In an era of increased political polarization, innovative approaches to bringing diverse voices together may offer ways for communities to rebuild trust and increase civic dialogue.
Polarization has far-reaching consequences. As Americans increasingly distrust those with different political views, polarization can erode trust, narrow social connections, and discourage everyday civic conversation. Public meetings can become tense or unproductive, discouraging both residents and public officials from participating. Over time, this dynamic creates a reinforcing cycle that weakens civic dialogue and makes effective public leadership more difficult.
Innovative Approaches to Increase Trust and Civic Engagement in Wisconsin
As concerns about civic health grow, the Organizational and Leadership Development program at UW-Madison’s Division of Extension offers programming and research to foster civic dialogue and engagement in Wisconsin. To address the challenges of polarization, Amber Wichowsky, Associate Professor of Public Affairs and Leadership Wisconsin Endowed Chair for the Division of Extension, is exploring democratic innovations designed to increase trust and civic engagement, and build local capacities for problem-solving.
Together with collaborators in Extension, La Follette School of Public Affairs, and Leadership Wisconsin, Inc., Wichowsky is studying civic assemblies as one such approach. Civic assemblies are small-scale forums, in which a representative group comes together to learn, deliberate, and make recommendations about a specific issue or proposal. Participants are randomly selected to reflect the community’s diversity in age, background, and political perspective. Skilled facilitators provide structure and guidance to assemblies, which may range from one to multiple days.
Pilot Project Tests Civic Assemblies in Eau Claire
The program is seeing early success through a pilot project in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Like many communities, Eau Claire County is experiencing an increasing number of people facing homelessness. The Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce, Eau Claire City-County Health Department, and Eau Claire County Department of Human Services have joined forces in an effort to address homelessness. To help propel the work forward, Wichowsky and Extension County Educator Garret Zastoupil were brought in to facilitate an assembly to develop insights and recommendations from a wide range of residents. The assembly made 10 recommendations that inform the county’s comprehensive community plan.
Bringing Civic Assemblies to More Wisconsin Communities
Building on the success in Eau Claire, Wichowsky is in the early stages of creating an infrastructure to bring civic assemblies to communities throughout the state of Wisconsin. Working with Leadership Wisconsin, civic leaders will be trained to design and facilitate assemblies, with the support of Wichowsky and Extension educators. By building a deeper pool of facilitators, more communities will be able to participate in assemblies. Wichowsky and her collaborators will be facilitating up to five assemblies in communities throughout Wisconsin, with a focus on housing – one of the state’s most critical issues.
Through this work, additional research and recommendations will be made available. A mini-conference will be hosted in 2027 that brings civic leaders and assembly participants together with local and state policymakers to share recommendations from the assemblies and reflect on lessons learned from this deliberative form of public engagement.
As communities grapple with timely and complex community development issues – such as housing or childcare – civic assemblies may present a unique opportunity to both cultivate meaningful civil discourse while engaging citizens in problem-solving.