The Public Purpose

Welcome to our first edition of The Public Purpose!

Public Works: The Demos Center for the Public Sector is pleased to present this inaugural issue of our e-journal, The Public Purpose. This online publication is the latest undertaking of the Public Works program, which seeks to rejuvenate American's appreciation of the public structures that create and maintain quality of life in the United States. These structures -- from laws and highways, to health and safety programs, and an array of public services and institutions -- are the manifestations of a government by, for and of the people.

Unfortunately, recent research conducted for Public Works demonstrates that Americans don't currently see our government as being by, for and of the people. Rather, public perceptions of government are at best, indifferent and confused, and at worst, downright hostile. These prevailing perceptions of government present a real danger to our democracy and undermine our society's ability to pursue opportunities and address challenges in virtually every public interest arena. However, the same research shows that government is not a lost cause, and that people are not only open to, but yearn for, a public sector that is committed to the common good and competent in that pursuit.

Public Works is taking steps toward a large scale effort to energize our country's tradition of supporting the public good through innovative and effective public sector activities. To achieve this ambitious goal, we are employing a number of strategies to develop and support constituencies and champions for America's crucial public structures. We want to work together with public policy advocates, academics, elected leaders, business leaders, the media and interested individuals to restore the role of the government as an essential partner in achieving the common goals of our society. Working with local, state and national-level groups, we are facilitating the work of civic organizations, business groups, policy analysts, and advocates in developing long-term efforts to restore the public sector. Through presentations, workshops, train-the-trainer sessions, strategic consultation, and ongoing applications guidance and support, Public Works is building a foundation of support for a new discourse on the role of the public sector in America.

In this first issue of the The Public Purpose, we will offer an overview of the extensive communications research we undertook in order to understand how Americans currently think about government and to begin sharing insights from that research. In the issues that follow, we plan to offer a blueprint for changing public opinion about the role of government, examples of work being undertaken around the country to build a constituency for the public sector, specific tips on communicating about the role of the government, and annotated examples of news articles or other communications that illustrate how we might shift our approach to public issues to build common support and understanding.

We hope this publication serves as a tool for us to come together across the country in pursuit of these efforts

Sincerely,

Dianne Stewart
Director, Public Works: the Demos Center for the Public Sector

Researching How Americans Think about Government

Beginning in March 2004, Public Works and the Council for Excellence in Government partnered with the FrameWorks Institute to research Americans' attitudes toward the public sector. Rather than simply studying static public opinion about government, we wanted to understand "how" Americans think about government. Specifically, we wanted to learn about the dominant frames or stereotypes to which Americans default when they think about government and how those frames affect public choices. Ultimately, we wanted to know how to best reframe the concept of government in order to evoke a different way of thinking, one that advances collective understanding of and support for public sector solutions to society's challenges. Full Article

What is Government? And can we communicate about it more effectively

The research conducted by the FrameWorks Institute revealed important new insights into how the public perceives government. There is both good news in what we have learned and major challenges that have been identified and must be addressed. Negative views of government are indeed dominant, but they are not as entrenched as many believe. And, our research reveals some powerful ways to open up more positive conceptions of government's role in society. Full Article

Skill Building: Learning about Strategic Frame Analysis

The particular communications theories that underpin our research and recommendations are the work of the FrameWorks Institute. FrameWorks has developed a new approach to communicating effectively about social issues known as strategic frame analysis. This groundbreaking approach to communications research and practice incorporates key concepts from the cognitive and social sciences that explore how people process information, with a special emphasis on the implications for addressing contemporary social problems. Public Works is employing the techniques developed by the FrameWorks Institute to assist interested individuals and organizations in changing how they communicate about, and advocate for, public sector solutions to pressing social challenges.

In each of our upcoming e-journals, we will take a look at one or more of the elements of successful framing and explore how these insights and techniques can be applied in your public communications efforts. Full Article

Through our Lens

In every issue of Public Purpose, we will include an example-either a news story, op-ed, or other communication-that offers practical lessons about how to reframe discussions about government.

Trying it on For Size: Examples of Utilizing Research Insights
We thought it might be helpful to see how Demos is incorporating these research insights into its own work. In this issue of Public Purpose, we have included an annotated op-ed commemorating the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. We drafted this to practice utilizing some of the research insights. Full Article

Lessons from the News
This issue also includes an analysis of recent media coverage of the Sales Tax Holidays that a number of states implemented during the traditional back-to-school shopping period. These stories made us stop and wonder about the framing that is going on in these stories and the insights offered by our government research. Full Article

The Public Works team May be Coming to a Meeting Near You!

