Citizen Solutions

Citizen solutions

NEW: The group’s legislation signed into law!

Citizen Solutions is a civic program that brings citizens across the ideological spectrum together to create policy solutions to shared challenges. Led by Builders, a movement empowering Americans to overcome an us vs. them mindset and create lasting solutions that reflect the will of the people, in collaboration with Convergence Center for Policy Resolution, an organization dedicated to bringing people together across differences to solve tough problems, Citizen Solutions offers a new model for people to discover common ground and drive policy change.

Led by

Citizen Solutions has, so far, been implemented in three states and resulted in an award-winning documentary and a legislative win.

TENNESSEE

The Work

Eleven Tennessee residents across the political spectrum convened to address gun rights and safety. Their eight consensus solutions were sent to citizens across the state for feedback and more than 30,000 residents in every county weighed in. Five proposals received majority support.

The Result

The group’s journey was captured in a documentary, The Tennessee 11, which premiered at the Nashville Film Festival and has been screened on college campuses and in communities across the country. It is now available on Apple TV and will soon be available on Amazon. Their efforts have also been covered nationally by PBS NewsHour, Fox News, the Associated Press, and TIME Magazine.

Wisconsin

The Work

Fourteen Wisconsinites convened across perspectives on abortion and family well-being, co-creating proposals to better support women, children, and families. Their five consensus solutions were sent to residents across the state for feedback and more than 20,000 people weighed in on them. All five proposals received majority support.

The Result

This group of Builders united around one of their policy proposals to extend Medicaid for new mothers to a year after childbirth. Following two years of advocacy and political hurdles, Republicans and Democrats passed the bill almost unanimously.

Texas

The Work

From November 2025 to January 2026, Texans of all backgrounds and political viewpoints were invited to make their voices heard during a statewide public input period addressing an issue that impacts everyone — healthcare. More than 700 Texans from across the state shared personal stories and practical ideas related to healthcare with Builders’ AI host Ima. The goal is to turn this shared input into actionable policy solutions.

What's Next

Builders and the participants are working to finalize their policy ideas and move them closer to becoming a policy reality. They are also focused on equipping communities across the country to host meaningful, structured conversations that turn division into dialogue—and dialogue into solutions.

Convergence Facilitator Helps Lead Participants Through Solution Building Process (1)

Convergence CEO and facilitator Mariah Levison begins to write down group agreements (1)

In the News

Tennesseans from across the political spectrum unite to address gun violence

Abortion can be difficult to talk about. These 14 strangers took it on anyway

Dissolving abortion’s battle lines

Should the government do more to help children? This bipartisan group thinks so

Testimonials

“For three days, we dived past stereotypes and political catchphrases and talked about real people in real life. We talked about solutions. I’d be lying if I said we agreed on everything. I’d also be lying if I said we walked away unchanged.”

“I deal with my problems in the mountains, and others deal with theirs in the city, and they look awfully familiar. This process has broadened my perspective. We are all in this together, and we’ve got to find a way to solve problems together as Tennesseans.”

“We don’t know each other’s battles, histories, or experiences, and we don’t often get to walk in other people’s shoes. Our goal was to come together on shared experiences and figure out a way to work together for the common good."

“While my beliefs on the sanctity and protection of all human life have not changed, my experience with attendees who think much differently than I do has increased my compassion for what mothers go through and helped me realize that this issue has a lot of complexities.”

Interested in funding a project in the future?

We rely on a diverse and growing mix of sources, including individual donors, foundations, and stakeholders at the table. Please contact Jenn Dziak at jenn at convergencepolicy dot org or check out our donate page if you are interested in providing support for this project or for Convergence’s work more broadly.

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