Research
Innovations For Teaching The Deliberative Experience Online: Our Experiences and Experiments in Using Common Ground for Action (CGA) And Other Teleconferencing Tools [2021]
Kara Dillard, Kara Lindaman, Jay Theis, and Verdis Robinson
Presentation for Campus Compact National Webinar Series.
Abstract
Repairing Democracy Using Civic Technology: How Design Features in Deliberative Games Can Encourage Democratic Participation [2021]
Kara Dillard
Presentation at the Virginia Humanities Association annual (virtual) conference.
Abstract
Civic participation in our democracy is costly: physical meetings are held at times that require time off work and childcare, are held in buildings away from public transportation or require substantial travel time. Beyond actual expenses, civic participation has psychological and performative costs too: people need to speak the “right” language, look professional, and act civil even when facing injustice. Often, those whose lives are most directly impacted by government are the ones who can least afford these costs to participating in democracy. Civic technology offers the possibility of reducing the financial and performative costs to participating in political life. This paper explores the development, innovative features, and uses of the online deliberation software Common Ground for Action (CGA) that can combat inequalities plaguing traditional methods of civic participation in political life. CGA was created using agile methodology, a practice common among software developers, with iterations developed in consultation with a wide range of deliberative democracy practitioners, facilitators, and serious game designers to create software specific and exclusive to small group public deliberation at a scalable level. We will discuss how CGA’s purposefully designed anonymity and moderated small group chats alongside visual representations of the group’s discussion can create more equal participation in democratic decision-making.
Common Ground for Action (CGA): A Case Study in Design-Build Innovations in Online Deliberation [2020]
Kara Dillard
Presentation at the European Consortium for Political Research annual (virtual) conference.
Abstract
Demographics and (Equal?) Voice: Assessing Participation in Online Deliberative Sessions [2020]
Ryan Kennedy, Anand E. Sokhey, Clare Abernathy, Kevin M. Esterling, David MJ Lazer, Amy Lee, William Minozzi, and Michael Neblo
Political Studies
Abstract
The New Town Hall:
Deliberating Online to Connect Constituents and Lawmakers [2019]
Amy Lee
National Civic Review
Bringing Citizens and Policymakers Together Online:
Imagining the Possibilities and Taking Stock of Privacy and Transparency Hazards [2018]
John Gastil and Sascha D. Meinrath
Computer
Abstract
Common Ground for Action Software and Professional Development to Support Online Deliberation in Classrooms [2017]
Andrea Christelle, Kara Dillard, and Kara Lindaman
Journal of Political Science Education