The Public Works team is committed to working with interested organizations, coalitions and individuals to rebuild a constructive public dialogue about government's role in our society. We have been traveling around the country, speaking about our project's research findings and recommendations. We are developing a number of state-based and issue-based projects and have a full calendar of presentations in the coming months. If you are interested in working with us to rebuild support for an active public sector empowered to address social challenges, contact Patrick Bresette at pbresette@demos.org. Full Article

A DEMOS eJOURNAL
Issue 1 Oct. 23, 2006 Home Researching How Americans Think about Government Communicating Effectively about Government Skill Building Trying it on For Size Lessons from the News The Public Works Update Who is Public Works? How to Talk about Government Project COMMENTS SIGN UP	Printable Version Welcome to our first edition of The Public Purpose! Public Works: The Demos Center for the Public Sector is pleased to present this inaugural issue of our e-journal, The Public Purpose. This online publication is the latest undertaking of the Public Works program, which seeks to rejuvenate American's appreciation of the public structures that create and maintain quality of life in the United States. These structures -- from laws and highways, to health and safety programs, and an array of public services and institutions -- are the manifestations of a government by, for and of the people. Unfortunately, recent research conducted for Public Works demonstrates that Americans don't currently see our government as being by, for and of the people. Rather, public perceptions of government are at best, indifferent and confused, and at worst, downright hostile. These prevailing perceptions of government present a real danger to our democracy and undermine our society's ability to pursue opportunities and address challenges in virtually every public interest arena. However, the same research shows that government is not a lost cause, and that people are not only open to, but yearn for, a public sector that is committed to the common good and competent in that pursuit. Public Works is taking steps toward a large scale effort to energize our country's tradition of supporting the public good through innovative and effective public sector activities. To achieve this ambitious goal, we are employing a number of strategies to develop and support constituencies and champions for America's crucial public structures. We want to work together with public policy advocates, academics, elected leaders, business leaders, the media and interested individuals to restore the role of the government as an essential partner in achieving the common goals of our society. Working with local, state and national-level groups, we are facilitating the work of civic organizations, business groups, policy analysts, and advocates in developing long-term efforts to restore the public sector. Through presentations, workshops, train-the-trainer sessions, strategic consultation, and ongoing applications guidance and support, Public Works is building a foundation of support for a new discourse on the role of the public sector in America. In this first issue of the The Public Purpose, we will offer an overview of the extensive communications research we undertook in order to understand how Americans currently think about government and to begin sharing insights from that research. In the issues that follow, we plan to offer a blueprint for changing public opinion about the role of government, examples of work being undertaken around the country to build a constituency for the public sector, specific tips on communicating about the role of the government, and annotated examples of news articles or other communications that illustrate how we might shift our approach to public issues to build common support and understanding. We hope this publication serves as a tool for us to come together across the country in pursuit of these efforts Sincerely, Dianne Stewart Director, Public Works: the Demos Center for the Public Sector Researching How Americans Think about Government Beginning in March 2004, Public Works and the Council for Excellence in Government partnered with the FrameWorks Institute to research Americans' attitudes toward the public sector. Rather than simply studying static public opinion about government, we wanted to understand "how" Americans think about government. Specifically, we wanted to learn about the dominant frames or stereotypes to which Americans default when they think about government and how those frames affect public choices. Ultimately, we wanted to know how to best reframe the concept of government in order to evoke a different way of thinking, one that advances collective understanding of and support for public sector solutions to society's challenges. Full Article What is Government? And can we communicate about it more effectively The research conducted by the FrameWorks Institute revealed important new insights into how the public perceives government. There is both good news in what we have learned and major challenges that have been identified and must be addressed. Negative views of government are indeed dominant, but they are not as entrenched as many believe. And, our research reveals some powerful ways to open up more positive conceptions of government's role in society. Full Article Skill Building: Learning about Strategic Frame Analysis The particular communications theories that underpin our research and recommendations are the work of the FrameWorks Institute. FrameWorks has developed a new approach to communicating effectively about social issues known as strategic frame analysis. This groundbreaking approach to communications research and practice incorporates key concepts from the cognitive and social sciences that explore how people process information, with a special emphasis on the implications for addressing contemporary social problems. Public Works is employing the techniques developed by the FrameWorks Institute to assist interested individuals and organizations in changing how they communicate about, and advocate for, public sector solutions to pressing social challenges. In each of our upcoming e-journals, we will take a look at one or more of the elements of successful framing and explore how these insights and techniques can be applied in your public communications efforts. Full Article Through our Lens In every issue of Public Purpose, we will include an example-either a news story, op-ed, or other communication-that offers practical lessons about how to reframe discussions about government. Trying it on For Size: Examples of Utilizing Research Insights We thought it might be helpful to see how Demos is incorporating these research insights into its own work. In this issue of Public Purpose, we have included an annotated op-ed commemorating the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. We drafted this to practice utilizing some of the research insights. Full Article Lessons from the News This issue also includes an analysis of recent media coverage of the Sales Tax Holidays that a number of states implemented during the traditional back-to-school shopping period. These stories made us stop and wonder about the framing that is going on in these stories and the insights offered by our government research. Full Article The Public Works team May be Coming to a Meeting Near You! The Public Works team is committed to working with interested organizations, coalitions and individuals to rebuild a constructive public dialogue about government's role in our society. We have been traveling around the country, speaking about our project's research findings and recommendations. We are developing a number of state-based and issue-based projects and have a full calendar of presentations in the coming months. If you are interested in working with us to rebuild support for an active public sector empowered to address social challenges, contact Patrick Bresette at pbresette@demos.org. Full Article Public Works: the Demos Center for the Public Sector