Policy Brief  

DOCE Beats DOGE: The Case for Meaningful Government Transformation Through Citizen Empowerment

A new policy brief by Jon Alexander, Non-resident Democracy Fellow at the Ash Center, argues for the development of a Department of Citizen Empowerment (DOCE) at all levels of government around the world.

A cover photo of the report.

In a new policy brief, Jon Alexander, Non-resident Democracy Fellow at the Ash Center, proposes creating a Department of Citizen Empowerment at every level of government with the goal of transforming public institutions from service providers into facilitators of collective intelligence and civic participation.

Drawing comparisons with the Department of Government Efficiency, the report argues that governments must fundamentally rethink their role—not as institutions delivering outcomes to citizens, but institutions that empower citizens to achieve those outcomes themselves.

More on this Issue

Labor Unions and Civic Participation: How Unions Can Increase Member Engagement
A cover photo of the report.

Policy Brief

Labor Unions and Civic Participation: How Unions Can Increase Member Engagement

In a new policy brief, Tova Wang, Director of Research Projects in Democratic Practice at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation and coauthors, explore how unions help members become more engaged in civic and political life.

Allen Lab Fellow Spotlight: City Charters Are Deliberative Democracy’s Friends

Commentary

Allen Lab Fellow Spotlight: City Charters Are Deliberative Democracy’s Friends

Allen Lab Fellow Tyler Fisher examines the untapped potential of city charters as a vehicle for deliberative democracy, arguing that advocates should work to embed tools like citizen assemblies, participatory budgeting, and town meetings directly into the governing architecture of cities, institutionalizing deliberative democracy one municipality at a time.