The COVID 19 Project tests the hypotheses that citizens, provided with information and tools can be trusted to address the complex problems in their community and nationally.
Get Involved
TAKE PART IN OUR EFFORT
Citizens and civil society organizations interested in supporting and joining the COVID 19 Project are welcome.
Join us for our online event at the occasion of the beginning of the Citizen Commission (Details to come)
Why wasn’t the United States better prepared for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 it caused?
Why was the federal response so ineffective to address the COVID-19 Pandemic?
How did the major stakeholders, including the media, the healthcare system, the not for profit and for profit sectors perform?
What can, we the people, do to address the COVID-19 pandemic?
How do we prevent future global, national and local devastating events?
The COVID-19 Citizen Commission
Version 1.0
The COVID-19 Citizen Commission is driven by the belief that it is up to We the People of the United States to actively engage in our government in order to continuously strive to create “a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity”., as ordained and established in our constitution.
"Absolutely nothing that has happened has been a surprise. We saw it coming. Not only did we see it, we ran the models and the gaming exercises. We had every bit of the structure in place. We’ve been talking about a biohazard risk like this for years. Anyone who says we did not see this coming has their head in the sand, or is lying through their teeth.”
James Giordano, a biosecurity expert at Georgetown University Medical Center
An experiment in citizen engagement motivated by the belief citizens, working together, utilizing reliable information and tools can be trusted to address the complex problems in their community and nationally.
This is version 1.0 (very early stage) of the COVID-19 citizen commission any feedback is greatly appreciated as we develop future versions.
Invite
As a fellow citizen, I invite you to take part in the COVID-19 Citizen’s Commission Version 1.0.
The COVID- 19 Citizen Commission will examine publicly available information and documents related to the origin, response, and communication of events occurring since the Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was identified December 2019.
Together we will create a framework for dialogue within the public sphere and evolve a way forward.
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Review the preparation and prior pandemic events
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Develop a timeline for the origins, spread, and response to the COVID 19 Pandemic
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Explore the COVID 19 ecosystem, the various stakeholders, their interaction
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Explore the dynamics of driving and maintaining the various issues related to the COVID 19 pandemic
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Provide recommendations for meaningful solutions and ways to manifest them that address the entire COVID 19 ecosystem, including medical, political, scientific, public policy, and related challenges.
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Provide a report on the citizen commission process and suggestions
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Develop a structure, timeline, and mileposts for achieving the recommendations
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Develop a consensus report that answers the questions posed to the commission and suggestions for implementation.
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What were the origins of the COVID 19 pandemic?
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How well prepared were the stakeholders given prior experience?
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What was/is the response of the WHO of the Chinese government?
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What was/is the response of the US Federal government?
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What was/is the response of state governments?
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What was/is the response of the public health ecosystem?
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What was/is the response of the medical community?
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What was/is the response of the media?
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What was/is the response of the public?
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What can we, the citizens, do to address challenges facing our nation?
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What are we going to do to enhance our democracy?
Featured Topic
The Press, Media, Journalism and Social Media
October, 2022
The overall goal of the exploration of the media as a stakeholder is to evolve a framework for engaging citizens and facilitating public opinion based on reliable information and recognition of the centrality of the citizen in the body politic.
“The U.S. response to the pandemic has been a comprehensive failure, when we compare U.S. outcomes to those of the rest of the world, we see that a hollowed-out government that politicized resource allocation and suppressed science has served the American people poorly".
Wendy E. Parmet, Matthews University Distinguished Professor of Law and Professor of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University.
Exploring the various stakeholders within the health care system, the public health system, the defense, and national security establishment, and related systems can illustrate the challenges associated with the COVID 19 pandemic and risk of future pandemics. Such a perspective can demonstrate the challenges and efforts to target the pandemic of the consequences of such an approach. The objective of the COVID19 Pandemic Case Presentation is to be used by citizens, and other stakeholders including organizations and local entities and to be easily configured to local needs and resources.
A complex systems model of public health conceptualizes poor health and health inequalities as outcomes of a multitude of interdependent elements within a connected whole. These elements affect each other in sometimes subtle ways, with changes potentially reverberating throughout the system. A complex systems approach uses a broad spectrum of methods to design, implement, and evaluate interventions for changing these systems to improve public health.
“The U.S. response to the pandemic has been a comprehensive failure,” said Wendy E. Parmet, Matthews University Distinguished Professor of Law and Professor of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University. “When we compare U.S. outcomes to those of the rest of the world, we see that a hollowed-out government that politicized resource allocation and suppressed science has served the American people poorly.
The Case Presentation: a vehicle for citizens to collaborate, identify, analyze, develop, implement, and monitor a solution based “treatment plan” for medical problems.
Citizen Briefs:a stand alone document addressing a particular societal challenge and its components
Checklist: a form that facilitates taking action and improves interaction with various stakeholders ad improves your activity.
Data: agree upon, important, easy to use and accessible data that is and relevant.
Tracers: a way to visualize analyze the development over time and response to aspects of the COVID-19
Blogs: a place for information sharing of discussion
Forum: a space for dialogue and deliberation about COVID-19 related issues.
Join the COVID 19 Pandemic
Citizen Commission Version 1.0
Take part in the experiment in citizen engagement that is motivated by the belief that a different type of public dialogue and engagement is necessary to enhance democracy.
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The James Madison Project is an ambitious, multiyear experiment that seeks to reclaim the centrality of We the People of The United States in public discourse and focus of government policy.
The COVID 19 Pandemic Project is an initiative of Citizens4Health, a group of committed citizens motivated by the belief that citizen participation will contribute to solutions to the big problems that confront our nation.