Building tools to foster public engagement for the people of California and around the world.
The CITRIS Data and Democracy Initiative develops tools to support dynamic relationships between digital media and democratic practices, such as the use of innovative mobile, Internet and social media applications to facilitate online deliberation, participatory decision-making, and rapid mobilization. DDI seeks to enhance individual and collective awareness, understanding, and engagement for people of diverse backgrounds on critical social, political, and economic issues.
Founded in 2011, the Data and Democracy Initiative brings creativity and innovation from computer science, electrical engineering, and social media to bear on issues of democracy building and civic participation. DDI collaborates with faculty members and research centers on UC campuses as well as with companies, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations in the United States and internationally.