Democracy Action Research Network (DARN) is a connection infrastructure linking democracy scholars from the Network of University Democracy Centers (NUDC) with advocates and organizers working on the front lines of democratic governance worldwide. The project originated from a recognition that two communities with deep mutual relevance — academic researchers studying democratic processes and practitioners working to strengthen them — lack systematic and intentional pathways for collaboration.

 

Democracy is in global retreat. Freedom House’s Freedom in the World 2026 report found that global freedom declined for the 20th consecutive year in 2025, with 54 countries experiencing deterioration in political rights and civil liberties and only 35 registering improvements. Academic research on democratic resilience has never been more sophisticated, yet democracy scholarship and frontline democratic practice remain largely disconnected, with limited systematic channels for practitioner knowledge to inform academic research or for scholarly evidence to reach those who need it most. The result is a research-practice divide that weakens both sides. DARN is designed to address this divide through three interconnected components: a digital platform for intake, matching, and project tracking; a human coordination layer that brokers relationships, translates between professional cultures, and ensures sustained engagement; and an organizational framework anchored in the university-based democracy centers that form NUDC.

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Portal: https://www.theadvocateallyproject.org/