Our Mission

PAVED Research is an initiative to produce and promote cutting-edge research on democratic innovation, racial justice, and public policy – particularly education policy.

We are working towards a society that realizes the fullest meaning of democracy, in which community members no longer face barriers to democratic participation and are able to voice innovative approaches to educational equity and racial justice. Our research supports initiatives that expand participation in our democratic institutions. We study strategies that invite greater democratic participation to promote equity and racial justice in schools, cities, organizations and other community spaces. PAVED Research supports democratic initiatives that empower community leaders to voice innovative approaches to educational equity and racial justice.

Objectives

Original Research

PAVED conducts original research projects using quantitative and qualitative research methods with the goals of better understanding:

• Trends in public attitudes towards pressing education policy issues

• The role of participatory democracy and democratic deliberation in increasing political participation for members of low-income and/or minoritized communities

• The capacity for democratic innovation to foster community improvement in historically marginalized spaces

Project Evaluation

PAVED partners with governments and organizations to evaluate the effectiveness of initiatives focused on:

• Improving public participation through democratic innovation

• Making policy decisions through mass participation and public deliberation

•  Strengthening the communication between the public and their public officials