This article by Susan Yackee was published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Ideas Lab as part of the 2026 Main Street Agenda.

While the reasons for this crisis in confidence are many, as a leading public policy school, we recognize that many Americans—including many Wisconsinites—feel cynical about the government.

Add to this the rise in polarization and tribalism, which prevents people from engaging in cross-partisan conversations and compromise that strengthens trust and leads not only to better policy, but to a better society.

It’s a recipe for disaster that can lead to citizens thinking the system is broken, or worse yet, rigged. At the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, we are constantly striving for ways to connect Wisconsinites and discuss the policy issues that matter to them. We see this work as a key pathway to help rebuild citizen trust and bridge the partisan divide in our state.

One way this shows up is through our biennial Main Street Agenda project. Held every general election year, we use this initiative to explore ways to promote civil dialogue and policy conversations. In 2022, our Main Street Agenda project used town hall events around the state to engage citizens with each other on key policy issues.

In 2024, we added four dinner conversations focused on practicing and promoting civil dialogue across the partisan aisle. Nearly 350 Wisconsinites participated. In fact, my own preliminary research suggests that these types of events can have the immediate effect of improving citizens’ views of those in the “other party”.

The Main Street Agenda is a constantly evolving project, and we are excited to debut two new efforts in 2026 that we hope will amplify our ongoing work to promote civil dialogue, counter polarization, and rebuild trust.

Building trust (and maybe homes) through civic engagement

First, this year La Follette is partnering with UW-Madison’s Division of Extension Community Development Institute and Leadership Wisconsin to hold five community assemblies across the state to address an issue affecting all Wisconsin communities: the housing crisis.

Each assembly will bring a representative group of residents together to deliberate about a specific housing issue affecting its community. For example, in Kenosha County we have partnered with the Kenosha County Housing Task Force to explore whether factory-built housing can help meet Kenosha County’s housing needs. The other assemblies will take place in Dodgeville, Milwaukee, Crandon, and Marathon County.

Using civil dialogue techniques honed through previous Main Street Agenda projects, each assembly will deliberate and ultimately produce a set of housing policy recommendations delivered to local government officials. This couldn’t come at a better time, as Americans across the political spectrum demand action on housing.

Community assemblies, also called citizens’ assemblies, trace their history back to ancient Greece. Over the past 30 years, assemblies like these have been used more than 700 times around the world to tackle challenging issues. With an emphasis on both civil dialogue and actionable solutions, the community assembly model is the natural next step for the Main Street Agenda project.

Documenting Gen Z’s unique place in the story

A second element to the 2026 Main Street Agenda is a documentary project in collaboration with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The documentary explores how polarization is shaping the lives of Gen Z in Wisconsin and contributing to their distrust in the system they’re inheriting. Faith in the political system is particularly tenuous for this cohort. Only 13% of 18- to 29-year-olds say the U.S. is headed in the right direction according to the Spring 2026 Harvard Youth Poll. 

Over the last few months, host Kristin Brey and the documentary team composed of staff from the Journal Sentinel and the La Follette School traveled the state to interview more than 80 students, teachers, and researchers and examine the issue.

But the documentary won’t just point out the problems. It will also shine a light on what’s working. These efforts include our community assemblies, as well as a host of other promising initiatives across the state such as BridgeUSA, Braver Angels, and UW-Madison’s Deliberation Dinners. It will also highlight La Follette’s new undergraduate major in public policy, which is set to debut this week and includes a curriculum focused on civil dialogue, working across differences, and finding common ground. We expect it to be wildly popular.

Making a difference across Wisconsin

In 2026, the documentary project and five community assemblies will help to examine, practice, and even implement ways to rebuild civility and trust in Wisconsin.

At UW-Madison, we often cite the Wisconsin Idea: the notion that the university should make a positive impact across our state. For us at La Follette, the Main Street Agenda project is perhaps the best example of how our school can tangibly make a difference across Wisconsin: by engaging with its citizens and encouraging them to engage with each other.

On that, I hope we can find common ground.