About Lyceum LabsThe Big Idea ~ The health of our democracy depends on the quality of our political leaders and parties. We clearly need to do better in both areas.Lyceum LabsLL_c77c4916-b25b-11ed-9da1-1dd11d83ea00Lyceum Labs is a fiscally sponsored project of the Defending Democracy Together Institute (DDTI), a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC.Defending Democracy Together InstituteOur team will consist of a handful of dedicated and talented generalists. Our affiliation with the Defending Democracy Together Institute gives us ready access to stellar and scalable communications, legal, finance, and administrative support we can draw upon as needed.Daniel StidExecutive Director ~ Daniel previously served as the founding director of the Hewlett Foundation’s U.S. Democracy Program. From 2013-22, he led $180 million in grantmaking to shore up U.S. democracy in a time of polarization. Earlier in his career, Daniel was a partner at The Bridgespan Group, where he advised nonprofit, foundation, and government leaders; a management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group; and a Congressional Fellow on the staff of House Majority Leader Dick Armey. Daniel is the author of The President as Statesman: Woodrow Wilson and the Constitution. In his blog, The Art of Association, he explores the interplay between civil society and democracy in America. Daniel has a B.A. from Hope College, an M.Phil. in politics from Oxford University, and a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University.Sarah LongwellSenior Advisor ~ Sarah is the Executive Director of DDTI, and in this capacity provides guidance and support to Daniel and the Lyceum Labs team. Sarah is also the President and CEO of Longwell Partners, a full service communications firm focused on “building uncommon coalitions for a common purpose.” A long-time political strategist and former board chair of the Log Cabin Republicans, Sarah lives in Washington, D.C. with her family. She is a graduate of Kenyon College.Lyceum Labs Advisory BoardIn keeping with our belief in the critical importance of viewpoint diversity and our lean and agile operating model, we have assembled an advisory board that we rely on for counsel, networking, and feedback in our ongoing work.Ben GinsbergBen Ginsberg served as national counsel to the 2000 and 2004 Bush-Cheney presidential campaigns and played a central role in the 2000 Florida recount. He also served as national counsel to the Romney for President campaign. He is currently the Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-chair of the Election Official Legal Defense Fund.Didi KuoDidi Kuo is the Associate Director for Research and Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at Stanford University. She is a scholar of comparative politics, with a focus on democratization, corruption and clientelism, political parties and institutions, and political reform.Elise WesthoffElise Westhoff is President and CEO of the Philanthropy Roundtable. She previously served as executive director of The Snider Foundation. Her commentary has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Associated Press, and hundreds of other publications around the country.Layla ZaidaneLayla Zaidane is the President and CEO of the Millennial Action Project. She joined MAP in 2016, and previously also served as Executive Director and COO. A nationally recognized expert on youth engagement, Layla has been featured in outlets including Forbes, Teen Vogue, The New York Times, The Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, and Refinery29.Oren CassOren Cass, is the executive director of American Compass and author of The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America (2018). He is a contributing opinion writer for The Financial Times and previously served as Domestic Policy Director for Governor Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.Rachel KleinfeldRachel Kleinfeld is a Senior Fellow in the Democracy, Conflict and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She also serves as a trustee of the National Endowment for Democracy, Freedom House, and on the advisory board of Protect Democracy. From 2011 to 2014, she sat on the Foreign Affairs Policy Board after being appointed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.Ruy TeixeiraRuy Teixeira is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at The American Enterprise Institute, and co-edits “The Liberal Patriot” blog on Substack. Before joining AEI, he was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress from 2003 to 2022. He is also the coauthor of The Emerging Democratic Majority (2002), named one of The Economist’s best books of the year.Lauren HarperLauren Harper is the Founder and CEO of CityBright, a political and communications consulting firm. She is also the Co-Founder of The Welcome Party and WelcomePAC, which work to grow and sustain a big-tent Democratic party. Lauren previously served as South Carolina State Director for former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke and as Policy and Communications Advisor for Columbia (SC) Mayor Steve Benjamin. She is a board member of SC Women in Leadership.More democracy_c77c4a06-b25b-11ed-9da1-1dd11d83ea00To reimagine political leadership and parties and the contributions they could make to U.S. democracy_c77c4aba-b25b-11ed-9da1-1dd11d83ea00DemocracyViewpoint DiversityLeanessAgilityPerspectiveOur perspective and focus: We are a solutions-oriented, center-right team in a part of civil society that is prone to righteous, all-or-nothing stances. We are convinced that in our diverse and disputatious democracy, sustainable improvements must reflect the perspectives of a broad cross-section of citizens.FocusWe keep a sharp focus on leadership, political parties, and how they can be improved in the here and now, within the existing rules of the game. Amid the ongoing push for democracy reforms, we must also seek to get to a better politics so the rules of the game are respected and can be fine-tuned.Rule of LawThe story behind our name: We draw our inspiration from