Citizen-Led Solutions

“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

Do you want to move beyond talk to action?

Are you concerned that conflict is tearing your community apart?

Do you want to build the capacity of your community to address contentious issues?

You’re in the right place.

The remedy to today’s civic challenges isn’t more outrage—it’s neighbors working together.

Citizen-Led Solutions (CLS) is a new Braver Angels initiative that equips communities across the United States to do exactly that. Read a full account of how Citizen-Led Solutions builds civic muscle:

CLS is more than a program;
it’s a shift in civic culture.

CLS helps communities break free from polarization and gridlock by building trust, forging common-ground solutions, and following through to real results. The CLS process is designed to be accessible and led by citizens themselves.

In a time of fatigue and fragmentation, CLS offers a hopeful, practical, and scalable model for building civic capacity from the ground up. For more information or to ask questions about CLS, contact the CLS team:

Why Citizen-Led Solutions?

CLS renews America’s long history of volunteerism, association, and mutual aid – and is built for the challenges of today. Through CLS, Braver Angels:

Examples of CLS in Action:

Watch

4 Videos

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Depolarizing Drives Hope in Irvine, California

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9:37

6:17

How It Works:

Foster Relationships:
Teams build trust, reflect on shared experiences, and choose a challenge to tackle.
Forge Common Ground Solutions:
Teams design solutions that account for a range of perspectives and real-world wisdom.
Follow Through to Implementation:
Citizens work with local leaders to bring those ideas to life, strengthening both community and democracy.

Each round builds “civic muscle:” skills, relationships, and a growing belief that we can get things done together.

This is what it means to be citizen-led. Join us:

Partners:

"The promise of Citizen-Led Solutions is to carve a channel of hope in America's political landscape--a channel drawing the vast talents and wisdom of everyday citizens into a rushing river of civic renewal. We hope that channel will widen and branch to draw out, and then draw in, the civic energies of all Americans, in every corner of society…. Citizen-Led Solutions is a major step toward revitalizing the meaning and practice of citizenship and democracy in America."

Harry Boyte & Trygve Throntveit

Harry Boyte: Senior Scholar in Public Work Philosophy Institute for Public Life and Work, Co-Founder Civic Studies, and founder of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship (University of Minnesota; Augsburg University) and Trygve Throntveit: Emeritus Editor, The Good Society: A Journal of Civic Studies, is Research Professor in Higher Education at Ball State University and Founding Director of the Twin Cities-based Institute for Public Life and Work.

"Citizen-Led Solutions represents the best way forward for our imperiled democracy--a grassroots, pragmatic approach that is anchored in American traditions and supported by strong research."

Peter Levine

Tufts University

“The Citizen-Led Solutions (CLS) effort is crucially important for three reasons that stand out to me. First, it works on de-polarization…in tangible ways within people’s grasp. Second, it is a doing-movement, going beyond public meetings and deliberative forums which are good for sharing information and airing grievances, but are less capable of generating “civic muscle,” often leaving participants wondering, “What’s next?” Third, it meets people where they are, taking their lead in determining what projects to pursue rather than imposing prefabricated ideological frameworks on their public worlds.”

Albert W. Dzur

Distinguished Research Professor Bowling Green State University

"Americans want to find ways to come together across differences and contribute meaningfully to their communities; but in this age of heightened division, they often don't know how or where to start. Citizen-Led Solutions (CLS) offers these Americans a path forward, by creating spaces for them to collaborate and rebuild our civic infrastructure while enhancing their skills and sense of efficacy around bridging differences."

Linda R. Tropp

Professor of Social Psychology and Faculty Associate in Public Policy University of Massachusetts Amherst