Open Access Resource
Open Book: Open-Source Budget Transparency for Municipalities
With a majority of municipalities publishing their budgets as PDFs, Open Book offers a free alternative that towns own and run themselves.
Research & Resources
Through our books, case studies, journal articles, papers, and surveys, the Ash Center is home to some of the world’s most advanced research and publications on issues related to democratic governance and self-governance.
To explore all research authored by Ash Center faculty, please visit the Harvard Kennedy School website. You can view the Ash Center’s open access policy here.
Newest
Open Access Resource
Sunset Section 230 and Unleash the First Amendment
Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation Senior Fellow Allison Stanger, in collaboration with Jaron Lanier and Audrey Tang, envision a post-Section 230 landscape that fosters innovation in digital public spaces using models optimized for public interest rather than attention metrics.
Occasional Paper
Nonviolent Action Against Democratic Erosion: The United States in Comparative Perspective
In this report, Matthew Cebul, Lead Research Fellow for the Nonviolent Action Lab, examines the effectiveness of nonviolent action movements in supporting democratic resilience globally. Identifying challenges faced by nonviolent pro-democracy movements, Cebul offers key takeaways for combating accelerating democratic erosion in the US and abroad.
Video
Winning as a Team: How the Las Vegas Raiders are Supporting Civic Engagement
Article
The left knows how to have huge protests. The right knows how to win elections.
In this op-ed, Liz McKenna examines the second ‘No Kings’ protest on October 18 and offers strategies for translating successful protest movements into influential policy change. She emphasizes the importance of sustained organizational efforts alongside protest activity to engage actors across partisan lines, building a broad coalition and a durable base for the movement.
Article
The Resistance Reaches into Trump Country
As organizers for No Kings 2 seek historic turnout on October 18, the broader pro-democracy movement has already broken new ground.
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.
Policy Brief
Experts, not Obstacles: Indigenous Conservation Excellence and the Trap of Conservation at any Cost
Harvard Kennedy School researchers release global scoping review finding Indigenous conservation practices achieve equal or superior results in biodiversity protection, wildfire management and sustainable management of natural resources
Policy Brief
Voting with the Las Vegas Raiders: The Impact of Allegiant Stadium as a Polling Location in 2024
Sports facilities are uniquely positioned to provide an enjoyable voting experience and strengthen civic engagement. A new report by Tova Wang, Director of Research Projects in Democratic Practice, explores the impact of stadium voting in 2024 at Allegiant Stadium, drawing widespread, bipartisan support from voters and election officials and strengthening the relationship between the Las Vegas Raiders and the surrounding community.
Book
Social and Economic Changes in American Indian Reservations: A Databook of the US Census and the American Community Survey, Third Edition 1990-2020
From the Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development comes an updated third edition of a data book providing summary statistics for American Indian tribal communities in the lower 48 states using the public-use US Census and the American Community Survey data.