About
Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century
The bipartisan Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, a project of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, was launched in 2018 to explore how best to respond to the weaknesses and vulnerabilities in our political and civic life and to enable more Americans to participate as effective citizens in a diverse 21st-century democracy.
In June 2020, the Commission issued 31 recommendations for strengthening democracy in the report Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century, including reform to political institutions, investment in civil society, and transforming our political culture. Learn more about the people and process that produced Our Common Purpose here.
With the publication and broad distribution Our Common Purpose, the focus is now on advancing its recommendations to achieve empowerment for all, responsive and effective governance, and a resilient and healthy civic culture, characterized by a shared commitment of Americans to one another and constitutional democracy. Work is underway to pursue significant progress on all of its recommendations by 2026, the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Champions
The Academy is collaborating with a diverse set of over 60 organizations to champion the report’s recommendations around the country.
Supporters
Support for advancing the recommendations in Our Common Purpose is provided by the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, The Suzanne Nora Johnson and David G. Johnson Foundation, the Clary Family Charitable Fund, Alan and Lauren Dachs, Sara Lee Schupf and the Lubin Family Foundation, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, and David M. Rubenstein.