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2020 Projects, Publications, and Meetings of the Ƶ

American Institutions, Society, and the Public Good

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American Institutions

Since its founding, projects of the American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences that work to bolster American citizens’ understanding of and engagement with the institutions of their government have been a hallmark of the Ƶ’s work. Our charter states that the “end and design” of the American Ƶ is to “cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people.” Today this effort involves projects designed to advance the state of scholarship about the nation’s institutions and to develop innovative solutions to problems facing American society in the twenty-first century. Projects in this area interpret the term “institution” broadly, focusing on all of the constituent elements of government and civil society. These projects address how individual citizens interact with social structures, how these experiences prepare people to make a positive contribution to a diverse America, and how these institutions are evolving. The Ƶ shares this research through publications, convenings, and active outreach.
 

Program Advisory Committee
 

CHAIR

Frances McCall Rosenbluth
Yale University



MEMBERS

Danielle Allen
Harvard University


Thomas Bender
New York University


Alan M. Dachs
Fremont Group


Lee Epstein
Washington University in St. Louis


Susan Hanson
Clark University


Antonia Hernández
California Community Foundation


William Poorvu
Harvard Business School


Kenneth Prewitt
Columbia University


James M. Stone
Plymouth Rock Companies

 


 

PROJECT

Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship

The Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship is a multiyear project of the American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences. The Commission focuses on the impact of political institutions, civic culture, and civil society on individual practice in contemporary democracy in the United States. The work of the Commission explores the factors that encourage and discourage people from becoming engaged in their communities; sheds light on the mechanisms that help people connect across demographic and ideological boundaries; examines how the transformations in our media environment have altered what civic engagement looks like in many communities; and makes recommendations that will encourage participation and empower everyday citizens. The project uses a definition of “citizenship” that extends beyond simple legal status to include people who are “civic participants” in many domains within their communities.

The project seeks to increase democratic engagement in the United States with recommendations that will help empower voters, increase political and civic participation, and revitalize our civic culture. Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century, the Commission’s final report and recommendations, was released in June 2020 and included a call to have significant progress on all of its recommendations by 2026.
 

COMMISSION CHAIRS
 

Danielle Allen
Harvard University

Stephen Heintz
Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Eric Liu
Citizen University

 

COMMISSION MEMBERS
 

Sayu Bhojwani
The New American Leaders Project

danah boyd
Data & Society

Caroline Brettell
Southern Methodist University

David Brooks
The New York Times

David Campbell
University of Notre Dame

Alan Dachs
Fremont Group

Dee Davis
Center for Rural Strategies

Jonathan F. Fanton
President Emeritus, American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences

Lisa García Bedolla
University of California, Berkeley

Sam Gill
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Marie Griffith
Washington University in Saint Louis

Hahrie Han
Johns Hopkins University

Antonia Hernández
California Community Foundation

Wallace Jefferson
Alexander Dubose & Jefferson, LLP

Joseph Kahne
University of California, Riverside

Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg
Tufts University

Yuval Levin
National Affairs

Carolyn Lukensmeyer
National Institute for Civil Discourse

Martha McCoy
Everyday Democracy

Lynn Nottage
Playwright

Steven Olikara
Millennial Action Project

Norman Ornstein
American Enterprise Institute

Bob Peck
FPR Partners

Pete Peterson
Pepperdine University

Miles Rapoport
Harvard University

Michael Schudson
Columbia University

Sterling Speirn
National Conference on Citizenship

Marcelo Suárez-Orozco
University of Massachusetts Boston; formerly, University of California, Los Angeles

Ben Vinson
Case Western Reserve University

Diane Wood
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit

Judy Woodruff
PBS

Ethan Zuckerman
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

 

PROJECT STAFF
 

Paul Erickson

Gabriela Farrell

Katherine Gagen

Darshan Goux

Tania Munz
 

FUNDERS
 

S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation

Rockefeller Brothers Foundation

Alan and Lauren Dachs
 

Project Publications
 

The Internet and Engaged Citizenship, David Karpf (American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences, 2019)

The Data Driving Democracy, Christina Couch (American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences, 2020)

The Political and Civic Engagement of Immigrants, Caroline Brettell (American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences, 2020)

Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century (American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences, 2020)
 

Project Meetings
 

Meeting of the Commission

September 16–17, 2019
Cedarbrook Lodge
Seattle, WA

The fourth meeting of the full Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship focused on finalizing the Commission’s findings and recommendations. The members of the Commission reviewed six strategies and thirty-one tactical recommendations and agreed by unanimous consent to endorse the final report.
 

Meeting Chairs
 

Danielle Allen
Harvard University

Stephen Heintz
Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Eric Liu
Citizen University

 

Commission members at the September 16, 2019, meeting. From front to back: Martha McCoy, Marie Griffith, Lisa García Bedolla, Joseph Kahne, David Campbell, and Ben Vinson.
Commission members at the September 16, 2019, meeting. From front to back: Martha McCoy, Marie Griffith, Lisa García Bedolla, Joseph Kahne, David Campbell, and Ben Vinson.
Commission members and Ƶ President David Oxtoby at the Commission’s September 16, 2019, meeting.
Commission members and Ƶ President David Oxtoby at the Commission’s September 16, 2019, meeting.

 

Convening on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship

February 7, 2020
The House of the Ƶ
Cambridge, MA

A cornerstone of the work of the Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship has been listening to the voices of American citizens. On February 7, 2020, the Commission brought together more than seventy participants from nearly all of its forty-seven listening sessions, as well as Commission members, civic leaders, and philanthropists, to hear from one another and share their work through a series of panels, breakout sessions, and presentations.

