Useful Links

ON DEMOCRACY

Freedom House

Freedom House issues an annual report on the condition of freedom worldwide, plus research and policy recommendations on a variety of democracy-related issues. 

International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)

IDEA, composed of 34 member countries, offers data on electoral justice, voter turnout, political finance, direct democracy, and more. 

National Endowment for Democracy (NED)

NED awards grants to non-governmental groups fighting for democracy outside the USA, and provides reports on authoritarian influence, democracy, informational space, and more. 

International Republican Institute (IRI)

IRI conducts research on the effects of political and democratic changes around the world and helps support developing democracies around the world. 

National Democratic Institute (NDI) 

NDI works alongside the International Republican Institute as they both research similar topics. NDI provides interesting toolkits and guides for development policy and political decision-making in specific events. 

Democracy Collaborative

The Democracy Collaborative is a research and development lab for the democratic economy. The Democracy Collaborative’s mission is to demonstrate in theory and in practice the principles of a democratic economy, offering a vision of what that economy can be, designing models that demonstrate how it operates, and building in coalition with others the pathways to a new reality.

Formal & Informal Education

Connected Learning

Connected Learning Alliance works to join all educators and organizations in providing new technologies for the purpose of learning. They provide publications of specific advancements around the country in places like public libraries and schools. 

Character Lab

Character Lab is a nonprofit organization that researches what makes children thrive in and out of school. They present their research in “Playbooks” designated to specific areas of children education and development, such as Emotional Intelligence, Curiosity, Growth Mindset, and more. 

Digital Promise

Digital Promise was created with the mission to accelerate innovation in education to improve opportunities to learn. They work to close the digital learning gap. Because when all learners have equitable access to learning technology, when everyone participates, and when everyone learns, we all benefit from a more engaged, informed and just society.

Edutopia 

Our vision is of a new world of learning based on the compelling truth that improving education is the key to the survival of the human race. It’s a world of creativity, inspiration, and ambition informed by evidence and experience.  We call this place Edutopia, and we provide not just the vision for this new world of learning but the information and community connections to make it a reality.

ERIC

ERIC is a database for education resources powered by the Institute of Education Sciences and provides research from peer-reviewed journals and other resources. 

U.S. Citizen Engagement

Civic Engagement Research Group (CERG)

From the University of California, Riverside, the Civic Engagement Research Group (CERG) researches factors that affect citizen participation in society. They give various publications on how factors like education, race, ethnicity, etc. can affect voting, economic opportunities, and more. 

Tisch College of Civic Life

Tufts University’s Tisch College of Civic Life publishes journals and books that demonstrate the research on civic engagement. The journals encompass a large variety of research related to civic studies, such as the effects of engagement on gender or education. 

Listen First Project

Seeing an escalating crisis of toxic polarization and believing the best way to turn the tide is by working together, four bridging organizations (Listen First Project, Village Square, Living Room Conversations, and National Institute for Civil Discourse) created the #ListenFirst Coalition in 2017 to aggregate, align, and amplify many diffuse bridging efforts to reach farther and impact greater than any one of us could alone.

Citizen Diplomacy

Center for Citizen Diplomacy

The Center for Citizen Diplomacy unites individuals and organizations in promoting global engagement for all peoples across all cultures. They have several publications and programs that work to empower the voices of everyone. 

Global Diplomacy Lab

The nature of diplomacy is evolving. It is no longer the strict purview of national governments and international organisations. The Global Diplomacy Lab is a platform for exploring a new and more inclusive diplomacy which goes beyond traditional politics.

USC Center on Public Diplomacy

The USC Center on Public Diplomacy (CPD) was established in 2003 as a partnership between the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the School of International Relations at the University of Southern California. It is a research, analysis and professional education organization dedicated to furthering the study and practice of global public engagement and cultural relations.

The Family Diplomacy Initiative

The Family Diplomacy Initiative (FDI) connects families worldwide across lines of country, class, race and religion via the internet to share and learn together with an eye to training family diplomats to advocate for a more caring world.