New research from Public Agenda shows voters are primed for further engagement in civic life, whether they voted for Barack Obama or not. Many observers have worried that the nation's troubled balloting system would turn voters off from participation, in or out of the voting booth, but our new Voter Experience Survey suggests otherwise.
Research Studies: Civics, Government & Voting
Voters' Experiences In 2008 And The Future Of Engagement:
Public Engagement: A Primer from Public Agenda:
This primer, a seminal "Essentials" publication from CAPE, provides an introduction to the community engagement methodology that has been designed and extensively tested by Public Agenda. This document outlines the differences between authentic public engagement and "business-as-usual" approaches to public involvement and offers a brief summary of the essential elements of successful public engagement efforts.
Reframing Framing:
Public Agenda's Will Friedman takes on framing in a new paper that provides a refreshing clarity and considerable insights. The essay, Reframing "Framing" is the first thought-piece from Public Agenda's Center for Advances in Public Engagement. Dr. Friedman, who is Executive Vice President at Public Agenda and the Director of CAPE, delineates "Framing-to-Persuade vs. Framing-for-Deliberation" and tackles honest vs. dishonest framing.
Let the People Speak: Report of the Citizen's Tax Assembly
Public Agenda worked with the citizen's group The New Jersey Coalition for the Public Good to prepare Choicework materials (video and print), as well as train organizers and moderators for a Citizen's Tax Assembly. This report provides the background, proceedings, and conclusions of the Assembly held in Trenton, New Jersey in 2003, and which brought together more than 90 diverse delegates from across the state to discuss the best direction and strategy for tax reform. The Citizen's Tax Assembly was supported by the Fund for New Jersey, the Geraldine R.
Transforming Public Life: A Decade of Citizen Engagement in Bridgeport, CT
When it comes time to solve community problems or make and implement public policy, the institutions, organizations, and individuals of Bridgeport, CT, defy business as usual through a remarkably inclusive and deliberative citizen-centered approach to problem-solving. As a result of roughly a decade of hard work by organizations, "ordinary" citizens and various local leaders, public engagement has become
embedded in the life of the community.
A Lot To Be Thankful For: What Parents Want Children to Learn About America
What should public schools teach children about being an American today? This ground-breaking study investigates native-born and foreign-born parents' beliefs on whether a set of "American values" should be taught to kids by the public schools and, if so, what this would mean. Among the issues examined are conflicts over curricula – "mainstream" versus multicultural approaches to history and literature, and the teaching of science and religion; views about the responsibilities and rights of citizenship; and attitudes toward diversity. 1998. Technical Appendix: $40.00.
Dear Mr. Bittle and Mr. Rochkind: From Thomas L. Jones DrJones@alum.MIT.edu Date: January 26, 2009 First, congratulations on your excellent survey of Voter experiences in the November 4 election. Would you consider providing some information about voting place lines as a function of voting equipment? Specifically, what fraction of respondents: (1) Reported that they had to wait far too long in line, and also: (2) Voted with hand-marked paper ballots, or voted with touch-screen machines? The hypothesis is that hand-marked paper ballots (for able-bodied voters), often with optical-scan technology, are FAR more resistant to voting place lines, because of the ease with with election officials can expand capacity at modest cost, merely by adding voting stations which cost about $200 each. By contrast, adding a DRE machine costs about $3,000 and has roughly the same throughput capacity. All the best, Tom Jones