Democracy depends on citizens having the skills for making sound choices.
Healthy civil societies and communities are rich in public action. And they need institutions that enjoy the confidence of citizens and serve to strengthen public life. Unfortunately, many major institutions in the U.S. do not enjoy the confidence of the public. They are disconnected from the citizenry by high levels of cynicism and negative perceptions of their performance. The three central projects in this area of the foundation's research have to do with overcoming these disconnects.