Reclaiming Government for America’s Future

Dear allies and friends,

We are pleased to announce that we recently wrapped-up an intensive, multi-year investigation that examined the attitudes and beliefs of Americans about government and the public sector. More importantly however, this project, Reclaiming Government for America’s Future, developed compelling new communications recommendations for creating hopeful, constructive and engaged conversations about government with all types of Americans.

The Topos Partnership conducted this investigation on our behalf and, as always, their team produced a rich and bold set of findings and recommendations for communicators.

In keeping with the original findings we commissioned over a decade ago, Americans are deeply cynical about the value of government and have very little sense that there is anything they can do, other than voting, that will make a difference. Though they recognize that they live in a democratic nation, their day-to-day lived experience is that they feel like “subjects, not citizens.” It’s important that communicators acknowledge that people don’t believe government is working well and that they don’t believe they have a say in how things are run. Elected officials, who dominate people’s thinking about government, are viewed as not only out of touch but corrupt, manipulating government to serve primarily themselves and their wealthy friends. To break through these profound hurdles, we must remind Americans that government is supposed to be not only FOR, but also BY, the people. We have to help people connect the dots between what government does (schools, roads, public health, etc.) and how those things make up the foundation of “thriving communities.” Moreover, we have to give people a new idea of how democracy should work – it works when we all go “beyond voting.” We also need to give people a sense of the experience of democracy working by: 1) incorporating success stories of citizens coming together to make change through government; 2) offering tips and suggestions for how to be involved that can be grouped into “Voting Plus One starter kits”; and 3) reminding them of the mechanisms currently in place, and that could be in place, to allow them to “have a say.”

Indivisible, along with our partners at Topos, have been building out a set of resources and tools for communicators to help them understand and effectively implement these findings and recommendations. You can access all of the documents, vides, tools and other resources produced for this effort at reclaiminggovernment.topospartnership.com (passcode: byus4us), http://www.publicworks.org/newresearch/, and https://www.indivisible.us/research/.

Indivisible and Topos staff have also been on the ground in the six states in which the on-the-ground narrative testing occurred (CO, AR, OR, NE, MI and NC), working with a diverse set of leaders to launch these new ideas out in the American public dialogue.  These initial meetings and presentations have given us a sense of how challenging these recommendations might be. Nevertheless, it was inspiring to watch as participants generated dozens of creative ideas and plans for implementation in their communities and states.

Unfortunately, as many of you already know, Public Works and Indivisible are closing down operations this month and, therefore, will not be in a position to work with partners and others who would like to use this new resource. Thankfully, The Topos Partnership welcomes inquiries from you and others about this research and, as someone who has expressed interest in this topic via your engagement with Public Works or Indivisible, you may receive updates from Topos when new resources are released. They can be reached directly at team@topospartnership.com.

It is uplifting for us to know that the mission of creating a new American cultural common sense about the role of government lives on through the great work you are doing in your respective communities and states and we sincerely hope that this new resource, Reclaiming Government for America’s Future, will aid you in those endeavors.

Very best wishes,

Team Indivisible & Public Works

Dianne Stewart, Marcia Kinsey, Elaine Mejia, Sarah White