CID Inclusive Democracy Scholars Program
Beginning in 2024, the Center for Inclusive Democracy (CID) will become a leading hub for educating and training a diverse and representative network of faculty, students and policy advocates in the democracy space across the U.S. As part of this commitment, CID will create the “Inclusive Democracy Scholars” program to support more engaged, high-quality research in this area.
We will train junior faculty (political scientists, political sociologists, public policy scholars, and other relevant fields), promising students, and applied researchers to conduct rigorous scholarship that addresses significant social and democratic challenges in ways that collaborate with and give back to -- rather than extract from -- communities. Each cohort will be comprised of participants from diverse backgrounds who are committed to prioritizing the voice of communities in their research. Trainings will be conducted in partnership with scholars from multiple disciplines from around the country who themselves have a recognized track record of engaged and trusted community scholarship. Program and curriculum development will occur in partnership with these scholars and others in 2024. CID envisions the Inclusive Democracy Scholars program to be launched with an initial commitment of three years from CID and an inaugural funder.
Alongside the Inclusive Democracy Scholars, CID will also work to publicly promote the importance of engaged research, and create spaces for engaged researchers, policy makers, advocates and media from historically underrepresented communities to form networks that can help define the discipline’s path forward and make it more inclusive and equity focused. Activities include hosting convenings and public events, in addition to developing sector-relevant resources.
An annual, year-long Inclusive Democracy Scholars program will include a national advisory committee directing the development of the components of the program and curriculum. Preliminary planning includes the following components:
Three-month period for national recruitment of program scholars.
A three-day, in-person convening each summer to kick off the program, establish mentioning relationships, and conduct workshops/trainings. Workshops will include meaningful involvement of community groups.
Virtual small-group workshops/trainings once a month will generate and refine research questions and identify applicable data sources.
One-on-one mentoring sessions over the course of a year with documented progress reports.
On-going training in research dissemination through peer-reviewed publications, direct outreach to advocates and community groups, popular news media, and social media.
“Graduation” with a university recognized certificate.
Research Collaboration and Promotion:
We will seek to partner with a number of key organizations and conferences in elections science, political science, political sociology and other fields touching the larger democracy space, including the Elections Science, Reform, and Administration Conference (ESRA), the election track of the Southern Political Science Association (SPSA) Auburn Institute, and Election Center’s national conference. We will also work with the Inclusive Democracy Scholars program’s advisory committee to seek out potential alternative partnerships that provide a more inclusive and wider set of collaborative opportunities and experiences for the scholars.
Scholar Recruitment and Funding:
We will work through the above networks, as well as mentors’ own networks, to recruit scholar applicants. As we have outlined the program now, the scholars’ stipends are provided to enable them to participate in the program and to provide nominal support to work on their research interests. We see the need to additionally fundraise to build a research funding pool that can support the scholars in larger and more long-term research projects.
Scope of Research Projects:
As of now, we want to remain open to what will be the scope for projects included in the program. A key goal of this program is to open the field and encourage students to think outside the historically limited scope of research that has been considered appropriate and possible. We anticipate the program advisory committee deliberating on issues of scope in collaboration with scholars and mentors at the beginning of each program year.
About the Center for Inclusive Democracy
The Center for Inclusive Democracy (CID) is a leading research center of the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy. Founded and led by political sociologist Mindy Romero, PhD, CID is a driving force behind national and multi-state research initiatives that harness big data to effect change. Its studies have been widely used to inform public policy at all levels of government, as well as empower local communities seeking to eliminate disparities in social and economic well-being of the electorate.
CID’s mission is to improve the social and economic quality of life in U.S. communities by producing non-partisan research that informs policy and on-the-ground organizing efforts through education and outreach for a more engaged, transparent, and representative democracy. CID conducts pioneering research that explores voting behavior, civic engagement, as well as electoral and economic issues at the intersection of social justice and democracy.
Since its founding in 2010, CID has become a nationally recognized source of publicly available data, research and analysis on civic engagement and representation. The Center’s extensive library of research has been instrumental in informing electoral and civic engagement leaders nationwide in the development of relevant election reforms, such as automatic voter registration, online voter registration, vote centers and the influence of money in politics. CID research also tracks geographic shifts and trends in electoral participation, providing up-to-date analyses of the disparate impact of barriers to civic and electoral participation.
About the USC Price School of Public Policy
The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy’s mission is to improve the quality of life for people and their communities worldwide. The School achieves this mission through education and research that promotes innovative solutions to the most critical issues facing society. For more than 90 years, the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy has earned the public trust by creating path-breaking research and scholarship.