MISSION AND VISION

Our mission is to strengthen the democratic square through research, public events, and hands-on training programs.  We expect to lead the academy in this pursuit.

COMMITMENTS

• Intellectual Vitality
• Analytical Rigor and Transparency
• Practical Relevance
• Collaboration
• Diversity

ACTIVITIES

• Generate scientifically rigorous and practically applicable research
• Equip political scientists with new data resources and other analytic tools
• Host conferences/workshops to boost intellectual exchange and collaboration
• Educate the public through events and deliberative issue forums
• Empower students with hands-on research training
• Train political professionals through the Campaign Management Institute, the Public Affairs and Advocacy Institute, the European Public Affairs and Advocacy Institute, the Legislative Negotiation Institute and the Survey Research Institute
• Publish the political science journal Congress and the Presidency
• Sponsor post-doctoral research fellowships

PERMANENT GOALS

• Increase external funding -- to accelerate research output, endow post-doctoral fellowships, and create new programs
• Heighten visibility and applied politics relevance, contributing to a steady rise in the School of Public Affairs’ national/international reputation
• Expand/deepen intellectual collaboration across American University, the region, and the nation
• Promote reasonable civic deliberation

PERMANENT STRATEGIES

• Intensify external grant-seeking
• Expand partnerships and exchange programs
• Host collaborative research workshops with prominent national scholars to produce edited book volumes or special issues of prominent journals
• Create externally funded post-doctoral and pre-doctoral fellowships
• Host deliberative policy summits around challenging political issues

ANNUAL REVIEW: 2018-19 (In Brief)

It was another active and productive year for CCPS. Specifically, from September 2018 to July 2019, we:

• Sponsored or co-sponsored 13 events and symposia (see here).
• Published 2 books, 5 peer-reviewed articles, 11 book chapters, and 12 editorials/pieces of public scholarship
• Received 2 new grants, totaling $1.1 million dollars
• Inaugurated the Program on Legislative Negotiation, with support from the Hewlett Foundation and in partnership with Harvard University, the Partnership for a Secure America and the Library of Congress.
• Added five new CCPS fellows
• Supported 2 visiting scholars and 7 graduate students
• Awarded the Madison Prize and the Barbara Sinclair Lecture
• Sponsored Eagles Elect, a student-led voter registration drive
• Established/Deepened partnerships and working relationships with the following entities:
  • National Issues Forums
  • Library of Congress’s John W. Kluge Center
  • Pew Research Center
  • William + Flora Hewlett Foundation
  • Kettering Foundation
  • Public Religion Research Institute
• Continued our long-standing relationship with the US-China Education Trust (USCET)
• Maintained the quality of Congress and the Presidency, under editor Jeff Crouch, Managing Editor Aaron Stuvland, and book editor Adam Warber
• Maintained the success of our professional Institutes and Weekend Workshops:

• Campaign Management Institute (CMI)
• Public Affairs and Advocacy Institute (PAAI)
• European Public Affairs and Advocacy Institute (EPAAI)

The inaugural year of Professor Barker’s directorship was active and productive. Specifically, from September to June, we:

• Sponsored or co-sponsored 8 events (2017 and 2018) and 1 national conference
• Received 3 new grants, including one from the National Science Foundation
• Finalized One Nation, Two Realities: Dueling Facts & American Democracy (Oxford U. Press)
• Completed 2 other research projects, and initiated 2 more
• Completed 2 new data collections, supporting faculty colleagues and SPA students
• Published 6 blog posts on The Monkey Cage, The Conversation, and Mischiefs of Faction
• Added over a dozen new CCPS fellows
• Supported 2 visiting scholars (including a Fulbright Scholar) and 6 graduate students
• Initiated the Madison Prize and the Barbara Sinclair Lecture
• Began work on a new bipartisan congressional internship program
• Sponsored a student-led voter registration drive

NEW PARTNERSHIPS AND WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

• • New York Times (Trump Administration Deregulation Tracker)
  • The Congressional Management Foundation
  • US Capitol Historical Society/US Capitol Visitor Center
  • National Issues Forums
  • Library of Congress's John W. Kluge Center
  • Pew Research Center
  • William + Flora Hewlett Foundation
  • Kettering Foundation
  • R Street Institute
  • Bipartisan Policy Center
  • PSB Research
  • Public Religion Research Institute
  • AU Center for Latin American and Latino Studies
  • AU Metropolitan Policy Center
• Continued our long-standing relationship with the US-China Education Trust (USCET)
• Created a new website, strategic plan, and Twitter page
• Maintained the quality of Congress and the Presidency Journal, under new editor Jeff Crouch
• Maintained the success of our professional Institutes and Weekend Workshops:
  • Campaign Management Institute (CMI)
  • Public Affairs and Advocacy Institute (PAAI)
  • European Public Affairs and Advocacy Institute (EPAAI)