Our mission is to broaden and diversify the ecosystem of leaders who are aligning on and working to advance the policies, norms, and narratives needed for American democracy to thrive in the 21st century.

We live in a world of increasingly toxic polarization, eroding democratic norms, and diminishing trust in public institutions. These trends correlate with an increasing openness to political violence, autocratic government, and winner-take-all tactics, placing American democracy at grave risk. We urgently need constructive dialogue across the ideological spectrum about how to update, revitalize, and sustain our experiment in self-government.

The Rebuild Congress Initiative (RCI) creates opportunities for cross-partisan stakeholders to explore and act on the conditions necessary to ensure a resilient America. Specifically, RCI creates the deliberative space and fosters the social cohesion necessary to strengthen our democratic institutions. This includes cultivating networks, fostering deep dialogue, and, where possible, building consensus among elected officials, influencers, and experts from across the political and ideological spectrum.

Co-founded by Bruce Patton, co-author of the seminal negotiation books Getting to YES: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In and Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most, and co-founder of the Harvard Negotiation Project, RCI draws on its deep expertise in conflict management, negotiation, consensus building, and systems change developed in myriad international conflict interventions and corporate transformations.

RCI does not propose or advocate particular solutions. Rather, it works to help stakeholders explore deeply, critique, and think creatively about what might be needed to protect and sustain the American experiment in self-government.