The MP exit interviews and a democracy barometer
The first MP exit interview report, The Accidental Citizen?, focuses on the MPs' motivations and paths to politics. We're currently analyzing the answers to the remaining exit interview questions, and will release the results in future reports. This includes the MPs' recommendations and advice.
Samara is committed to advancing some of these ideas and recommendations. One project that we're developing is a democracy barometer, an idea that emerged through these exit interviews where it was noted that there is no way to measure the health of the modern Canadian democracy.
The democracy barometer would be a tool to do this and would report on a set of indicators--beyond voter turnout--that could assess how well our democracy is working. The results would be released annually, and focus attention on the improvement of our democracy.
Get involved
We're developing this barometer and looking into other efforts, in Canada and abroad, that inquire into similar areas. Categories could include: measuring the openness and effectiveness of public institutions; civic and democratic engagement; indicators of social capital; and measures of public discourse, such as media content analysis or analysis of think tank output.
We will also be organizing a broader initiative to engage the public on some of these questions, including academics, researchers, and interested citizens.
In the coming months, Samara will be looking for more volunteers to help us develop these ideas and initiatives. If you're interested in volunteering, please contact us at info[@]samaracanada.com with your resume and a short cover note describing your interest in Samara.
We also welcome ideas and suggestions, so please contact us at any time.