New York City, Oct. 24, 2024 – Columbia World Projects (CWP) at Columbia Global will launch a groundbreaking initiative, Renewing Democratic Participation, supported by a $500,000 grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York. Partnering with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins, this project aims to strengthen democratic participation in the United States by connecting researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to envision pathways for rebuilding a vibrant, inclusive civic culture. 

Addressing the Crisis of Civic Engagement

Despite historically high voter turnout in the 2020 elections, Americans across the political spectrum feel their voices are not being heard by policymakers and that they are not given the tools to actively shape our political system. Trust in government is at an extreme low, with over 80% of Americans believing that political leaders do not take their preferences into account. This initiative seeks to address these concerns by connecting democracy practitioners and scholars to generate solutions to enhance democratic institutions’ responsiveness. 

A Focus on Collaboration and Engagement

Focusing on political engagement and representation, this project will explore ways to foster collaboration among civic organizations, parties, and deliberative democratic practices. The work, while focused on the United States, will assess promising practices emerging across the world, including citizens’ assemblies, participatory budgeting, and ranked choice voting.

“The purpose of the initiative is to help identify grounds for a more vibrant civic culture by cultivating a sense of ‘We the People’ that is open, inclusive, and heterogenous, not a ‘We the People’ by subtraction,” said Ira Katznelson, Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History and Deputy Director of Columbia World Projects. 

Key Elements of the Initiative

Renewing Democratic Participation will focus on key institutions that link people and government, including civic organizations, social movements, political parties, Congress, and federal agencies. “The ambition of this work is to ensure that our system of government includes many more opportunities for the public to meaningfully provide input that informs lawmaking to policy-making,” said Thomas Asher, Director of Research and Engagement at Columbia World Projects. “In doing so, we seek to help extend opportunities for democratic participation beyond the act of voting.”

This initiative will feature three key elements. 

• A lecture speaker series to facilitate field-building within scholarship and greater dialogue across scholarly divisions;
• A series of closed-door convenings bringing together scholars and practitioners to promote new thinking about opportunities to enhance the party system and identify concrete pathways for designing more responsive political institutions; and
• A series of outputs from briefings to policy documents to scholarly publications to amplify the network’s work and support publicity for their recommendations.

Building on Related Initiatives

This project follows earlier initiatives that emphasize strengthening democratic processes and governance. In February 2022, Columbia World Projects released a report on the role of universities in restoring public trust in elections, advocating for higher education to bolster confidence in election systems and processes. More recently, the ongoing Digital Governance for Democratic Renewal initiative, launched in September 2023, is tackling the democratic challenges posed by digital platforms and online misinformation.

This work will be informed by Columbia faculty members Fred Harris, Alex Hertel-Fernandez, Kate Krimmel, and Nadia Urbinati. External partners include the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. If you are interested in learning more about this initiative and how you might become involved, please contact Priya Kurup at [email protected].

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About Columbia World Projects

Columbia World Projects mobilizes the university’s researchers and scholars to work with governments, organizations, businesses and communities to tackle global challenges. Columbia World Projects is a major, university-wide initiative that aims to forge a closer and more useful connection between Columbia University's vast research capabilities and the needs of the world. 

Columbia World Projects is part of Columbia Global, which brings together major global initiatives from across the university to advance knowledge and foster global engagement. In addition to World Projects, those initiatives include the Columbia Global Centers, the Committee on Global Thought, and the Institute for Ideas and Imagination. 

Columbia Global’s mission is to address complex global challenges through groundbreaking scholarly pursuits, leadership development, cutting-edge research, and projects that aim for social impact. 

For all media inquiries please contact Priya Kurup.