MISSION :: RDP generates original in-field research that grows cultural work and creative projects aimed at proliferating everyday democratic practices in U.S. cultures.

VISION :: A country whose balanced human power relations create healthy enabling conditions for democratic processes and systems.

VALUES

· Transparency is essential. RDP works with no blinds on the windows.

· Openness is critical. RDP’s channels of communication are always accessible.

· Accuracy is fundamental. RDP’s content is always data-based.

· Non-violence is basic. RDP does not endorse physical, psychological, economic, or discursive violence.

· Independence is key. RDP’s projects adhere to its mission, vision, and values in achieving its goals.

· Firsthand experience is vital. RDP’s projects and their implementation are based on original in-field research based in lived experience.

GOALS

· Begin collection of “relational big data” used to understand imbalanced human power relations in actual living conditions on the ground of U.S. cultures.

· Create the most comprehensive and accessible source of knowledge in the nation about U.S. relational cultures and their connection to democratic norms.

· Recreate human connection in hostile environments using qualitative research methods geared to understanding fellow humans.

· Nurture conditions for human trust, vulnerability, expression, and self-knowledge — all of which support democratic processes and systems.

· Model power sharing practices, those that are fair and equal in terms of giving and sharing efforts and resources.

· Model transparent, open, and informationally accurate business and professional practices.

· Provide tools for developing community media and arts resources from the bottom and margins of cultures.

· Provide free access to resources that support relational health and human well-being.

· Develop possibilities for local intellectual labor opportunities.

· Develop local researchers who can also train others in the area.

· Embody independence from business, academic, religious, and political organizations by making decisions and judgements based solely on RDP’s mission and aligned with its vision and values.