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January 2023

Our Common Purpose - Reflections at the Midpoint

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The Çï¿ûÊÓƵ report Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century, released in June 2020, was an ambitious call to action for democracy renovation. The bipartisan Commission on the Practice of Democracy Citizenship rooted the report in the belief that a healthy constitutional democracy depends on a virtuous cycle in which responsive political institutions foster a healthy civic culture of participation and responsibility, while a healthy civic culture keeps our political institutions responsive and inclusive.

Since the report’s release, the Çï¿ûÊÓƵ has joined with partner organizations to launch interdisciplinary working groups, commission new research, and engage policymakers. The collective efforts have inspired legislation, catalyzed public and private investment in civic life, and broadened support for the report’s recommendations and theory of change. This article sets forth some of these key achievements.  

FEDERAL

  • Enlarging the House of Representatives. , introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR); , introduced by Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL). 
  • Responsive Government. , introduced by Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), would improve trust in the federal government by establishing customer experience as a central measure of performance for agencies and the federal government.
  • Connected Communities. , introduced by Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA), establishes an office and pilot grant program within the Corporation for National and Community Service to support civic bridge building.
  • Social Media as Civic Media. , introduced by Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), would require social media companies to share more data with the public and researchers.
  • National Service. appropriated $1 billion to expanding national service. launched by the Biden-Harris administration to inspire young Americans to build a climate resilient economy.
  • Invest in Civic Education. , introduced by Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), requires the National Assessment of Education Progress in civics and history to be administered every two years to certain grade levels and establishes the Civics Secures Democracy Fund.

STATE

  • Ranked Choice Voting. In 2023, used RCV in their elections – two of them, Boulder, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah, used RCV for the first time to elect their mayors. Seven cities across five states voted to adopt or expand the use of RCV.
  • Empowered voters. In 2023, that make it easier to vote. Minnesota and Pennsylvania adopted automatic voter registration and authorized young voters to pre-register before they turn 18. Michigan, New Mexico, and Minnesota adopted automatic voter registration for formerly incarcerated individuals. New York will require high schools to distribute voter registration forms to students.
  • National Service. established a first-in-the nation public service year program for high school graduates in Maryland. Arizona, Maryland, Minnesots, North Carolina, and Utah launched . Utah Governor Spencer Cox announced to promote service and volunteerism statewide.
  • America at 250. launched commissions to develop programming to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026.
  • The Çï¿ûÊÓƵ convened a working group to develop a blueprint for the Trust which has been used to build support from the philanthropic community and civil society leaders.
  • Now under fiscal sponsorship, the Trust has commitments from seven major philanthropies totaling $24 million and is actively recruiting a set of funders that reflect the diversity of America.
  • The Trust will launch in 2024 with a 5-year demonstration phase to experiment and test different approaches of working in partnership with local communities and supporting civic infrastructure building.
  • Champion Network. The Çï¿ûÊÓƵ established a network of over 75 champion organizations from across the nation that are committed to advancing one or more OCP recommendations.
  • Inspiring New Initiatives. Our Common Purpose has served as an inspiration and blueprint for new democracy reform programs, including: the the at Middlebury College; and the at the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University.
  • Educating for Democracy. OCP has been used in college classrooms, with graduate students at public policy schools, with adult learners, in book clubs, and with groups like local chapters of the League of Women Voters.
  • Connecting Local Communities. The Our Common Purpose Communities Project aims to connect and support local communities working to revitalize democracy.

Support for advancing the recommendations in Our Common Purpose is provided by the  S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, The Suzanne Nora Johnson and David G. Johnson Foundation, the Clary Family Charitable Fund, Alan and Lauren Dachs, Sara Lee Schupf and the Lubin Family Foundation, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, and David M. Rubenstein.

The report is online, as are current Our Common Purpose initiatives.
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Project

Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship

Chairs
Danielle Allen, Stephen B. Heintz, and Eric P. Liu