call for proposals: November 31, 2024 priority deadline
The SNF Ithaca Initiative is accepting proposals for SNF Ithaca Research Scholars. Scholars conduct research at the intersection of public policy and/or public administration with one or more of the SNF Ithaca pillars: civil discourse, civic engagement, and/or the role of media in democracy.
The research can encompass innovative, empirical, or emerging scholarship in these areas.
SNF Ithaca Research Scholars receive a $5,000 award, are expected to produce a 15–20-page white paper and will have the opportunity to present the research at the Biden School.
- Civil discourse and regulation of media
- Voting rules and civic engagement
- Racially polarized voting
- The impact of civic education on youth voter turnout
- Regulation of social media
- Public institutions and partisanship
- Deliberative democracy and citizen participation.
Applications open to:
- Faculty
- Research academics
- Doctoral students
Applications must include each of the following:
- A current CV.
- A short description (up to 500 words) describing the proposed research topic, methods, and significance.
- Contact information for at least two professional references. Candidates are encouraged to include a writing sample (previously written) that they feel demonstrates their ability to write in a policy-relevant style.
All necessary application materials should be sent to Dr. Timothy J. Shaffer at snfithaca@udel.edu with the subject “SNF Ithaca Research Scholars application.”
Please note: While the priority deadline for submissions is November 31, 2024, applications will continue to be reviewed on a rolling basis
SNF Ithaca Research Scholar White PaperS
Anti-democratic movements are surging around the world, threatening to undermine elections and replace them with oligarchy. While pro-democracy movements focus on defending elections, most people think that elections alone are inadequate. How can we renew democracy and move beyond its current limitations?
For over 5,000 years, we have built up competing waves of electoral, direct, deliberative, and participatory democracy. We are now seeing a transition, however, from waves to ecosystems. While in the past, we have built up competing waves of democracy, the next stage of democratic innovation connects different practices into balanced ecosystems.
Presented: Wednesday, June 26, 2024
Speakers included:
Timothy Shaffer, SNF Ithaca Director and Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Chair of Civil Discourse, Biden School of Public Policy and Administration, University of Delaware (Moderator)
Josh Lerner, Co-Executive Director, People Powered
Carla Bezerra, Director of Digital Participation and Network Communication, Presidency of the Republic of Brazil
Sarah Lister, Head of Governance, United Nations Development Programme
Graham Smith, Professor of Politics, Centre for the Study of Democracy in the School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster
Celina Su, Inaugural Marilyn J. Gittell Chair in Urban Studies at the Graduate Center, City University of New York
Independent local journalism is the backbone of a healthy democracy: it informs citizens, holds local leaders accountable, and fosters social cohesion. Local newspapers focusing on community matters help dilute political mega-identities and reduce polarization.
Unfortunately, industry consolidation and the economics of social media have undermined local journalism's availability, focus, and democratic utility. Social media platforms, particularly Facebook, often emphasize national over local news and culture wars over public policy, neglecting crucial civic needs. Local news organizations have become increasingly "platform dependent," relying on social media for audience reach and adopting its logics to compete. Despite Meta's claims of "reinvigorating" local news through donations, internal memos from 2022 reveal a shift away from news towards videos and content creators. This shift has exacerbated misinformation and political divisiveness, as users' desire for community aligns with the dynamics of Facebook pages and groups.
This white paper documents how social media, especially Meta, contributes to the decline of local journalism. It highlights the lack of financial transparency, allowing tech companies to promote their investments in local news without accountability. The paper proposes a digital advertising tax (DAT) on social media ads targeting users based on online data. The revenue would fund robust independent journalism through a non-profit consortium of local news organizations, researchers, non-profits, and funding entities.
As journalism scholar Victor Pickard notes, "the journalism crisis is a policy problem." This paper outlines a policy approach to addressing it.
