More About Our Process

More About Our ProcessJacob2019-01-25T12:01:57-07:00

Step 1: Research Solutions

The national debate on policy options is shallow, but communities have been struggling with finding real solutions for years, from micro targeted police tactics to improving school culture. Surprisingly, these approaches have never been fully described in one place. We will compile these practical solutions into one document.

Step 2: National Online Survey

While many surveys have been conducted concerning the level of support for different tactics used to address gun violence, only the same few policy solutions are explored in polls. Using the research described in step one, the United Politics Initiative will develop an on-line survey and advertise in conservative, progressive, and other media sites to generate a large response. Our goal is to have one million people take the survey from all walks of life. From this research, we will be able to identify commonalities across political and social divides, as well as in geographic regions across the country. We will adjust the data results to reflect demographics and political orientation and demonstrate where there are commonalities.

Step 3: Community Pilots

We will work with up to six pilot communities to come to consensus on actions and policies that address gun violence against youth in their communities. The solutions explored above will be a critical jumping off point. The selected communities will represent different states and a mix of urban, suburban, and rural contexts. We will facilitate a dialogue in communities that have neighboring Republican and Democratic house districts. These dialogues will include the whole system, including youth, parents, local advocates for and against guns, religious leaders, local government, school district, state government, and federal government representatives. After six months, each pilot community will hold a press conference indicating what commitments can be made at the individual, local, state, and federal levels. United Politics’ community facilitators have deep experience facilitating contentious political dialogues and will use a shared method, primarily developed by the project director, Jacob Bornstein, and project advisor, Mark Gerzon.

Step 4: Implementation

Each community will have matching grants made available to them to help implement their plan. In addition, evaluative learning will support the implementation of each community’s efforts and help to further understand what actions and policies are effective at addressing gun violence. Communities will also be brought together to learn from each other at each level of the system.