At the Ash Center, we’re generating new ideas and insights for the future of civic engagement — everything from voter participation to democratic deliberation.
Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, American Politics Speaker Series, Nonviolent Action Lab, Reimagining Democracy Program
Civic engagement — from voting to volunteering — is the engine that drives democracy forward. Robust citizen participation at every level of government provides the feedback that democratic systems require to be responsive and productive.
But what happens when people are systemically shut out of deliberation? Can we boost declining voting rates? How will we create a culture of civic engagement in an increasingly digital, AI-influenced world?
These are the questions the Ash Center community works to answer.
Our programs generate novel ideas about making civic engagement more robust, enabling everyone to participate. Ash scholars are researching how citizens can better provide input into government programs, processes, and policies. Together, we are developing a blueprint for what the future of civic engagement can look like.
We encourage you to explore the below events, research, and commentary to learn more about our work.
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As efforts get underway to expand the franchise to non-citizens in Boston, the Ash Center and the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston hosted a conversation to learn about how non-citizen voting once was the norm and how it’s making a comeback.
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Harvard Ash Center Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy Miles Rapoport advocates that universal voting, a requirement that every citizen cast a ballot, could reduce polarization and pave a pathway to a more equitable American democracy.
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The 2020 election saw a dramatic increase in Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) voter participation—increasing ten percentage points over 2016. In the runup to the 2022 midterm elections, how will political parties continue to court AAPI voters? What strategies work to reach the growing AAPI community?
Policy Brief
The programs and rules that affect Americans’ daily lives and security are profoundly shaped by the regulatory and rule-making process within the Executive Branch of government.
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In this panel discussion, community organizers, leaders, and democracy advocates explored examples from communities all over the country where this is working today. Then, they discussed the challenge of replicating and expanding community civic infrastructure initiatives across the country.
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The Ash Center, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Center for Public Leadership, FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, and the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston hosted a conversation on the urgent issues – from education and housing to economic development and communal violence – that the next mayor of Boston must address to rectify structural inequities and support Black and Brown communities.
Policy Brief
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Organizers and practitioners around the globe have long utilized “public narratives” as a way of connecting their work to leadership by learning to tell a story of self, a story of us, and a story of now. In this panel discussion, Ash Center Democracy Fellow Dr. Emilia Aiello examined how public narratives can contribute to community building and power building even under constrained conditions. Dr. Aiello was joined by leaders and practitioners of the Qom Ma’al Muallem (Stand Up with the Teachers) Campaign, which has been organizing for female workers rights in Jordan. The campaign was originally supported by the International Labor Organization (ILO), and coached by Ahel, a community-based organization that has aided organizing efforts that promote freedom, justice, and human rights for over ten years in countries across the Middle East, such as Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon.
Panelists include:
Feature
Two Kennedy School student research projects chart path forward on voter engagement.
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In this discussion, Ash Center Democracy Postdoctoral Fellow Johnnie Lotesta talked with leaders from the environmental justice, gun violence prevention, labor, and immigration movements about how they balanced these commitments in the course of their work.
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The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation hosted a book talk on Prisms of the People: Power & Organizing in Twenty-First-Century America with co-authors Elizabeth McKenna and Michelle Oyakawa.
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The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation convened advocates from the states and Capitol Hill to discuss what is at stake and the strategies being used in the fight for voting rights and democracy reform.
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The 2020 elections were a dramatic interplay of major procedural changes brought about as a result of COVID-19, multiple attempts to limit and discourage voting and a strong pushback against them, and extraordinary efforts to mobilize citizens to vote.
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The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation hosted a conversation to discuss the priorities of LGBTQ voters and how they are being mobilized to get out and vote in November 2020.