A New Era of Civic Leadership

The National Academy of Public Administration and the Bridge Alliance have joined together to launch a landmark initiative dedicated to strengthening American democracy and public service. This partnership brings together the Academy’s distinguished Fellows and the Bridge Alliance’s dynamic, cross-sector network to build a leadership infrastructure for the future of our republic.

Collaboration for Civic Renewal

At its core, this partnership is about reimagining how leadership and collaboration can drive meaningful change in American democracy and public service. Rather than relying on top-down models, the initiative fosters distributed expertise, collaborative strategy, and public-facing storytelling. Fellows will serve as conveners, connectors, and catalysts—amplifying insights from the field, shaping democratic narratives, and stewarding resilience through shared leadership. Together, the Academy and the Bridge Alliance are committed to integrating institutional wisdom with civic imagination, creating a vibrant ecosystem for democracy reform and renewal.

Fellows’ Challenge—Solutions for Advancing American Democracy and Public Service

We invite thought leaders and practitioners to contribute actionable solutions that advance democracy and public service through a request for proposals.

Request for Proposals

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This initiative focuses on six core sectors essential to a thriving democratic republic:

• Public Service Leadership and Civil Service Reform: Fellows will examine the systems, rules, and practices that govern the federal workforce, identifying opportunities to modernize for greater agility and impact. This includes strategies to recruit, develop, and sustain the next generation of public leaders equipped to navigate complexity and deliver results.
• Voting and Elections: Trust in our electoral processes is foundational to democratic legitimacy. Fellows will analyze all components of voting and election administration—from registration to ballot security—offering actionable recommendations to ensure impartiality, transparency, and public trust. This includes ethics standards for senior election officials and safeguards against political interference.
• Bridging & Dialogue: In an era of division, this sector explores the art and practice of bridging differences. Fellows will elevate efforts that foster mutual understanding, respectful dialogue, and shared purpose across ideological, cultural, and generational lines. Constructive engagement is not just possible—it is essential to democratic renewal.
• Electoral Systems Reform: Nonpartisan reforms that ensure robust competition and fair representation are vital to a functional government accountable to the people. Fellows will examine innovations such as ranked-choice voting, gerrymandering reform, campaign finance transparency, and independent voter rights—co-creating the policies and movements that reshape how power is held and shared.
• Trustworthy Information Leads to Trust in Government: Democracy depends not only on what we know, but on how we know it. Fellows in this sector will focus on restoring a shared civic reality through rigorous measurement and reliable reporting—empowering citizens to interpret trends, evaluate outcomes, and advocate for evidence-based change.
• Pluralism: America’s strength lies in its diversity—and in our capacity to navigate it with empathy and imagination. Fellows will explore how pluralism is practiced, challenged, and reimagined across communities and institutions, amplifying stories of coexistence, conflict, and cultural evolution to shape a republic where every voice matters and every story counts.

Through research, dialogue, and collaboration, this initiative seeks to generate clear, executable action plans that modernize public service, strengthen electoral integrity, foster constructive engagement, and celebrate the diversity that defines America. The work of selected Fellows will be featured in national campaigns and publications, helping to restore public trust and inspire the next generation of civic leaders.

By connecting expertise, fostering innovation, and celebrating public service this partnership is more than an initiative:

It’s a call to action to help shape the future of American Democracy