Feature
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School, has announced the launch of a new Program on Democracy and the Informed Public, a major initiative designed to strengthen democratic governance by improving how people access, understand, and use essential information.
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School, has announced the launch of a new Program on Democracy and the Informed Public, a major initiative designed to strengthen democratic governance by improving how people access, understand, and use essential information.
At a time of rapid technological change, growing information inequality, and declining trust in institutions, the Program will examine how Americans receive information about everyday risks, rights, public services, and civic responsibilities — and how better communication can help individuals, families, and communities make informed decisions.
An informed public is the cornerstone of democracy. Yet too often, people lack the information they need to protect their health and safety, exercise their rights, or participate fully in civic life. This Program led by co-directors Archon Fung and David Weil, and Program Director Jessica Creighton, will focus on closing those gaps.
Addressing a Growing Challenge
While governments, businesses, and institutions collect more data than ever before, critical information about health, safety, consumer protection, and civic participation frequently fails to reach the people who need it most. Research shows that workers, consumers, and community members often face hidden risks — from unsafe workplaces and contaminated drinking water to complex benefit systems and opaque digital platforms.
A Collaborative, Research-Driven Approach
Housed at the Ash Center, the Program builds on the Center’s long-standing work in democratic innovation and transparency. It will bring together scholars, journalists, policymakers, technologists, and community organizations to study real-world cases, test new approaches to public communication, and translate research into actionable policy insights. Initial research focuses on workplace rights, public health communications, and election information, with plans to expand further.
Looking Ahead
The initiative will begin as a three-year program, with plans to grow into a long-term effort supporting research, education, and public engagement over the next decade.
Policy Brief
In this paper, Mary W. Graham examines how unintended information inequities undermine critical health and safety alerts. Focusing on three key policies — wildfire alerts, drinking water reports, and auto safety recalls — she identifies common roots of these disparities and highlights efforts by policymakers to address them.
Article
In this study, Archon Fung and Stephen Kosack assess the current state of transparency initiatives across the globe. Honing in on interventions with a focus on “transparency for accountability”—which show mixed results—they develop a framework of five “worlds” that helps account for the variation in outcomes.
Book
Full Disclosure explores how transparency policies, like corporate disclosures and nutritional labels, can empower citizens and improve governance, but often fall short due to incomplete or irrelevant information, offering insights into making them more effective.
