Policy Brief
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.
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.
Commentary
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.
Article
In a recent American Journal of Public Health essay, Ash Center Director Archon Fung, Democracy Visiting Fellow Aditya S. Pawar, former Non-resident Fellow Jon Alexander, and their co-authors examine how public deliberation and civic engagement can produce more efficient and reliable public health policy.
Feature
Books, reports, and articles exploring the front lines of American politics and democracy, as featured on the Terms of Engagement podcast.