Democracies like those the United States is trying to build in Iraq and Afghanistan are only the beginning of what political scientist Benjamin Barber calls "strong democracies." Americans know all too well that constitutional rights such as freedom of the press do not guarantee that citizens will actively participate in community affairs -- many of us can barely be bothered to vote.

		Robert Cavalier is director of Carnegie Mellon's Center for the Advancement of Applied Ethics and Political Philosophy and co-director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Program for Deliberative Democracy (caae.phil.cmu.edu/caae/dp/).

Proponents of what is known as deliberative democracy believe that the health and stability of free societies depend not only on the institutions of their governments, but also on the attitudes of their citizens as well. Citizens need to be truly informed and engaged, willing to listen to all sides and willing to let the force of the better argument, in all its richness, become a guide to opinion formation.

In an age of talk radio, blogs and TV shoutfests, that may sound impossibly idealistic. But here in Pittsburgh, we have the tools to make it happen.

Together with Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University has created the Southwestern Pennsylvania Program for Deliberative Democracy, which aims to overcome citizen apathy by giving local residents an opportunity to discuss and influence major public policy issues that face the Greater Pittsburgh community.

This new organization will host two "Citizens Forums" each year, and each forum will include a deliberative poll, in which a representative selection of the community is brought together to discuss and respond to questions on pressing national and local issues. The participants are chosen through random sampling, arranged weeks before the event.

While traditional public opinion polls solicit reflexive responses from people who are not informed on the topic, a deliberative poll represents what people think about an issue if they have had time to consider and discuss it with experts and among themselves. Deliberative polls give elected officials and policy-makers a more accurate and dynamic picture of public opinion, and they give participants a sense that they have a stake and voice in their government. Research has shown that participants in deliberative polls continue to stay involved in community affairs.

Last year, Carnegie Mellon University and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh hosted two deliberative polls, each on national security and global trade. A poll being held today at Carnegie Mellon will focus on health care, and many future polls will deal exclusively with local issues.

While not seeking consensus on difficult topics, these polls may nevertheless have some consulting power. And they are better than direct, California-style referenda that rely on individual citizens voting their preferences without the give and take of a conversation with others from different walks of life and life experiences

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh sees deliberative polling as a critical extension of its civic engagement with the community it serves. It also is the natural site for convening citizen deliberations through its central location as well as its local branches. Through the development of online versions of deliberative polling, Carnegie Mellon sees a natural extension of its interests in the innovative uses of technology. In particular, the university's Digital Media Lab for Applied Ethics and Political Philosophy and its staff have developed project PICOLA (Public Informed Citizen Online Assembly) to be incorporated into deliberative polling events. Call it town hall meets the 21st century.

Teaming up with the library and the university is WQED Multimedia, which through its broadcasts about Citizens Forums will call attention to the topics of the poll and the results of the polling process. We also intend to have regional stakeholders attend the main events and participate in a panel discussion following each event.

It is our belief that all these institutions, working together and drawing on each other's strengths and resources, will be able to make southwestern Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh region a model for this new form of democratic decision-making.