THE BETTER FUTURES PROJECT

WHY? The future of democracy needs our attention now

We live in complex and rapidly changing times. Paradigms are shifting and uncertainty about what lies ahead is rampant. Democracy in the U.S. is not immune from this disruption; rather, it is being buffeted and challenged by it. Disruptive change of this magnitude can create opportunities for authoritarians to exploit, offering an anxious public order and predictability — or even a return to a mythical past – and it can also create opportunities for positive transformation. Pro-democracy actors must compete with authoritarians by presenting inspiring visions of a vibrant and inclusive future for American democracy and governance innovations that update our system for a new era.

Over the last few years, American civil society has begun to come to terms with the insufficiency of a mainly defensive strategy. Momentum is building to operate differently — to develop an inspiring affirmative vision for our democracy to usher in its next chapter and to reimagine what American democracy could become in the years ahead. These new efforts complement those of a strong pro-democracy field already engaged in defense and system preservation. The Better Futures Project seeks to accelerate that more aspirational, future-focused momentum.

HOW? More about our work

The first phase of the Better Futures Project was rooted in research and anchored by the publication in November 2022 of Imagining Better Futures for American Democracy. This report discusses the perils of dystopian and defensive thinking and the benefits of positive visioning to enable American democracy to meet its potential – ushering in and sustaining a just, fair, and multiracial democracy. The report draws from 64 interviews with a wide range of visionaries in various sectors of civil society and extensive secondary research on the value of positive visioning and the bright spots that exhibit what is possible. The Imagining Better Futures report argues that a “business as usual” mentality is simply inadequate to address the challenges facing our democracy today.

It concludes with three recommendations for donors for catalyzing the needed pivot in thinking and orientation:

Strengthen the positive visioning and innovation ecosystem around democracy through convenings, mapping, and relationship building;
Fund democracy and governance experiments, particularly at the local level, inspired at least in part by governance models tried outside the U.S.; and
Strengthen narrative systems to encourage the emergence at scale of positive visions of a multiracial, sustainable, and equitable society and associated governance systems.

Now in its second year, the Better Futures Project seeks to advance work in line with these recommendations through the intertwined work of: network weaving; thought leadership; identification of positive visionaries, early adopters, and experimenters in the democracy sector; and the forging of tighter connections among democracy practitioners, donors, futurists, and foresight experts.

We are also available to advise DFN members on how to integrate futures thinking into their organizational culture, learning processes, and grantmaking. Please contact us at betterfutures@thirdplateau.com if you’d like to learn more or get in touch with us.