On February 18, IDEA partnered with FIDE North America and Meridian International Center to launch the Deliberative State Governance initiative in Washington, D.C., a program designed to bring Citizens' Assemblies into state-level policymaking across the United States.

IDEA Associate Director Amy Lee represented IDEA as one of a select group of U.S. experts at what organizers described as the most senior-level convening on Citizens' Assemblies ever held in the United States. The inaugural workshop brought together international democracy experts and U.S. state leaders to explore how governments can use Citizens' Assemblies, Deliberative Town Halls, and other democratic innovations to bring the public back into public policy.

Lee participated in a panel alongside Jeffery Marino from the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research, Mahmud Farooque from Arizona State University, and Harry Nathan Gottlieb from Unify America. International perspectives were presented by Canadian Senator Mary Coyle, Art O'Leary, Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission of Ireland, and Peter MacLeod, founder of MASS LBP.

The workshop focused on how democratic innovations can reduce polarization, strengthen civic engagement, improve governance and policy reform, and rebuild mutual trust between government and the people it serves. The Deliberative State Governance cohort is a cross-partisan effort that currently includes officials from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Kentucky, Utah, and Washington.

IDEA's partnership in this initiative reflects the institute's ongoing commitment to advancing deliberative democracy not just in research but in real-world governance. The work happening through the DSG program aligns closely with IDEA's foundational principle that 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.