Our Portfolio
Civic Health Project invests in initiatives that deliver measurable outcomes and are committed to impact assessment.
Featured Projects
Civic Health Project is supporting the “Depolarization Challenge,” a unique online experiment to crowdsource depolarization interventions. As part of this project, researchers at Stanford University’s Polarization and Social Change Lab, MIT’s Human Cooperation Lab, and Northwestern University’s Political Science Research Lab are designing a “measurement tool” to assess the effectiveness of these depolarization interventions. One objective of this effort is to provide a measurement approach for organizations across the country that will:
- Enable practitioners to measure the effectiveness of their initiatives (ie, how much did a given initiative succeed in reducing affective polarization among participants)
- Provide accountability metrics for funders and others supporting depolarization efforts
As part of its commitment to impact measurement, Living Room Conversations engaged the Fetzer Institute in 2019-20 to conduct a robust independent program evaluation. Through a yearlong, multi-phase evaluation involving surveys and interviews, Fetzer Institute provided LRC with data on the impact of its programs on participants’ behavior and attitudes. The data obtained through the study are being used to inform program design and ensure that LRC achieves its desired outcomes with regard to healing societal divides.
One America works with academics, neuroscientists and experts in conflict prevention, identity formation and psychology to design and evaluate its programs. Their impact measurement is conducted in partnership with Over Zero, Beyond Conflict, and The Peace and Conflict Neuroscience Lab at the University of Pennsylvania. Anonymous surveys taken before and after program activities provide One America with data that highlight the success of their programs.
All Our Projects
AllSides strengthens democracy with balanced news, diverse perspectives, and conversation, exposing people to information and ideas from all sides of the political spectrum so they can better understand the world, and each other.
AllSides’ balanced news coverage, media bias ratings, civil dialogue opportunities, and technology platform are available to everyone.
AllSides Connect is a realtime video platform that connects students, civic groups, and adult individuals “across distance and divides” to engage in respectful dialogue on a range of important social, cultural, and policy topics.
The American Exchange Project gives high school seniors the chance to see their country for FREE. Participants may work on a ranch in Texas, see a baseball game at Fenway Park, roam with the wild buffalo in Montana, and will meet people and make friends in places far different from where you grew up. In 2022, American Exchange Project plans to have 40 towns across the United States hosting students for this transformational experience.
America Talks provides a weekend of connection during a time of deep division in our country. Americans who signed up for the event were matched into face-to-face, one-on-one or small group conversations across political divides. America Talks is an annual event with additional spin-off conversations that happen throughout the year.
The Better Arguments Project is a national civic initiative created to help bridge divides – not by papering over those divides but by helping people have Better Arguments. In this sense, arguments don’t have to drive us apart. Better Arguments can bring us together.
The Bridge Alliance Education Fund (BAEF) is the financial entity that supports the efforts of the Bridge Alliance, a coalition of ~100 democracy reform organizations dedicated to an array of focus areas within campaigns and elections, civic engagement and Government/Governance.
Bridge Entertainment Labs (BEL) is dedicated to transforming the way Americans see and engage with each other across divides.
BEL is a resource to the entertainment industry designed to ignite compelling narratives that bridge political and social divides toward a more cohesive and depolarized society.
BridgeUSA is a student-led organization created in 2016 by young people for young people. Through college and high school chapters, BridgeUSA is leading the fight against polarization and apathy amongst students across the country. BridgeUSA advocates for dialogue between different perspectives in order to build better understanding between Americans with the purpose of developing a generation of leaders who value empathy and constructive dialogue because this generation will bear the consequences of polarization for years to come.
The Greater Good Science Center’s Bridging Differences initiative mixes science and storytelling to address political and cultural polarization.
In May 2020, GGSC gathers researchers, program leaders, and practitioners for a one-day event in Oakland, CA, offering evidence-based strategies for dialogue and understanding.
Business for America is a nonpartisan nonprofit business organization.
BFA’s agenda focuses solely on improving our country’s civic health by increasing civic participation and voter turnout, restoring trust in our elections and democratic institutions, reducing gridlock and polarization, and setting a positive example for business engagement in the political sector.
The Center for Humane Technology (CHT) aims to drive a comprehensive shift toward humane technology by changing the way technologists think about their work and how they build products.
