Introducing the New Ideas Corner... and an Invitation for More Guest Posts
We want to hear from YOU this new year!
At Expand Democracy, many of our posts focus on analyzing reforms already underway; what’s working, what’s contested, and what we’re learning from practice. But we also know that some of the most important democracy reforms start much earlier, as ideas shared in conversation and tested through dialogue. They often have an entrepreneurial backer seeking support – not always easy, as Rob can attest from his early days at FairVote, when he was a lonely voice for ranked choice voting and American forms of proportional representation. That’s why we’re launching a new public-facing space on our Substack: the New Ideas Corner.
Image Credit: LinkedIn
The New Ideas Corner is an open invitation for readers, practitioners, scholars, organizers, and democracy-builders to share pro-democracy ideas, especially early-stage or underexplored ones. This is a place for constructive experimentation. These ideas aim to strengthen representation, participation, accountability, trust, or democratic governance more broadly.
Here’s how it will work.
What this space is for: Short submissions that describe a NEW pro-democracy idea, reform or approach you think deserves attention - whether you work directly on it or not. These might be policy ideas, institutional reforms, pilot programs, or new ways of thinking about democratic practice.
What this space is not: The New Ideas Corner is not an endorsement platform. Ideas shared here are meant to spark discussion, not signal final positions or finished proposals.
How to submit: We welcome submissions of approximately 200 words explaining the idea, why it matters, and the problem it aims to address. Please send submissions to team@expanddemocracy.org with the subject line “New Ideas Corner Submission”.
What happens next: Selected ideas may be featured on Substack, highlighted in future Democracy Lab conversations, or used to inform our ongoing research and convenings.
We see the New Ideas Corner as a complement to our core work and a place to surface ideas earlier in their lifecycle and to learn directly from the broader democracy community. Many of the most durable reforms began as rough ideas shared in the right forum. This is our attempt to create that forum.
If you read our recent post Looking Back and Looking Forward, think of the New Ideas Corner as the next step: moving from reflection into shared imagination. We’re excited to hear what you’re thinking.
Guest Posts on Perspectives of Democracy: We also wanted to share that we plan to run more regular guest posts on the Expand Democracy substack in Perspectives on Democracy. These can be thought pieces, strategy suggestions, and reflections that we think will help advance pro-democracy conversations. Although these pieces can exceed 800 words, aiming for around that length is usually ideal for busy readers and increases the chances of syndication. If you have an idea in mind, please send us a query at team@expanddemocracyorg with the subject line “Perspectives on Democracy Submission.”
Onto an impactful 2026, and thanks for reading.
— The Expand Democracy Team