Collaborative Research: The Role of Elites, Organizations, and Movements in Reshaping Politics and Policymaking

可以说，当前的政治气候是三个看似不同，但相互关联的持续现象的作用：(1)充满争议的，问题缠身的政治环境；(2)基层组织推动前所未有的参与和投票率；(3)全国运动推动围绕长期政策不满的话语，偏好和改革。尽管疫情肆虐，但有争议的政治和充满活力的选民的结合可能导致创纪录的投票率。PIs研究了美国政体的这些特征是如何塑造公众和制度政治行为的。该项目旨在建立一个网络和支持性基础设施，以更好地了解关键政治地点的政治精英、组织和运动如何推动参与、偏好和政策制定。该项目考察了两个广泛的研究问题。第一个问题是：组织和社会运动如何在大众中调解政治偏好和政策议程？其次，它对组织和社会运动之间的合作以及这些互动如何塑造传统和非传统的政治参与形式感兴趣。该研究综合运用了定量（调查、调查实验、选民数据分析、社交媒体分析和社会网络分析）和定性（人种学观察、内容分析、精英访谈和焦点小组）方法来回答这些问题。本研究考察了几个转型州和市政当局在两次选举期间的政治活动。这项研究的广泛影响是多方面的。首先，它连接了来自不同机构的学者网络。该项目在合作机构建设关键基础设施，以促进数据收集和分析。即，它(1)建立移动研究实验室，旨在在抗议和组织集会期间进行快速反应调查；(2)在两家少数民族服务机构建立数据分析中心；(3)为边缘化和服务不足群体的学生提供前沿培训、工具和专业资源。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Arguably, the current political climate is the function of three seemingly distinct, yet interrelated, ongoing phenomena: (1) a contentious, problem-laden political environment, (2) grassroots organizations driving unprecedented levels of engagement and turnout, and (3) national movements driving discourse, preferences, and reform around long-held policy grievances. The combination of contentious politics and an energized electorate can result in record turnout despite a raging pandemic. The PIs examine how these features of the American polity shape public and institutional political behaviors. The project aims to build a network, and supportive infrastructure, to better understand how political elites, organizations, and movements in key political locations work to drive participation, preferences, and policymaking. The project examines two broad research questions. The first question is: How do organizations and social movements mediate political preferences and policy agendas amongst the mass public? Second, it is interested in the collaboration between organizations and social movements and how these interactions shape traditional and untraditional forms of political participation. The study draws on a comprehensive mixture of quantitative (surveys, survey experiments, voter data analysis, social media analysis, and social network analysis) and qualitative (ethnographic observations, content analysis, elite interviews, and focus groups) methodological approaches to answer these questions. This study examines political activities during two electoral periods in several transformative states and municipalities. The broader impacts of the study are numerous. First, it connects a network of scholars from a diverse set of institutions. The project builds critical infrastructure at partner institutions to facilitate data collection and analysis. Namely, it (1) builds mobile research labs designed to conduct rapid response surveys during protests and organizational rallies, and (2) establishes data analysis centers at two minority serving institutions, and (3) provides cutting-edge training, tools, and professional resources to students from marginalized and underserved groups.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.