CHT is creating the conditions for a new “race to the top” to realign technology with humanity.
Constructive Dialogue Insitute offers psychology-based educational tools to help people discuss complex and divisive topics with ease, even when they disagree.
Deliberations.us works to craft engaging, fact-based, and politically balanced deliberations on American political issues with the ultimate goal of fostering informed opinions, revealing common ground, and bringing democracy back to the people.
Living Room Conversations are a conversational bridge across issues that divide and separate people. They provide an easy structure for engaging in friendly yet meaningful conversation among those who may disagree.
These conversations increase understanding, reveal common ground, and sometimes even allow participants to discuss possible solutions.
Meeting of America has been co-created by an ever-growing group of fellow Americans from wildly different backgrounds and beliefs. Pioneering businesses, faith communities, universities, philanthropists, and civic organizations have contributed people and funding to pilot this endeavor.
The Millennial Action Project works directly with our nation’s leading young policymakers on both a national and state level to bridge the partisan divide and lead a new era of collaborative governance. As a national, nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to activating millennial policymakers, MAP gives our nation’s young leaders the resources and support to develop and pass innovative policy solutions — and forge productive partnerships on the issues affecting the youngest generations of Americans.
Working in concert with lawmakers, MAP has advanced post-partisan legislation on issues including criminal justice reform, gun violence, entrepreneurship, technology, 21st century skills training, veterans’ employment, immigration, and more — including the introduction of the first bipartisan legislation on ridesharing and social impact bonds.
+More Perfect Union forms veteran-led local chapters that put the interests of others ahead of their own. These decent, principled community leaders bring together citizens from the left and right to carry out local, state, and regional service projects.
The National Week of Conversation (NWOC) provides an annual opportunity for Americans to connect through dialogue.
In April 2020, the National Conversation Project and Weave join forces to host NWOC 2020, fostering conversation and community across the U.S.
The North Carolina Leadership Forum provides an opportunity for civic, business and political leaders from across North Carolina to discuss issues central to the future of our state. The Forum provides a venue for North Carolina leaders to discuss the nature of the challenges, to understand different points of view about how to address them, and to advance mutually acceptable solutions that improve the lives of North Carolinians
The One America Movement builds societal resilience to polarization, bringing people together across political, racial and religious divides to work together to address issues in communities across the country.
One America also trains and empowers religious leaders to resist a culture of division and hate.
Pathos Labs is a non-profit laboratory exploring ways that media and technology can be used to accelerate understanding and compassion across lines of difference, as well as dismantle bias, prejudice, and hatred.
Public Agenda is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit research and public engagement organization headquartered in New York City. Public Agenda strives to strengthen democracy and expand opportunity for all Americans through public engagement and public opinion research.
“The Reunited States” is a pre-release documentary film exploring how those with different political views can work together to find common ground in our most basic human values.
Featuring interviews from leading journalists, activists, psychologists, and politicians, “The Reunited States” focuses on all that unites us, and the people who work tirelessly to strengthen our bonds.
Resetting the Table (RTT) is dedicated to strengthening democracy by building collaborative deliberation across political siloes in American life. RTT equips community leaders with tools and skills to transform political fault-lines within and across their communities.
Service Year Alliance is working to make a year of paid, full-time service — a service year — a common expectation and opportunity for all young Americans. Our vision: Every year, one million young Americans engaged in a service year, solving important problems while transforming their own lives.
The Polarization and Social Change Lab at Stanford University employs various empirical and theoretical methods to research cognitive biases that heighten polarization.
The lab also designs interventions to reduce polarization’s negative effects, such as biased political reasoning and affective polarization.
UR Action brings together Americans across geographic, political, racial, and generational divides to build relationships, strengthen collaboration skills, explore different perspectives, and tackle issues that impact all communities.
In March 2020, The National Conversation Project (powered by 300 organizations) and the Weave Project launched Weaving Community During Crisis – a social and community campaign to ensure America learns the lessons from the coronavirus pandemic, uses this time to heal our divisions, and creates the firm footing of connection that will allow our nation and democracy to thrive after the crisis. Since launching in mid-March, #WeavingCommunity stories and posts have reached millions of Americans, fueled by public interest and a growing coalition of partners in the community conversation, civic health, and democracy-strengthening fields.