Danielle Allen
Professor of Public Policy, James Bryant Conant University Professor
Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation
Renovating democratic institutions for the 21st century
The Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation develops the policy innovations needed to achieve healthy democracy in the 21st century. Healthy democracy today must deliver responsive representation and effective decision-making for large, complex, heterogeneous, digitally-powered societies operating in a globalized economy. Our multidisciplinary community of scholars, practitioners, and partner organizations work together to shepherd concepts and reforms into practice — to translate research into impact.
Research Workstreams
The lab currently supports four key research workstreams:
- New Frameworks for Political Economy
- Technology and Democracy: Learn more about our work here.
- Universal Civic Learning Policy
- Governance Mechanisms
Lab Staff
Darshan Goux
PhD, Senior Lab Director
Sarah Hubbard
Associate Director for Technology & Democracy
Lab Members
Ben Barsky
Lab Affiliate; Assoc. Professor, UCSF Law School
Mathis Bitton
Doctoral Student, Harvard Government Department
Naomi Corlette
Harvard College
Charlie Covit
Researcher, Harvard College
Emma Ebowe
Doctoral Student, Harvard Government Department
Keren Elmore
Harvard College
Ami Fields-Meyer
Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation
July 2024-June 2026
Tyler Fisher
Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Cynthia Garcia
Researcher, Harvard College
Brian Highsmith
Doctoral Student, Harvard Government Department
Yen-Lin Huang
Non-resident Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Thao Nguyen Kelly
Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Hannah Kunzman
Researcher;
Doctoral Student, Harvard Government Department
Hillary Lehr
Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Gideon Lichfield
Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Jeremy McKey
Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Sonali Nijhawan
Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Alex Pascal
Lab Affiliate; Executive Director, Berkman Klein Center
Priyanka Sethy
Doctoral Student, Harvard Government Department
Christine Slaughter
Research Fellow, AY2025-2026
Allison Stanger
Senior Fellow, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation;
Co-Director and Co-Investigator, GETTING-Plurality Research Network
Feb. 2024-Jan. 2026
Sam Wang
Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Paulius Yamin
Non-resident Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Lab Alumni
Felix Chen
Harvard College
Sofia Corona
Researcher, Harvard College
Caroline Curran
Researcher, Harvard College
Owen Ebose
Researcher, Harvard College
Eli Frankel
Researcher, Harvard College
Conner Huey
Researcher, Harvard College
David Knight
Principal Investigator;
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Columbia University
Woojin Lim
Researcher, Harvard College
Cris Moore
Professor, Santa Fe Institute
Saddat Nazir
Researcher, Harvard College
Charlotte Ritz-Jack
Researcher, Harvard College
Christian Schmidt
Researcher;
Master in Urban Planning Candidate, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Tessel van Oirsouw
EthicAI and Former Visiting Fellow, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation
Jama Willis
Communications, Harvard College
Upcoming Events
In-Person Book Talk – Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship
In-Person Event
Ash Center Seminar Room 225, Suite 200, 124 Mount Auburn Street
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT
The Latest News and Research
Additional Resource
A Framework for Digital Civic Infrastructure
Creating a healthy digital civic infrastructure ecosystem means not just deploying technology for the sake of efficiency, but thoughtfully designing tools built to enhance democratic engagement from connection to action.
Commentary
Why I’m Excited About the White House’s Proposal for a Higher Ed Compact
Last week’s leak of the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” drew intense reactions across academia. Critics call it government overreach threatening free expression, while supporters see a chance for reform and renewed trust between universities and policymakers. Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, director of the Democratic Knowledge Project and the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, weighs in.
Commentary
Setting the 2025-26 Agenda for the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation
Amid rising illiberalism, Danielle Allen urges a new agenda to renew democracy by reorienting institutions, policymaking, and civil society around the intentional sharing of power.
Feature
Governing with AI – Learning the How-To’s of AI-Enhanced Public Engagement
Public engagement has long been too time-consuming and costly for governments to sustain, but AI offers tools to make participation more systematic and impactful. Our new Reboot Democracy Workshop Series replaces lectures with hands-on sessions that teach the practical “how-to’s” of AI-enhanced engagement. Together with leading practitioners and partners at InnovateUS and the Allen Lab at Harvard, we’ll explore how AI can help institutions tap the collective intelligence of our communities more efficiently and effectively.
Feature
Technology and Democracy: What to Read This Summer
This list of resources, curated by the GETTING-Plurality Research Network at the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, highlights emerging ideas at the intersection of technology and democracy.
Feature
A Summer Reading List for America’s 250th Anniversary
On July 4, 2026, America will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. As this milestone approaches, the team at the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation has curated a collection of books, podcasts, and events that explore the meaning and impact of the declaration from 1776 to today. Join us in revisiting the document itself, reflecting on its legacy, and considering the ongoing struggle to uphold democratic ideals.
Additional Resource
Experiential Civic Learning for American Democracy
A new report provides a clear, actionable framework for effective experiential civic learning—what it is, why it matters, and how to do it well.
Additional Resource
Utah Digital Choice Act: Reshaping Social Media
The bipartisan Utah Digital Choice Act aims to reform the social media ecosystem by giving users more choice and ownership over their personal data, while encouraging platform innovation and competition.
Policy Brief
GETTING-Plurality Comments on the Development of a 2025 National AI R&D Strategic Plan
The GETTING-Plurality Research Network submitted a public comment on the Development of a 2025 National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan.
Policy Brief
GETTING-Plurality Comments on Modernizing the Privacy Act of 1974
The GETTING-Plurality Research Network submitted a comment to Representative Trahan’s Request for Information to modernize the Privacy Act of 1974.
Commentary
Weaponized AI: A New Era of Threats and How We Can Counter It
Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation Fellow Dr. Shlomit Wagman lays out a framework to address the threats artificial intelligence poses to global security and democratic institutions.
Additional Resource
Why US States Are the Best Labs for Public AI
In a recent piece for Tech Policy Press, Allen Lab Senior Fellow Alex Pascal and Nathan Sanders outline how US states are well-positioned to lead the development of Public AI. State governments can act as “laboratories of twenty-first century democracy” to experiment with AI applications that directly benefit citizens.
Additional Resource
Understanding DOGE and Your Data
Over the past several weeks, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) within the Trump Administration has been embedding staff in a range of United States federal agencies. These staff have gained access to data maintained by the federal government. This guide explains what is in the data, what DOGE is doing with it, and why it matters to all Americans.
Policy Brief
GETTING-Plurality Comments on White House OSTP AI Action Plan
The GETTING-Plurality Research Network submitted a public comment on the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Request for Information on the Development of an Artificial Intelligence Action Plan.
Commentary
“A Time for Choosing” — Danielle Allen on What Comes After DOGE
At a conference earlier this month, Professor Danielle Allen argued that what we are seeing with DOGE is the real time implementation of an extreme ideological vision of the role that technology and a small cohort of its wealthiest leaders should have in the world.