Praise for Citizens Assembly News Digest

“This is the best source for up to date information and commentary about one of the most important institutional innovations in modern democracy.”

Dennis Thompson, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Professor, Department of Government, Harvard University

“Citizens Assemblies are an increasingly important feature of the political landscape in Western democracies, but they don’t get much coverage even in the best newspapers.  I have therefore found the Citizens Assembly News Digest to be an indispensable source for keeping up with the key developments on this subject.”

Arend Lijphart, California, U.S.A.
Professor, Department of Political Science,
University of California, San Diego

“Many thanks — it’s a wonderful service you provide.”

Heather Gerken, Connecticut, U.S.A.
Professor, Yale Law School

“The Citizens’ Assembly News Digest is the most comprehensive collection of news from around the world on an important, but understudied subject.  It is invaluable as a single source of information for scholars as well as practitioners.  I  certainly have it bookmarked in my favourites!”

Jonathan Rose, Ontario, Canada
Academic Director, Ontario Citizens’ Assembly
Professor, Department of Political Studies, Queen’s University

“The Citizens Assembly News Digest offers a stimulating, balanced and complete overview of one of the most interesting newer forms of democratic decision making. It is therefore an extremely important means to stay informed about this aspect of democracy.”

Henk van der Kolk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Academic Advisor,  Dutch Citizens Assembly for Electoral Reform
Professor, University of Twente

“The Citizens Assembly idea is, for really big questions, the most important innovation in direct democracy for generations.  iSolon.org’s network provides the intellectual trading post to further the practice and research.”

Gordon Gibson, British Columbia, Canada
Senior Fellow in Canadian Studies, Fraser Institute
Former Special Assistant to British Columbia’s Prime Minister and Leader of British Columbia’s Liberal Party
Designer, British Columbia Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform

“The Citizen Assembly News Digest is a very useful resource for tracking these important initiatives in citizens’ deliberations around the world. Its comprehensive coverage of developments makes this the first place I look to keep informed on these electoral reform trends.”

David Farrell, Manchester, United Kingdom
Chair in European Politics, University of Manchester
Author, Electoral Systems: A Comparative Introduction

“If I want to know what’s happening in the world of citizens assemblies for the purpose of university tutorials or public lectures, www.iSolon.org is my site of choice. It’s full of current information that I’ve found to be invaluable.”

Lyn Carson, Sydney, Australia
Senior Lecturer in Applied Politics, University of Sydney

“In the ongoing effort to revitalize democratic models of participation, citizen assemblies are an important and too-little known model – one that shows real promise in engaging and involving a broader range of citizens in meaningful ways.  iSolon.org’s Citizens Assembly News Digest is an indispensible source of information about progress and trends in this movement for real participatory democracy.”

Stuart Comstock-Gay, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Democracy Program Director, Demos

“The Citizens Assembly News Digest is the indispensable source for information and analysis about the rapidly growing world-wide interest in and experience with Citizens’ Assemblies.”

Kenneth Carty, British Columbia, Canada
Professor of Political Science, University of British Columbia
Former Director of Research, British Columbia Citizens’ 
Assembly on Electoral Reform
Former President, Canadian Political Science Association

“It’s greatly rewarding to me to see that suggestions I put forth over 30 years ago seem still to retain some relevance.”

Robert Dahl, Connecticut, U.S.A.
Professor, Yale Department of Political Science
Former President, American Political Science Association

[Regarding J.H. Snider’s book review essay: From Dahl to O’Leary: 36 Years of the ‘Yale School of Democratic Reform’]

“A great resource.”

New America Foundation Website, Washington, DC

 Legislative Information Systems

“Your presentation at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the National Online Legislative Associates (NOLA) was compelling.  Our members were eager to discuss your research on the online accessibility of roll call votes and your ideas for using new information technology to make legislative procedure more democratic.  We look forward to learning about your future work in this area.”

Andy Fish, President of NOLA and Managing
Partner of the Texas Legislative Services.