Cornell e-Rulemaking Initiative Publications
CeRI: A Multidisciplinary Collaboration of Cornell Faculty and the Legal Information Institute
From 2005-2017, CeRI was a multidisciplinary group of Cornell University researchers engaged in theoretical and applied research, in partnership with government agencies and civil society groups, to discover how the design and process of online engagement can support public discussion that is informed, inclusive and insightful.
Here you can find guidance for using the CeRI SmartParticipation platform and for organizing effective online public discussions as well as academic publications and conference presentations. In addition, researchers wishing to use data from CeRI-sponsored discussions can find them here. Further information on the project, including the open source code for the platform, is available at SmartParticipation.com.
Articles
The Value of Words: Narrative as Evidence in Policymaking, Dmitry Epstein, Josiah Heidt, and Cynthia R. Farina
Designing an Online Civic Engagement Platform: Balancing "More" vs. "Better" Participation in Complex Public Policymaking, Cynthia R. Farina, Dmitry Epstein, Josiah Heidt, and Mary J. Newhart
Democratic Deliberation in the Wild: The McGill Online Design Studio and the RegulationRoom Project, Cynthia R. Farina, Hoi Kong, Cheryl Blake, Mary J. Newhart, and Nik Luka
Rulemaking in 140 Characters or Less: Social Networking and Public Participation in Rulemaking, Cynthia R. Farina, Paul Miller, Mary J. Newhart, Claire Cardie, Dan Cosley, and Rebecca Vernon
Rulemaking 2.0, Cynthia R. Farina, Mary J. Newhart, Claire Cardie, Dan Cosley, and Cornell eRulemaking Initiative
Conference Presentations
Facilitating Issue Categorization & Analysis in Rulemaking, Thomas R. Bruce, Claire Cardie, Cynthia R. Farina, and Stephen Purpura
A Study in Rule-Specific Issue Categorization for e-Rulemaking, Claire Cardie, Cynthia R. Farina, Adil Aijaz, Matt Rawding, and Stephen Purpura
Using Natural Language Processing to Improve eRulemaking [Project Highlight], Claire Cardie, Cynthia R. Farina, and Thomas R. Bruce
An eRulemaking Corpus: Identifying Substantive Issues in Public Comments, Claire Cardie, Cynthia R. Farina, Matt Rawding, and Adil Aijaz
Better Inputs for Better Outcomes: Using the Interface to Improve e-Rulemaking, Cynthia R. Farina, Claire Cardie, Thomas R. Bruce, and Erica Wagner
RegulationRoom: Field-Testing An Online Public Participation Platform During USA Agency Rulemakings, Cynthia R. Farina, Josiah Heidt, Mary J. Newhart, Joan-Josep Vallbé, and Cornell eRulemaking Initiative
Balancing Inclusion and “Enlightened Understanding” in Designing Online Civic Participation Systems: Experiences from Regulation Room, Cynthia R. Farina, Mary J. Newhart, Josiah Heidt, and Jackeline Solivan
Barriers to Participatory eRulemaking Platform Adoption: Lessons Learned from RegulationRoom, Mary J. Newhart and Joshua D. Brooks
Facilitative Moderation for Online Participation in eRulemaking, Joonsuk Park, Claire Cardie, Cynthia R. Farina, Sally Klingel, Mary J. Newhart, and Joan-Josep Vallbé
Active Learning for e-Rulemaking: Public Comment Categorization, Stephen Purpura, Claire Cardie, and Jesse Simons
Data, Manuals, and Protocols
CeRI (Cornell e-Rulemaking) Moderator Protocol, Cornell eRulemaking Initiative
Comment Data from CeRI, 4-3-2017, Cornell eRulemaking Initiative
Published Papers
Regulation Room: Getting "More, Better" Civic Participation in Complex Government Policymaking, Cynthia R. Farina, Dmitry Epstein, Josiah Heidt, and Mary J. Newhart
Rulemaking 2.0: Understanding and Getting Better Public Participation, Cynthia R. Farina and Mary J. Newhart
Rulemaking vs. Democracy: Judging and Nudging Public Participation That Counts, Cynthia R. Farina, Mary J. Newhart, and Josiah Heidt
Rulemaking vs. Democracy: Judging and Nudging Public Participation that Counts, Cynthia R. Farina, Mary J. Newhart, Josiah Heidt, and Cornell eRulemaking Initiative
Regulation Room: How the Internet Improves Public Participation in Rulemaking, Jackeline Solivan and Cynthia R. Farina
Working Papers
Not by Technology Alone: The “Analog” Aspects of Online Public Engagement in Policymaking, Dmitry Epstein, Mary J. Newhart, and Rebecca Vernon
Knowledge in the People: Rethinking "Value" in Public Rulemaking Participation, Cynthia R. Farina, Dmitry Epstein, Josiah Heidt, and Mary J. Newhart