Institute for Democratic Engagement & Accountability (IDEA)

The Foundational Principle of IDEA

We are grounded in a fundamental principle: When citizens and elected officials participate in civil, representative, and focused dialogue, it fosters mutual respect, enhances decision-making, and builds greater faith in the democratic process.

5
Countries Where DTHs Have Been Held
95%
Of participants say Deliberative Town Halls are "very valuable for democracy"
11%
Avg. Increase in Trust in Participating Elected Official

Recent News

Michael Neblo holding shaking hands with a congress member

IDEA Director and Associate Director Featured in The Lantern on Restoring Civic Engagement

IDEA Director Michael Neblo and Associate Director Amy Lee were featured in The Lantern on one of the central questions behind IDEA's work: why Americans have disengaged from politics and what can…

IDEA DC fellow

Fellow Spotlight: Maxwell Kiernan

When Maxwell Kiernan talks about what drew him to public service, he doesn't start with a class or a textbook. He starts with his mom.

An Air Force pilot and career civil servant, she spent…

Dr. Ben Miller talk

IDEA Hosts Dr. Miller for Talk on Evaluating Democratic Citizens

On March 25, 2026, IDEA welcomed Prof. Benjamin Miller, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, for the IDEA Speaker Series talk titled …

SecondRaven_ is just an image with the text

IDEA Launches Second Raven

IDEA, in collaboration with the Machine-Assisted Human Decision-making (MAHD) Lab directed by Dr. Ryan Kennedy, has launched Second Raven, a new Substack newsletter for anyone…

People Directory

Associate Director
Director of Research
Professor, Political Science
Andrei Baronov and Ratmir Timashev Endowed Chair in Data Analytics