Panel 1: The Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship

Panel Chair
 

David Oxtoby
American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences

 

Participants
 

Danielle Allen
Harvard University

Stephen Heintz
Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Eric Liu
Citizen University

 

Panel 2: Inspire a Culture of Commitment to American Democracy and One Another

Panel Chair
 

Eric Liu
Citizen University

 

Participants
 

Serene Jones
Union Theological Seminary

Mina Layba
City Manager’s Office, City of Thousand Oaks

Cameron Patterson
Moton Museum

John Wood Jr.
Better Angels

 

Panel 3: Dramatically Expand Civic Bridging Capacity

Panel Chair
 

Stephen Heintz
Rockefeller Brothers Fund

 

Participants
 

Kim Covington
Arizona Community Foundation

Vanessa Grossl
BGCF365

Howard Parr
Akron Civic Theater

Jon Pritchett
Mississippi Center for Public Policy

 

Panel 4: Empower Voters

Panel Chair
 

Danielle Allen
Harvard University

 

Participants
 

Habon Abdulle
Women Organizing Women Network

Trey Grayson
former Secretary of State, Kentucky

Julio Medina
Exodus Transitional Community

 

Angela Cutbill (left; from Calabasas, CA) and Richard Young (right; from Lexington, KY) participate in the “Convening on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship.”
Angela Cutbill (left; from Calabasas, CA) and Richard Young (right; from Lexington, KY) participate in the “Convening on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship.”
From left to right: Ƶ President David Oxtoby and Commission Cochairs Stephen Heintz, Danielle Allen, and Eric Liu discuss the Commission’s work during the convening held at the House of the Ƶ on February 7, 2020.
From left to right: Ƶ President David Oxtoby and Commission Cochairs Stephen Heintz, Danielle Allen, and Eric Liu discuss the Commission’s work during the convening held at the House of the Ƶ on February 7, 2020.
Bradley Christian-Sallis (from Lincoln, NE) describes the work of his organization, Civic Nebraska, to increase civic participation and community engagement.
Bradley Christian-Sallis (from Lincoln, NE) describes the work of his organization, Civic Nebraska, to increase civic participation and community engagement.
Participants at the “Convening on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship” held at the House of the Ƶ on February 7, 2020, discussed how to create an information environment that serves the public good for the twenty-first century.
Participants at the “Convening on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship” held at the House of the Ƶ on February 7, 2020, discussed how to create an information environment that serves the public good for the twenty-first century.

 

Emergency Meeting of the Commission

March 27, 2020
Virtual Meeting

The full Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship met via web conference to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the content of the final report and the plans for its release. Commission members agreed to modify the report slightly to account for the impact of the pandemic on the nation and to revise one of the thirty-one recommendations to reflect the effect of emergencies on voter access to the polls. The Commission agreed the pandemic amplified the challenges and obstacles they sought to address in their work and therefore to release the report as planned in June.
 

Meeting Chairs
 

Danielle Allen
Harvard University

Stephen Heintz
Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Eric Liu
Citizen University

 

Release Event: Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century

June 11, 2020
Virtual Event

Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century, the final report of the Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, was released via an online webinar. The one-hour event included a video presentation of the Commission’s work, an overview of the report’s six strategies and thirty-one recommendations, and comments by Commission members and featured speakers. The audience included members of the Ƶ, implementation Champions, listening session participants, and special guests.
 

Speakers
 

Danielle Allen
Harvard University

David Brooks
The New York Times

Stephen Heintz
Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Eric Liu
Citizen University

David Oxtoby
American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences

Judy Woodruff
PBS

 


 

Project

Making Justice Accessible

The two projects of the Making Justice Accessible initiative address the challenge of providing legal services to low-income Americans. The first project, on Data Collection and Legal Services for Low-Income Americans, will identify the sources of existing data on legal services and unrepresented civil litigation nationwide. The project will also create a blueprint for future data collection efforts, including establishing a research agenda for scholars, practitioners, and policy-makers. Participants include representatives of the courts, legal aid providers, and foundations as well as legal scholars and social scientists. In the fall of 2019, Microsoft’s pro bono office approached the Ƶ about this project; the interactions led to a joint, data-gathering pilot project between Microsoft, members of the data working group, and the Texas state courts. Participants are poised to act upon, and amplify, the Ƶ’s recommendations once the report is published in late 2020.

The second project, on Designing Legal Services for the 21st Century, will gather information about the national need for improved legal access and advance a set of clear, national recommendations for closing the “justice gap” between supply of and demand for legal services. In the fall of 2019, project leaders enlisted the research assistance of associates from the offices of WilmerHale and began drafting the final report, on schedule to be released in September 2020.

The Making Justice Accessible initiative emerged from a 2015 symposium sponsored by the Ƶ’s Exploratory Fund on the state of legal services for low-income Americans.
 

Data Collection and Legal Services for Low-Income Americans

Project Chairs
 

Mark Hansen
University of Chicago

Rebecca Sandefur
Arizona State University

 

Designing Legal Services for the 21st Century

Project Chairs
 

John Levi
Legal Services Corporation; Sidley Austin LLP

Martha Minow
Harvard Law School

Kenneth Frazier
Merck & Co.

 

Project Staff
 

Tania Munz

John Tessitore
 

Funder
 

David M. Rubenstein Enhancement Fund
 

Project Publication
 

“Access to Justice,” æ岹ܲ, edited by Lincoln Caplan, Lance Liebman & Rebecca Sandefur (2019)