In the evolving landscape of community governance, policy formulation typically remains a top-down endeavor, often leaving residents feeling disconnected from crucial decisions that shape their daily lives. Recognizing this disconnect, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science (SCS) have pioneered an innovative approach to democratize policy-making through their web-based platform, PolicyCraft. This tool enables community members to collaboratively engage with real-life scenarios, facilitating more nuanced and collectively supported policies. The genesis of PolicyCraft lies in a fundamental insight: people reason about policies more effectively when using concrete examples, yet structured, systematic processes for such collaborative reasoning have been absent until now.
PolicyCraft’s design is rooted in the premise that policy debates often become abstract and inaccessible, alienating those who are directly impacted by these decisions. By grounding discussions in specific cases, the platform fosters a more inclusive dialogue. Dr. Tzu-Sheng Kuo, a doctoral student at Carnegie Mellon’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII), emphasizes the scarcity of systematic methodologies that enable stakeholders to collaboratively dissect policies through scenarios. His research illustrates how PolicyCraft systematically breaks down complex policy concepts into manageable, relatable situations, helping participants navigate disagreements and work towards consensus.
The interdisciplinary team behind PolicyCraft includes not only Kuo but also Jane Hsieh from the Software and Societal Systems Department, Haiyi Zhu, an associate professor at HCII, and Kenneth Holstein, an assistant professor there. Their collaboration extends beyond CMU, incorporating expertise from Quan Ze Chen and Amy Zhang at the University of Washington. This cross-institutional effort reflects the complexity of crafting tools that bridge computer science, social systems, and human-centered design, ensuring the platform’s robustness and applicability to diverse policy challenges.
At the heart of PolicyCraft lies a workflow built around three critical stages: propose, critique, and revise. Initially, a policy proposal is introduced—such as allowing residents to construct additional dwelling units (ADUs) on their private properties. Community members then interact with this proposal by submitting critiques in the form of concrete scenarios, illustrating potential outcomes or complications. For instance, one user might highlight a scenario where a homeowner builds multiple ADUs to rent out, raising concerns about the impact on neighborhood parking. Such scenario-driven critiques transform abstract policy language into tangible consequences, sparking richer discussions.
Users do not merely state whether a scenario should be allowed or disallowed under the proposed policy; they also provide reasoning relative to community values and practical impacts. Importantly, the platform permits voting on each scenario’s acceptability, ensuring that individual voices aggregate into measurable community sentiment. This process surfaces underlying points of contention, enabling the collective revision of policies to better reflect communal consensus. For the ADU policy, this iterative refinement might culminate in a rule limiting the number of ADUs to one per property to mitigate adverse effects like parking shortages.
Empirical evaluation of PolicyCraft was undertaken by engaging students in crafting policies around generative AI applications in classrooms — a contemporary and contentious issue. Results underscored the platform’s efficacy: policies co-developed through PolicyCraft garnered stronger support and greater consensus than those formed through traditional dialogue. This suggests that the deliberate centering on concrete, scenario-based reasoning cultivates deeper understanding and agreement among stakeholders, extending beyond the academic exercise to real-world applicability.
Kuo elaborates on the psychological mechanisms underpinning PolicyCraft’s success. When stakeholders anchor policy discussions in concrete instances, cognitive load decreases, enabling participants to move past ideological impasses and appreciate the diversity of perspectives. By exposing the rationale behind differing opinions, individuals are less likely to polarize and more likely to collaborate in reaching a shared vision. This dynamic aligns with broader social science theories on deliberative democracy and communal decision-making.
The design and deployment of PolicyCraft resonate with pressing needs in public administration and social governance worldwide, where calls for transparency and participation clash with bureaucratic inertia. By integrating computer science with social and cognitive psychology, the tool offers a replicable model to elevate citizen engagement in municipal boards, nonprofit organizations, and companies grappling with policy formation. Its adaptability hints at a future where diverse communities can co-create guidelines that are not only effective but also enjoy legitimacy through participatory validation.
PolicyCraft’s presentation at the 2025 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) in Yokohama, Japan, marks a milestone in disseminating this novel approach to broader academic and practitioner audiences. This venue, renowned for spotlighting cutting-edge human-computer interaction research, provides a fertile ground for exploring synergies with other digital platforms aiming to enhance democratic participation and knowledge sharing. As such, PolicyCraft stands as a compelling example of how technology can materialize abstract democratic ideals into concrete collaborative practices.
Looking ahead, the research team is probing how PolicyCraft might scale in different cultural and organizational contexts, including nonprofits and corporations operating internationally. The primary challenge lies in tailoring scenario frameworks and decision-making workflows to account for varying social norms, regulatory environments, and stakeholder expectations. Success in these endeavors could amplify the platform’s impact, turning it into a foundational tool for participatory governance in an increasingly interconnected and polarized world.
The emergence of tools like PolicyCraft signals a transformative shift in how communities address complex public policy issues. Instead of unilateral decrees from distant authorities, policy-making becomes a dynamic negotiation of values, risks, and aspirations grounded in lived realities. This paradigm promises not only improved policy outcomes but also strengthened social cohesion, as shared understanding supplants contention.
In summary, PolicyCraft exemplifies an evidence-based, human-centered innovation in civic technology. By leveraging scenario-based collaboration, it engenders policies that are both technically sound and socially resonant, addressing a critical gap in existing governance structures. The platform affirms the potential of interdisciplinary research to design practical, scalable solutions that empower communities to shape their futures collectively.
Subject of Research: Collaborative policy-making using scenario-based digital tools for community consensus building.
Article Title: (Not provided)
News Publication Date: (Not provided)
Web References:
- https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3706598.3713865
- https://hcii.cmu.edu/people/tzu-sheng-kuo
- https://hcii.cmu.edu/
- https://se-phd.s3d.cmu.edu/People/students/student-bios/hsieh-jane.html
- https://s3d.cmu.edu/
- https://hcii.cmu.edu/people/haiyi-zhu
- https://hcii.cmu.edu/people/ken-holstein
- https://chi2025.acm.org/
References: Provided within citations in the original study and conference presentation.
Image Credits: Not provided.
Keywords: Social decision making, Public policy
