A NEW KIND OF POLITICAL ACTIVISM can bring people together both on and offline to produce new solutions to problems that concern them, collectively choose the best of the ideas created, and act together to try to get them implemented.

Solution Exchange

We are currently testing our new Solution Exchange, an ongoing interaction that focuses on solutions to pressing public problems. Both problems and solutions are posted (and responded to) by registered users of the site. (Click here to register.) Problems are very brief statements of what’s wrong (from the author’s point of view), which are primarily intended to frame the project’s primary activity – developing and discussing a range of proposed solutions to these problems.

Anyone can read what’s been posted. Registered users can add their own problems or solutions, or probe more deeply into their meaning by initiating Forum Topics that spin off of them.

We believe that the Solution Exchange will be a unique and important public forum in three ways:

• It will focus on solutions. There are already plenty of excellent websites for discussing what's wrong and whose fault it is.
• It will be diverse. We hope to encourage many contrasting points of view, rather than the one or two typically presented by the mainstream media.
• It will promote collaboration. People with similar ideas will be encouraged to interact, combine ideas, and form fluid coalitions to act on the solutions they come up with.

Click here to see a list of the currently listed problems (and their proposed solutions), or do a Search to find content that interests you.

Dialogue Network for Action (DNA)

Face-to-face interaction is vital to the development of strong personal relationships and cohesive (but very fluid) political movements. When there are enough people involved with Activist Solutions so that compatible people from the same geographic area can meet in person, the Dialogue Network for Action (DNA)will introduce the dimension of offline idea development groups. Group members will help each other finalize and combine proposed solutions and plan joint implementation.

Full Program Description

Inviting everyday people to become key participants in government, instead of just consumers of it, might yield smarter policies and strategies. (James Surowiecki has made a persuasive case for this possibility in Wisdom of the Crowds.)

Better ideas, more participation, and good leaders are only the first half of the equation, though. The second (and probably more important) reason to invite bottom-up solutions is that this kind of many-to-many dialogue is pivotal to reinvigorating popular participation in the political process. Read more.

The Story of Activist Solutions

Our experiences as frequent political volunteers in 2003 and 2004 inspired us to start these projects. We were impressed by the creative intelligence of the other volunteers we met, the talents of the organizers who supervised us, and the ideas of the people we spoke to out in the field. We became convinced that better vehicles were needed to tap into these resources, which too often remained buried in the grass roots. Read more about how our project ideas emerged here.

How to Get Involved

We’re currently promoting the Solution Exchange. The Dialogue Network for Action (DNA) will follow when enough people can be recruited to form face-to-face groups. If you are interested in participating in either of these projects, please go to the Getting Involved page.

We welcome your questions and comments. Please post them on our Feedback Forum or Contact Us.