Deliberative practices to advance equity and support for underserved communities
Deliberation is the "mutual communication that involves weighing and reflecting on preferences, values, and interest regarding matters of common concern." Deliberative democracy takes the ideals of deliberation and puts them into the context of democratic values and governance. It promotes discussion as a meaningful form of democratic participation in hopes that these discussions can make decision-making processes in government more democratic.
So you submitted an appropriations request… now what?
Congratulations! Your Community Project Funding grant request (House) or Congressionally Directed Spending request (Senate) made it through the thorough internal vetting process of the congressional office and was submitted to the right subcommittee within either the House or Senate Committee on Appropriations. You may be wondering: what happens now?
In this post, we’ll walk through the timeline to expect, and how to track the progress of your request to see if it might be ultimately included in the final appropriations bill(s) for Fiscal Year 2022.
What OMB can learn from Congressional caseworkers on advancing equity and support for underserved communities through government
Congressional offices — especially district offices and the insight of those staffers with casework responsibilities — are an underutilized source of insight for the improvement of federal processes. In this response to OMB’s Equity RFI, we discuss with several caseworkers what OMB can learn from their work, and provide recommendations.
Expand existing “customer experience” (CX) efforts to include “civic experience” (CivX) principles
In recent years, the Federal Government has prioritized customer experience (“CX”) metrics for public-facing services. The narrow construct of “citizen as customer,” however, can have detrimental effects on the advancement of equity in governing processes. This submission describes the growth of CX practices within the Federal Government and how a narrow CX focus can negatively impact equity. We then offer recommendations to help OMB guide agencies toward more inclusive engagement metrics like civic knowledge, public trust, and political efficacy in addition to conventional “customer experience” measures.
POPVOX Foundation submission on OMB’s Equity RFI
The POPVOX Foundation is honored to submit this response to the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Request for Information (“the Equity RFI”) on “Methods and Leading Practices for Advancing Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through Government.”
Assessing Member Office Implementation and Uptake of Member Directed Spending Programs, AKA “Earmarks” (Thus Far)
Over the past several months, we took a look at how Members messaged reinstated Member-directed spending (aka ‘earmark’) programs to their constituents, how they publicly indicated an intention to participate, and what lessons can be learned about the new program thus far.
When it’s time to leave Congress: Part 1, planning your next steps
For Congressional staff thinking of leaving the Hill, the options can feel overwhelming. We talked to former staffers in a variety of industries and career paths about their best advice for leaving the Hill and landing on your feet.
The OMB Equity RFI: YES, you should submit comments!
The Office of Management and Budget, the main administrative agency for the federal government, issued a “Request for Information” — an (RFI), asking the public to provide input on “Methods and Leading Practices for Advancing Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through Government.”
This is an unprecedented opportunity for researchers, advocates, public servants, community leaders, citizens, and more to raise their ideas and work to the highest levels of government, and set the agenda for reshaping the federal government for equity for all.
NEW REPORT: How Deliberative Forums Could Improve Constituent Engagement in Congress
We worked with one Member of Congress and their staff to conduct a week-long, online, asynchronous, policy forum between the Member and a representative sample of their constituency. The goal of this forum was to pilot a new way for Members of Congress to interact with constituents using qualities found in deliberative democracies around the globe. Our new report highlights important findings from this experiment.
House vs. Senate Member-Directed Spending
Both the House and Senate have reinstated Member-Directed Spending programs (formerly known as ‘earmarks’) this year, but there are some significant differences between the chambers. Below, we’ve provided some comparison, including differences between which eligible accounts are accepting Member-Directed Spending requests in both chambers. Resolving how to handle asymmetrical eligible accounts will happen in Conference after the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have both passed spending bills.
What Congress Can Learn from Social Workers About Workplace Safety
As Congressional offices prepare to open to the public for the first time since the pandemic and with the January 6th attack still very much top of mind for many staffers, we turned to the National Association of Social Workers to learn from the experience of social workers.
POPVOX FOUNDATION, FIRST BRANCH INTERN PROJECT HOST “INTERNAPALOOZA” IN COLLABORATION WITH HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE ON MODERNIZATION OF CONGRESS
The POPVOX Foundation and the organizations of the First Branch Intern Project hosted the second “Internapalooza,” in collaboration with the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress (aka “ModCom”) on January 13-21.