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…
From a Genetics Lab to the Heart of Democracy: A Conversation with Dr. Amanda Robinson
A cold call to a future Nobel laureate, a childhood in rural Alabama, and sixteen years of…
"This Was the First Time I Felt Like a Real Citizen": What Nigeria's Deliberative Town Halls Revealed About the Hunger for Democracy
In January 2024, IDEA brought its…
When Competition Becomes Demonization
What keeps a democracy researcher up at night? For Dr. Ryan Kennedy, IDEA research expert, it's this:
"How competition has quickly…
Natalie Miller's journey with IDEA began long before she became a Research expert - it started in an Ohio State classroom. As an undergraduate in Michael Neblo's "…
This year has been a defining journey for the Institute for Democratic Engagement & Accountability (IDEA). As we head into the holiday season, we wanted to step away from the research and data to…
New survey research from IDEA for the House Subcommittee on Modernization shows that Americans haven’t given up on democracy; they just want it to listen better.
Public trust in…
IDEA is proud to announce it is launching a new Summer Democracy Fellows program, offering students first-hand experience working in Washington, D.C. The program provides an opportunity to engage…
Michael will join UCLA’s Dr. Khaled Abou el Fadl for the upcoming Civil Discourse Forum: Is Democracy for Everyone? on Friday, November 7, 2025, at …
As voters go to the polls today, a new study led by IDEA’s Ryan Kennedy challenges the idea that many Americans support political violence. His latest survey used AI to probe for deeper responses…
AI Interviews Deepen Survey Responses But May Also Shape Opinions, New Study Finds
COLUMBUS, OH – A new study from researchers at IDEA at The Ohio State…
When Bear Brown began his Ph.D. in American politics at The Ohio State University, he had a strong sense of purpose but lacked a clear path. Like many drawn to the study of democracy, he…
At IDEA, we know that big ideas often start with something small: a question, a conversation, or just a passing suggestion. That’s…
From the Hill to a Home at IDEA: An Employee Spotlight on Adam Duffy
For our latest employee spotlight, we’re sharing the story of Program Manager Adam Duffy, a valuable…
Since 1874, the Chautauqua Institution has brought together civic, cultural, and institutional leaders to discuss the most pressing questions…
The Institute for Democratic Engagement and Accountability (IDEA) at The Ohio State University is proud to introduce a new series celebrating the people who shape its mission and bring its…
The Ohio State University has recognized Dr. Michael A. Neblo, professor of political science and director of the Institute for Democratic…
On January 29–30, 2025, the Institute for Democratic Engagement and Accountability (IDEA), in collaboration with Listen.Learn.Discuss hosted a two-day…
On November 4th, the Institute for Democratic Engagement and Accountability (IDEA) at Ohio State University, in collaboration with the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics,…
Back to Being Buckeyes After the Election – Working Through Our Outrage
Date: November 4, 2024
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
IDEA Director Dr. Michael Neblo and other OSU faculty were interviewed by OSU’s student newspaper, The Lantern, about what students need to know as they prepare…
In his TEDxOhioStateUniversity talk titled “Politics, Pride & Prejudice: Town Halls Can Save Democracy,” Dr. Michael Neblo shared how his personal…
Dr. Michael Neblo will travel to Philadelphia as Co-Chair for the 120th APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition, alongside Dr. Danielle Allen of Harvard University. The American Political Science…
IDEA is proud and happy to welcome Dr. Ryan Kennedy as our new Associate Director. He also now serves as the Timashev Chair in the Data Analytics Department and…
In partnership with the National Civic League, IDEA convened the second annual Global Innovations in Democracy: Parliamentary Exchange in Washington, D.C. this past week. The exchange was…
United States House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi helped kick off the event at the opening reception, hosted by Walter Goetz, head of the European Parliament Liaison Office in…
In January 2024, IDEA alongside NOIPolls (a Nigeria-based non-governmental research organization) held two deliberative town halls between the citizens of Bende and Baruten/Kaiama and…
Starting in January of 2024, IDEA will partner with the Nigerian National Assembly (NA) on a ground-breaking research study to further support Nigeria’s democratic consolidation.
…
In partnership with Fundación Piensa, IDEA held the first ever series of Deliberative Town Halls (DTHs) in Chile with 3400 citizens of every age, class, and region. Matías Díaz, a…
IDEA and our partners at Columbia University and the University of California Riverside are incredibly excited with the progress made in the second year of a grant funded by the…
IDEA and our colleague Ryan Kennedy at the University of Houston were featured last week in an Inside
Higher Ed article titled “Not like Cable News.” The article detailed Ryan…
On March 25th, 2021, Professor Michael Neblo of the Ohio State University’s Institute for Democratic Engagement and Accountability (IDEA) testified for the second time to the House of…
Congress remain captive to tech that requires them to stretch limited budgets to do even basic outreach. Deliberative Town Halls, a free resource IDEA offers Members of Congress as part of our…
IDEA Director Michael Neblo explains how Connecting to Congress Deliberative Town Halls are decidedly different from regular town halls.
IDEA Director Michael Neblo was interviewed by Columbus…
Recently, IDEA Director Dr. Micheal Neblo discussed the implications of IDEA’s current Connecting to Congress Initiative on the state of political discourse in the United States…
"Many worry that calls to make political discourse more civil and substantive are, at best, naive and complacent. At worst, they abet a fundamentally broken system. Ongoing protests highlight the…
On July 7, The Institute for Democratic Engagement & Accountability (IDEA) and Center for Ethics and Human Values (CEHV) were proud to host U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty (OH-3)…
The Ohio State University’s Institute for Democratic Engagement & Accountability (IDEA) and Center for Ethics and Human Values (CEHV) are proud to host U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty…
We at the Institute for Democratic Engagement & Accountability (IDEA) were horrified by George Floyd’s murder, just the latest in a long line of Black Americans killed by those sworn to serve and…
Can political opposites put their differences aside and connect at a human level? And can we learn to?
The award-winning documentary by independent filmmaker Juliana Tafur captures a true…
Matthew Weil, Director, of the Elections Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center, and Kathleen Clyde, Portage County Commissioner, presented a panel discussion on election security Tues. Oct. 22…
Deliberative democracy’s leading theorist calls deliberative constituent engagement the “most promising” thing we can do right now to counter polarization.
In an interview…
IDEA Director Michael Neblo testified before the Select Committee for the Modernization of Congress June 5 at 11 am ET. Dr. Neblo was asked to discuss findings from his research that would enable…
IDEA Director Michael Neblo testified before the Select Committee for the Modernization of Congress June 5 at 11 am ET. Dr. Neblo was asked to discuss findings from his research that would enable…
From Monday, March 19 to Wednesday, March 21, two former Members of Congress, Jason Altmire (D-PA) and Barry Goldwater Jr. (R-CA), visited Ohio State's campus through the Congress to Campus …
OSU’s Institute for Democratic Engagement and Accountability (IDEA) invites OSU faculty and graduate students to submit proposals for funded research. Proposals should be related to the general…
On January 18, 2018, The American Bar Association’s Section on Dispute Resolution officially announced that its 2018 “Lawyer as Problem-Solver Award” will be given to the Divided Community Project…
On September 27, 2017, Dr. Katherine Cramer gave a talk at OSU's Thompson Library about the nature of current right-wing populism in the United States, drawing on her extensive examination of…