The Institute for Democratic Engagement & Accountability (IDEA) is a collaborative, multi-disciplinary research institute with a global network of collaborators and partners. IDEA has over sixteen years of experience designing, implementing, and evaluating evidence-based solutions for reviving democracy around the world. IDEA works with all levels of government to recruit, connect, and support elected officials to implement democratic innovations. Our work transforms political frustration felt by citizens and elected officials into motivation for change. Citizens who participate feel respected, especially those on the margins. This rebuilds trust, efficacy, hope, and a sense of common purpose. Leaders who partner with IDEA can hear from the missing voices in their constituencies and learn what they need to set priorities and craft effective responses.
IDEA’s research uses scientifically rigorous, democratic innovations including digital Deliberative Town Halls (DTHs), Common Ground for Action, Every Voice Engaged, Citizens’ Assemblies, and hybrid models.
Our flagship innovation, Deliberative Town Halls (DTHs), is a scalable, adaptable, and scientifically proven method to reinforce older institutions. Using our toolkit, we partner with elected officials around the world to bring about impactful, positive changes to the political process.
The IDEA Mission
The Institute of Democratic Engagement and Accountability’s (IDEA) mission is to bridge the gap between rigorous democracy research and real-world impact through programs that foster direct engagement between citizens and their representatives across all levels of government.
Our vision for democracy is built around the simple but powerful 'idea' that when citizens and elected officials come together for civil, representative, focused conversations, we respect one another more, our leaders make better decisions, and everyone has more faith in the democratic process. As part of our land-grant university’s mission of “Education for Citizenship”, IDEA turns applied political science into practical innovations that help democracy work better for everyone. Too often, research about democracy stays sitting on shelves, gathering dust. IDEA ensures it doesn’t stay sitting there.
IDEA mobilizes leading researchers and experienced practitioners to bring our practical deliberative engagement tools to everyone, from Ohio State students to Chileans debating their constitution to Northern Irelanders updating the Good Friday Agreement. We help create conditions in which ordinary citizens can share their perspectives and develop new understandings about a wide range of political and policy issues.
Through our innovative research and practical applications, IDEA is committed to shaping civic life, strengthening democratic institutions, and increasing democratic engagement at all levels. Be sure to explore our programs, and scientific publications.
National
IDEA is an established innovator in connecting citizens with their nationally elected officials for deliberative, useful conversations. Our Connecting to Congress (C2C) research initiative focuses on working with Members of Congress and congressional committees to implement Deliberative Town Halls. Since its founding in 2006, C2C has been used with over 30 Members of Congress from both houses and parties.
IDEA also uses democratic innovations to support citizen-to-citizen, or “horizontal” deliberative forums to help elected officials make policy through the Every Voice Engaged online platform and our novel Common Ground for Action forum, which allows citizens to deliberate about various options on a tough issue together, weigh tradeoffs, and visually see where they have common ground. IDEA facilitates deliberative sessions on policy issues and then evaluates and analyzes the results to report back to policymakers and elected officials.
International
IDEA adapts its democratic innovations to work in the varying political, social, and cultural contexts around the world. IDEA has worked with elected officials in Nigeria, Chile, Australia, and the United Kingdom to implement democratic innovations that positively impact citizens’ experiences with government and elected officials’ ability to learn information.
IDEA is committed to increasing knowledge sharing among elected officials and networking for regional government officials and civil society leaders, media organizations, citizens, and non-governmental organizations. Through our Global Innovations in Democracy event, we facilitate a network of practitioners who are ready and willing to support the use of democratic innovations and expand the reach of our well-tested toolkits.
Learn about IDEA’s international programs here.
On Campus
As a part of The Ohio State University, IDEA is dedicated to creating and discovering knowledge to improve the well-being of our local, state, regional, national, and global communities. IDEA works to do this in three ways: generating knowledge about American political institutions, with a special emphasis on elections; fostering high-quality political dialogue; and furthering the university’s mission to “prepare a diverse student body to be leaders and engaged citizens."