About IDEA
The Institute for Democratic Engagement & Accountability (IDEA) is a collaborative, multidisciplinary research institute at The Ohio State University with a global network of partners. For two decades, we have designed, implemented, and evaluated evidence-based solutions for reviving democracy at every level of government, across the United States and around the world.
We are grounded in a simple idea: when citizens and elected officials engage in civil, representative, and focused conversations, mutual respect grows, decisions improve, and democracy gets stronger.
How a Deliberative Town Hall works
Our core method is the Deliberative Town Hall. We bring together a representative group of citizens to engage with their elected officials on a single issue. Everyone receives the same reliable, non-partisan information in advance, so participants arrive grounded in the topic and able to contribute on equal footing. A trusted, neutral moderator, often a journalist, civil society leader, or academic, guides the conversation. The format complements other democratic innovations such as citizens’ assemblies, and it can focus on setting priorities, consulting citizens before a decision, or holding officials accountable afterward.
To put that idea into practice, IDEA has conducted more than 50 Deliberative Town Halls, bringing our online deliberation model to communities everywhere. Our work turns the political frustration felt by citizens and elected officials alike into motivation for change. Citizens who take part feel respected, especially those on the margins, and that rebuilds trust, efficacy, hope, and a sense of common purpose. Leaders who partner with us hear the missing voices in their constituencies and learn what people truly need.
Grounded in research
Our approach rests on two decades of peer-reviewed research, going back to the first Deliberative Town Halls in 2006. IDEA’s findings have been published in leading journals, including the American Journal of Political Science, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Science, and in the book Politics with the People: Building a Directly Representative Democracy (Cambridge University Press). We test our model with independent evaluations, including randomized controlled trials, which let us measure what works and keep refining it.
Why our approach works
Our Deliberative Town Halls are independently studied and proven to:
- Increase voting rates and strengthen trust in government and support for democracy
- Dramatically reduce polarization and deepen mutual respect and tolerance
- Scale to large audiences, with online events reaching thousands of participants
- Reach the citizens who feel most alienated from politics
- Cost less than traditional alternatives, allowing more and larger forums
“How I wish Deliberative Town Halls had been available when I served in Congress. This process could begin to restore America’s trust in its government and representatives’ accountability to their constituents.”
— Rep. Deborah Pryce, Ohio’s 15th District (1993–2009)
