About

The American Public Leadership Foundation (APLF) is a nonpartisan nonprofit working to strengthen the relationship between citizens and the government officials and institutions that represent them.

APLF is built around a simple principle: democracy should involve more than voting every few years. Citizens need meaningful ways to communicate their priorities, voters need better information about candidates, elected officials should be accountable to constituents, and government needs better tools for civic engagement.

APLF connects these needs through a continuous model:

LISTEN → EVALUATE → MEASURE → IMPROVE → LISTEN AGAIN

LISTEN — Give Citizens a Continuous Voice

APLF gives citizens opportunities to express their priorities across major public-policy areas including the economy, education, healthcare, immigration, infrastructure, government accountability, election reform, national defense, justice reform, and technology.

Instead of relying only on elections or occasional polling, APLF supports ongoing participation. As participation grows, citizen input can identify priorities and trends nationally and eventually at state and local levels.

The goal is not to tell citizens what to think. It is to measure what they think. Where citizens agree, that should be visible. Where they disagree, that should be visible too.

EVALUATE — Give Voters Better Candidate Information

APLF has developed a Public Leadership Assessment to provide voters with additional information about candidates seeking positions of public trust.

Rather than evaluating political ideology, the assessment examines leadership-related competencies such as judgment, accountability, integrity, decision-making, responsiveness to constituents, and performance in realistic governance situations.

The assessment does not endorse candidates or tell citizens how to vote. It provides information voters can consider alongside experience, policy positions, public records, debates, and campaign materials.

Combined with citizen-priority data, APLF seeks to help voters understand how candidates approach public leadership and how their stated direction aligns with the people they seek to represent.

MEASURE — Promote Government Accountability

Accountability should not end after an election.

APLF's long-term vision is to help citizens understand how closely the actions of elected officials align with priorities expressed by their constituents.

Instead of relying solely on approval ratings, political affiliation, campaign advertising, or promises, citizens should have information that helps answer a fundamental question:

What did our elected officials actually do?

Connecting citizen priorities with government activity can provide greater transparency between what constituents want and what government delivers.

IMPROVE — Help Government Engage Citizens

APLF is not designed simply to measure government. It also seeks to help elected officials, municipalities, agencies, and public institutions improve civic engagement.

APLF's civic engagement resources provide practical guidance for increasing participation, reaching citizens who traditionally do not engage with government, communicating complex issues clearly, collecting meaningful input, improving transparency, and showing citizens how their feedback was considered.

Effective engagement requires communication in both directions.

Government should be able to say:

We asked. You answered. Here is what we heard. Here is what we did. Here is why.

When people can see what happens after they participate, they have a stronger reason to remain engaged.

LISTEN AGAIN — Close the Civic Feedback Loop

Together, these components create an ongoing cycle.

Citizens communicate their priorities. Voters receive additional information about candidates. Elected officials can be evaluated against constituent priorities. Government receives resources to improve engagement and responsiveness. Citizens then participate again as priorities evolve.

APLF is nonpartisan by design. Republicans, Democrats, independents, and Americans with no political affiliation can participate. APLF does not tell citizens which ideology or candidate to support.

Its role is to provide information, increase participation, and promote transparency.

Ultimately, APLF seeks to help answer five questions:

What do the people want?

Who are they trusting to represent them?

What did those leaders actually do?

How effectively did government engage its citizens?

What can we do better next time?

The American Public Leadership Foundation is working to create a stronger, more continuous connection between citizens and government.

Listen. Evaluate. Measure. Improve. Listen Again.

Of the People. By the People. For the People.

Learn more at AmericanPublicLeadership.org.