IDEA's 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 at every level of government.

As part of Ohio State's land-grant mission of “Education for Citizenship,” we turn applied political science into practical innovations that help democracy work better for everyone. Too often, research on democracy sits on a shelf gathering dust. IDEA makes sure it does not stay there. We mobilize leading researchers and experienced practitioners to bring deliberative tools to everyone, from Ohio State students to Chileans debating their constitution to Northern Irelanders updating the Good Friday Agreement.

Our Vision

"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."

That simple but powerful idea sits at the heart of everything we do. We envision a democracy where deliberation is a habit rather than a luxury, where the people most often left out of the conversation are deliberately brought in, and where evidence, not noise, shapes the decisions that affect everyday life. We work toward a future in which research about democracy does not gather dust on a shelf, but is put to work in legislatures, classrooms, and town halls around the world.