News
In summer 2026, Marco Castradori ran three Deliberative Town Halls in Nigeria to test whether lawmakers can earn trust without handing out goods. His findings suggest that listening and explaining…
Michael Neblo, founding director of the Institute for Democratic Engagement and Accountability (IDEA), has been appointed the Ann and Darrell Dreher Chair in Political Communication and…
After launching the Summer Democracy Fellows program this past summer, IDEA is seeking applications for the second cohort for summer of 2027.
From the end of May through mid-August,…
After the fellowship
After a summer working inside a congressional office, Maxwell came away with a much more practical understanding of how Congress works. He saw how research, writing, and…
After the fellowship
Elise Britton went to Capitol Hill to learn about government. By the end of the summer, she understood much more clearly how much government depends on people talking to one…
After the fellowship
Ryan Mahoney, pictured on the right with Rep. Emilia Sykes, spent his summer as an IDEA Summer Democracy Fellow in her Washington, D.C., office, where he worked alongside…
This summer, IDEA's inaugural Summer Democracy Fellows are working on Capitol Hill as interns with three Members of Ohio’s delegation, Reps. Sykes, Brown, and Landsman. The purpose of the…
How FIDE-NA and IDEA Are Helping U.S. States Adapt Europe's Playbook for Citizen Engagement
Last month, the Federation for Democratic Innovation–North America (FIDE-NA),…
OSU's investment in IDEA over the last four years has allowed the Institute to grow significantly, expanding our staff and our portfolio of projects. As IDEA prepares for continuing growth, it has…
Before the fellowship
Ryan Mahoney's interest in politics didn't start in a classroom. It started at the dinner table.
His stepfather, who was engaged in public affairs in his own youth,…
Before the fellowship
When Elise Britton talks about what shaped her commitment to civic life, she doesn't point to a class or a campaign. She points to the woman who raised her.…
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…
Before the fellowship
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…
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 …
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…
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…
What does it look like when the First and Second Deputy Speakers of a national parliament open their doors to a new kind of democratic experiment?
Next month, Jack Fernandes will travel to…
What happens when the institution responsible for governing a nation cannot keep up with the speed of its own information environment? That is the question at the heart of Dr. Annelise Russell's…