Who's hosting this discussion?

  1. Who's hosting this discussion?

    Who's hosting this discussion? This discussion is hosted by CeRI, Cornell researchers whose SmartParticipation strategy helps government decisionmakers get broader, better public input on complex policy problems.

For seven years CeRI researchers have worked with government agencies to develop online technologies that support more diverse and informed public participation in important policymaking decisions. CeRI's SmartParticipation strategy has four components for expanding the range of voices in the policy process:

  • a civic participation platform designed to provide an environment for online discussion that is informed, inclusive and insightful
  • outreach aimed at alerting and engaging stakeholders who may not participate in traditional public comment processes
  • relevant information about policy issues that is comprehensible to ordinary people, while also allowing participants to dig into more details and data where they want to
  • trained moderators who facilitate the discussion and support informed, robust, and civil exploration of all perspectives and viewpoints.

CeRI team members take no position on the issues being discussed--but we are passionate about the value of diverse, thoughtful citizen input into public policymaking. And we continually challenge government decisionmakers to recognize what "ordinary" people can contribute to solving societal problems.