Policy Brief
Labor Unions and Civic Participation: How Unions Can Increase Member Engagement
A new policy brief explores how unions help members become more engaged in civic and political life.
Book
Democracy Reinvented: Participatory Budgeting and Civic Innovation in America
Issues
Democracy Reinvented is the first comprehensive academic treatment of participatory budgeting in the United States, situating it within a broader trend of civic technology and innovation. This global phenomenon, which has been called “revolutionary civics in action” by the New York Times, started in Brazil in 1989 but came to America only in 2009. Participatory budgeting empowers citizens to identify community needs, work with elected officials to craft budget proposals, and vote on how to spend public funds.
Brookings Institution Press, 2016
Media Release
Allen Lab launches new Digital Civic Infrastructure Initiative to help governments strengthen democracy through technology
The new initiative combines municipal partnerships, digital tools, and research to help communities improve transparency, civic participation, and public service delivery.
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.