Community Action, Innovation, and Research for New Societes (CAIRNS) Lab
Principal Investigator: Dr. Benjamin C. Graham
Deliberative Democracy in Action
“You will either step forward into growth, or you will step backward into safety.” -Abraham Maslow
Community psychology engages the human condition by looking at individual, interpersonal, and structural features of society. From a community psychology perspective, Maslow’s quote about personal development also frames the current state of the American political landscape, where fear, partisanship, distrust, and cynicism have eroded confidence in government. Many are searching for ways to grow “deeper democracy” in our towns, states, and nations. When hiking through the wilderness, hikers often use small stacks of stones--cairns- to offer direction along the path. The purpose of the Community Action, Innovation, and Research for New Societies (CAIRNS) lab is to apply psychological research and action to discover pathways for growing a more robust democracy.
An innovative strategy to return democracy to the public has emerged in Ireland, Canada, Australia, Brazil, the European Union, and elsewhere. Civic assemblies (also called citizens assemblies, mini-publics, and similar terms) answer the call for “deeper democracy” by taking a random sample of everyday community members, building trust within the group, harnessing and discussing information, deliberating across time, and delivering impactful policy recommendations. Such models hold incredible promise for the United States, and have been used in Oregon, California, Michigan, Minnesota, and a handful of other states. Along with Cal Poly Humboldt political science professor Stephanie Burkhalter, the CAIRNS lab is currently conducting an evaluation of Deschutes Civic Assembly on Youth Homelessness, where we explore the political self-efficacy, collective efficacy, and sense of community among participants in civic/citizen assemblies. This sequential mixed method design surveyed participants before, during, and after the assembly, and are conducting qualitative interviews based on the survey findings.
Previously, the CAIRNS lab took part in the evaluation of another large-scale civic assembly, the Petaluma Fairgrounds Advisory Panel. The team evaluated participant perceptions of the impact of nine equity strategies utilized in the project. Results are summarized in in-press article in the Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community:
Graham, B.C., & Burkhalter, S. (in press). Principles of Equity and Inclusion in Action: A Case Study of Democratic Deliberation.
The CAIRNS lab believes that democracy is everyone’s business, and engages directly in helping promote civic assembly models within governmental structures. We use psychological and implementation science to build, evaluate and dynamically improve this work. Reach out if you would like to talk more about how to advance civic assemblies and other forms of deliberative democracy in your community!
For more information:
Citizens, Assemble!: Deliberative Democracy in 3 Minutes
Mejia, M. (2023, December 9). Trends in Deliberative Democracy: OECD Database Update. Medium. https://medium.com/participo/2023-trends-in-deliberative-democracy-oecd-database-update-c8802935f116
Organizations:
National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation
Federation for Innovation in Democracy
Case Studies:
It takes a village: Deschutes County's novel approach to homelessness
Petaluma Fairgrounds Advisory Panel
Irish Citizens Assembly on abortion
How a permanent Citizens' Assembly in Paris passed a bill into law
Please note: While the projects above are still active, Dr. Graham is on Professional Leave and not taking new lab students in AY24-25. Stay tuned for future lab opportunities!
