More than 40 democracy advocates representing a diverse mix of 35 organizations gathered in Washington, D.C on October 14, 2011 for the inaugural meeting of “Democracy Communications Advisory Group.” The meeting was organized by Clearview Consulting president Patrick Scully, who is currently serving as interim director of the Campaign for Stronger Democracy. Pat organized the meeting in collaboration with The Proteus Fund and with the generous support of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

This meeting capped the first phase of an ambitious research project designed to develop a communications framework and strategy to more effectively communicate with the public about our democracy. The ultimate goal of the initiative is to translate public support for strengthening democracy into action.

Following introductions, Celinda Lake and Daniel Gotoff of Lake Research Partners presented the highlights from a new report commissioned by the Campaign. The report summarizes findings from an extensive review of public opinion research by polling organizations, communications firms, and democracy organizations throughout the last decade on five topics: public trust and accountability, the role of government and of citizens in a democracy, wealth and democracy, racial equity and civil rights, and electoral reform and voting rights.

Lake Research’s presentation sparked a frank Q&A session that informed the day’s work. Participants worked for the rest of the meeting in an iterative series of small-group and plenary discussions to identify a research agenda for the next phase of research and to refine goals for the broader Campaign.

Please click here to see notes from the meeting and an executive summary of the report from Lake Research Partners that informed the day’s work.