different?
A: Think of it this way:
| Civic Infrastructure | Civic Capability Infrastructure | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | The container: structures, spaces, platforms, and processes where participation happens | The content: systematic building of knowledge, skills, and networks that enable meaningful participation |
| Question it answers | “Where can people engage?” | “How do people gain the capability to engage effectively?” |
| Examples | Community centres, voting systems, engagement platforms, advisory bodies | Political literacy programs, governance pathways, voice rehearsal spaces, network-building initiatives |
You can have the most inclusive civic infrastructure in the world. But if people, particularly those from marginalised communities, lack the capability to use it, the infrastructure remains under-utilised. “Civic capability infrastructure” names the deliberate, systematic investment required to close that gap.
Q: Didn’t the SSIR article talk about engaging marginalised voices?
A: Yes. The 2016 Stanford Social Innovation Review article “Building an Intentional and Inclusive Civic Infrastructure” asked important questions about how to bring people “on the margins” into the centre of civic life.
What it didn’t do, and what no existing framework had done, was name the specific infrastructure required to build the capabilities of those communities so they can participate as equals, not just as invitees.
“Civic capability infrastructure” answers the “how” question that the SSIR article and similar work raise. It names the missing layer.
Q: What about the New America report on “Civic Capacity and Infrastructure”? Doesn’t that use similar language?
A: Yes, and it’s an important piece of work. The 2020 New America report “Rebuilding Democratic Infrastructure” provides a powerful diagnosis of what’s broken in American civic life: the decline of mass-member organizations, the professionalization of advocacy, media fragmentation, and weakening party structures.
It uses the phrase “civic capacity and infrastructure” to describe the institutional ecosystem—civil society, parties, media—that enables or undermines political voice.
Our term “civic capability infrastructure” addresses a different, complementary layer:
| New America Focus | Civic Capability Infrastructure Focus | |
|---|---|---|
| Core question | What’s wrong with our civic institutions? | What do people need to navigate and reshape them? |
| Level | Institutional / systemic | Individual and community capability |
| Orientation | Diagnostic (problem analysis) | Constructive (solution architecture) |
| What it names | The eroded ecosystem | The deliberate framework to rebuild what was lost |
The New America report implicitly calls for what we are building. It documents the decline of the very spaces where people once “gained knowledge, experience, and political efficacy.” “Civic capability infrastructure” names the systematic replacement for what has been lost—designed explicitly for those who never had access in the first place.
We stand on the shoulders of this diagnostic work. Our contribution is moving from diagnosis to design.
Q: Is this a criticism of existing civic infrastructure work?
A: Not at all. It’s a complement.
Strong civic infrastructure and strong civic capability infrastructure are both necessary. One without the other leaves gaps:
- Civic infrastructure without civic capability = spaces where people show up but don’t know how to navigate power
- Civic capability without civic infrastructure = skilled individuals with nowhere to go
Our framework names the missing piece so both can be built together.
Q: Has anyone else used the exact phrase “civic capability infrastructure”?
A: To our knowledge, the specific term was coined by Tharini Rouwette in 2024 through the development of the Australian Civic Education (ACE) Program at the Centre of Multicultural Political Engagement, Literacy, and Leadership (COMPELL).
While related concepts exist—”civic capacity,” “civic skills,” “democratic resilience”—the deliberate combination of “civic,” “capability,” and “infrastructure” to describe systematic frameworks for building political knowledge and pathways in marginalised communities originates here.
We arrived at this term through practice: observing that while some Australians inherit political knowledge through family networks and established connections, marginalised communities must deliberately build this infrastructure for themselves. “Civic capability infrastructure” names both the gap and the solution.
Q: How does this relate to “social cohesion” or “democratic resilience”?
A: Those terms describe desired outcomes:
- Social cohesion: a society where different groups trust each other and work together
- Democratic resilience: the ability of democratic systems to withstand shocks and stress
“Civic capability infrastructure” is a mechanism for achieving those outcomes. It is the systematic work of building the skills, knowledge, and networks that allow marginalised communities to participate fully—which in turn strengthens both cohesion and resilience.
Dialogue and conversation (important as they are) cannot substitute for structural capability. Civic capability infrastructure builds what conversation alone cannot.
Q: Can others use the term “civic capability infrastructure”?
A: Yes. We developed this concept to advance democratic participation, not to restrict it.
We ask two things:
- Attribution – please credit as outlined in the section above
- Contact us – for commercial use, substantial derivative works, or if you’re unsure
We’re building a field, not a fence. If the term is useful, use it. Just help us track where and how it spreads.
Q: I’ve seen “civic infrastructure” used in different ways. How do I know which is which?
A: A simple test:
- If the focus is on structures, spaces, and processes for engagement → that’s civic infrastructure
- If the focus is on systematically building the knowledge, skills, and networks of people (especially those excluded from power) → that’s civic capability infrastructure
Both matter. They’re different layers of the same ecosystem.
Q: Where can I learn more about applying this framework?
A: The civic capability infrastructure framework currently informs:
- Australian Civic Education (ACE) Leadership Program (original application)
- Multicultural WHIP (Women Hustling in Politics) and its Power in Practice Lab
- COMPELL‘s political literacy initiatives
- The Governance Authority governance pathways/initiatives
- Allies in Colour multicultural peak body advocacy and capacity building
We regularly brief policymakers, philanthropists, and practitioners. Contact us to discuss applications, partnerships, or collaborations.
Australian government | Adult Civics education | Multicultural Women in Politics | Multicultural Women Political Candidate Training Program | Civic Capabilities | Women for Election | Pathways to Politics | Governance | Multicultural representation | Social Cohesion | CALD communities | Media Literacy | FECCA | ECCV | Scanlon Foundation | VMC | Multicultural capability