Innovation

POPVOX Foundation is working with the Foundation for American Innovation (formerly the Lincoln Network) to facilitate information-sharing and best practices for the testing, deployment and oversight of automated technologies including Large Language Models (LLMs) in the Legislative branch.

Notable: Demand Progress, Foundation for American Innovation, and POPVOX Foundation held a briefing for Congressional staff — in cooperation with House Digital Services — to open a discussion on the use of new AI tools in the Legislative branch workflow.

Initially launched with an orientation event for the 117th Congress in 2021, POPVOX Foundation’s TSD work builds on Marci Harris’ observation that Congress suffers from three “pacing problems” in relation to emerging technologies. In 2023, this work is turning to the new opportunities and challenges presented by large language models (LLMs) such as Chat-GPT, and Chat-GPT4.

Notable: POPVOX Foundation Executive Director Marci Harris joined Zach Graves of Lincoln Network and Daniel Schuman of Demand Progress on the op-ed “Bots in Congress: The Risks and Benefits of Emerging AI Tools in the Legislative Branch” and podcast.

While Congress has often struggled to keep pace with emerging technological developments, its ability to integrate tech and data expertise into its own operations is critical to a functioning first branch of government. The Effective Government fellowship, a partnership between POPVOX Foundation and the University of Chicago’s Center for Effective Government, introduces rising public servants to the modernization efforts helping democratic institutions maintain their effectiveness and legitimacy in a rapidly changing world.

Notable: Fellows for the 2024 program will spend their summer working directly with POPVOX Foundation staff on projects focused on the use of AI to supplement Congressional capacity and contribute to effective policy. After concluding their summer work with POPVOX Foundation, Fellows will build on their Congressional experience in a fall research assistantship with staff at the Center for Effective Government.

Led by grad-school bound researcher Ian Chenoweth, the “LegisTech” series catalogs information about tools and innovations developed and adopted by Congress. For most of these, the description by POPVOX Foundation is the only public-facing information available about the taxpayer supported technologies.

Notable: We received private thanks from institutional offices for making information about their work available; they are often unable or unsure about their ability to share publicly.

Outcomes-driven legislation (ODL) or policy (ODP) upends the traditional top-down policymaking process. ODP challenges lawmakers to establish the goals or outcomes of a potential policy intervention, leaving wide latitude for innovative implementation to those charged with carrying out the policy (with a preference for local or community entities, where appropriate) in tandem with standardized, constantly updating metrics of program effectiveness that allow for ongoing oversight, information-sharing, and program refinement.

Notable: POPVOX Foundation is currently sharing this new concept with academics and policymakers, with the potential for a few pilot projects in the future.

POPVOX Foundation hosts in-person convenings to foster connections and information-sharing among the broad modernization ecosystem. This includes building bridges among the organizations of the “FixCongress Cohort,” Congressional staff, and organizations focused on technical modernization and talent within the Executive branch.

Notable: The first in-person convening was held on April 20, 2023 in Washington, DC. On June 6, 2023 POPVOX Foundation hosted a book launch with Jennifer Pahlka, former Obama administration official and author of “Recoding America,” in conversation with Matt Lira, former Trump administration official on bipartisan approaches to making government work.

Casework Navigator is a training and professional development series to help Congressional caseworkers build skills and connections through webinars, publications, a newsletter, and a new subscription-based resource offering. The project is led by POPVOX Foundation Deputy Director Anne Meeker and Katherine Long, a Senior Fellow.

Notable: Casework Navigator launched in February 2023 through a series of successful webinars that received overwhelmingly positive reviews from attendees. The program builds on the recommendations provided by Anne Meeker, in her June 2022 testimony to the House Select Committee on Modernization of Congress.

A “CivX” approach views people not simply as customers who need to be satisfied within the context of a single interaction or service, but as contributors with power and agency over institutions that affect their everyday lives and the lives of others within their communities.

Notable: POPVOX Foundation researcher Samantha McDonald convened stakeholders around the launch of the POPVOX CivX Metrics toolkit. The toolkit offers government leaders at all levels actionable insights into measuring civic engagement beyond standard customer service metrics.

Led by POPVOX Foundation Fellow Beatriz Rey, the Comparative Legislative Strengthening Project (CLSP) provides an information exchange on legislative modernization and an international network of legislative innovators.

Notable: CLSP will launch with an event in April 2023 on “Legislative Modernization in Comparative Perspective” in Lisbon co-hosted with the International Legislation Association (IAL) at the University of Lisbon Law School.

Congress 2076 is a forward-looking initiative designed to reimagine the United States Congress on the occasion of its 300th anniversary in 2076.

Notable: On May 13, 2024, the Congress 2076 Convening will bring together Congress scholars and champions to share ideas and envision a Congress that is resilient, responsive, and effective for America’s tercentennial.

institutional modernization is not a destination to be reached but an agile process of continuous improvement that embraces an approach of monitoring changing conditions, testing new approaches, and sharing lessons learned.