Abraham Lincoln’s 1838 speech on “The Perpetuation of our Political Institutions” to the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln argued it was up to his and each new generation of Americans to defend the timeless principles of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the rule of law. This meant standing up to threats posed by excessive political passions, mob violence, and would-be dictators. Lincoln warned that, “If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”ExperimentationHow we work: Our approach is experimental and collaborative, as is fitting for a new venture in which we do not presume to have everything figured out ourselves.CollaborationPartnershipWe will pose big questions, explore the answers with a range of blue-chip 501(c)3 partners in a series of projects, and develop practical solutions to improve our democracy.PracticalityScalabilityWe will scale up what works and wrap up what does not.Majority RulePluralismPragmatismPatriotismPolitical Leadership & PartiesWeave a network to reimagine political leadership and parties_c77c4b64-b25b-11ed-9da1-1dd11d83ea00Charitable OrganizationsPolitical LeadersWe need better leaders. ^^ Democracy rests on a paradox. It is a bottom-up system where the people rule themselves via the representatives they elect. But top-down leadership really matters in democracy also–even more than in autocracy. Political leadership shapes whether and how people perceive reality and govern themselves accordingly. It reinforces (or erodes) social cohesion and patriotism. ^^ Ascending levels of leadership: We should expect all of our political leaders to have a modicum of respect for our constitutional arrangements, elections, and the institutions in which they serve. In more honorable manifestations, leaders conform themselves to and are shaped by the responsibilities embedded in their institutions. Still higher forms of leadership rest on an interplay in which politicians listen to and learn from but also reason with and lead their followers.StatesmenThe highest level: Statesmanship combines the above dimensions with a core set of moral virtues and a compelling vision for the nation. Statesmanship changes American history for the better, as it did in the 1780s, the 1860s, the 1930s, and the 1980s. ^^ The big questions we seek to answer: What would it take to recover an appreciation for and solicit more responsible political leadership? What would statesmanship look like, and what are its core tasks, in the present moment?Political PartiesWe need better parties. ^^ Most Americans have reservations about political parties and the partisanship they give rise to, but they are essential for democracy. Majority rule is the one legitimate basis for self-government among free and equal citizens. And parties are how we build, organize, sustain, and hold majorities accountable. ^^ The problem with our parties: The American two-party system has become tribalized in ways that confound the core features of our system of government. The complexity of our governing arrangements (separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, etc.) presumes the need to negotiate and compromise across them. The diverse values, interests, and agendas built into our extended republic presume a kaleidoscope of coalitions shifting from issue to issue. These presumptions no longer hold. We are thus hard-pressed to solve big problems, preserve social trust, and maintain faith in elections. ^^ All is not lost: Positive changes could come about in several ways, including more robust factionalism within the two parties; a reimagining and revitalization of place-based party politics; the emergence of multiple parties and ad hoc electoral coalitions in various states; and astute political leadership that cultivates a broad and enduring majority. ^^ The big questions we seek to answer: What will it take to foster more pluralism, pragmatism, and patriotism in our party system? How could we remake party politics to better suit the requirements of our polity?PartisansAdvocatesThink TankersScholarsFundersWe are weaving a network. Our theory of change is to reimagine political leadership and parties and the contributions they could make to U.S. democracy by rallying a coalition of like-minded charitable organizations dedicated to these goals. The task is too big to tackle on our own. But together with the allies we enlist, we can seed and cultivate powerful ideas and examples of what good looks like for these essential but much-maligned components of our democracy, thereby paving the way for more of it. Toward this end, we seek to weave a network of political leaders, partisans, advocates, think tankers, scholars, and funders who share these goals. We will be guided in this task by four principles for successful collaboration in networks developed by Jane Wei-Skillern and Nora Silver:StrategiesBuild strategies that advance the missions_c77c4c18-b25b-11ed-9da1-1dd11d83ea001“Focus on mission before organization. Effective network leaders build strategies that advance the mission even when it does not result in direct benefits to their organization.”PartnershipsBuild partnerships based on trust_c77c4cd6-b25b-11ed-9da1-1dd11d83ea002“Build partnerships based on trust, not control. Leaders depend upon shared values and trust rather than top-down controls and accountability systems.”AdvancementPromote others_c77c4dee-b25b-11ed-9da1-1dd11d83ea003“Promote others rather than yourself. Network leaders exhibit a strong norm of humility above all else, sharing credit and foregoing opportunities for individual advancement and institutional growth and brand building.”SystemsBuild the systems necessary to deliver on the missions_c77c4eb6-b25b-11ed-9da1-1dd11d83ea004“Build constellations rather than lone stars. Leaders who catalyze successful networks acknowledge their weaknesses as readily as their strengths. The goal is to build the larger system that is necessary for delivering on the mission, not to become the ‘market leader.’”2023-02-21https://lyceumlabs.org/about-lyceum-labs/OwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net