Our principles
At the Center for Civic Design, we believe that democracy is a design problem. We make choices about the work we take on and how we approach every project.
Principles
Design is our tool for building a better democracy
- We bring design principles, informed by research, and a diverse set of perspectives to our work.
- We build sustainable practices for stakeholders in democracy.
- We distill complicated systems into simple experiences.
We recognize elections are just one way to participate in democracy
- We seek to make elections expansive, inviting more people into civic spaces and civic participation in its forms.
- We see our work in conversation with other approaches to civic design.
We support and inspire change within the system
- We know that change takes time and persistence.
- We see value in both changes within existing policy and working for long-term progress.
- We center voters, would-be voters, and election administration in our work.
Approach
We learn as we work
- We know our work takes place in larger social, historical, and interpersonal contexts.
- We make time to talk about history and why problems exist.
We collaborate with purpose
- We develop long-term working relationships with elections officials and community stakeholders.
- We actively seek out and listen to those who are excluded from voting.
- We recognize that everyone brings unique expertise and perspectives.
We work in the open
- Good government is transparent. We make our own work transparent, sharing our questions, learnings, tools, and outcomes.
- We revisit and revise our ideas as we expand our knowledge through research.
We share what we produce widely and freely
- We recognize that election officials do a lot with limited resources.
- We hope our work supports theirs.
- We love seeing others adapt our work for new contexts.