Q & A with the New Co-Directors of GW’s Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics

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This year marks a new chapter for the George Washington University's Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics(IDDP), as Catie Snow Bailardand Ethan Porterstep in as the institute's new co-directors.

Bailard and Porter are professors in the School of Media and Public Affairs. They are nationally recognized scholars whose work on digital harms to democracy, misinformation and the broader health of democratic institutions aligns closely with IDDP's mission.

Since its founding, IDDP has emerged as a hub for high-impact, interdisciplinary research at the intersection of digital media, technology and democracy.

GW Today spoke with Bailard and Porter about their vision for IDDP, the opportunities and responsibilities of research in this moment and how the institute is preparing to contribute to important national conversations.

Q: What drew you to this leadership role at IDDP and what excites you most as you start your work?

EP: Democracy and the research mission of the university system are under threat. At the Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics, we have the opportunity to stand up for both. We facilitate high-impact research related to fundamental concerns about democracy. We study the strengths (and weakness) of democratic decision-making, we measure ways to mitigate harms to democracy, and we grapple with the complexities of the modern information environment. It's an incredibly exciting time to do this work. We're fortunate to do it at GW, which has such an extraordinary group of scholars working on the issues central to IDDP.

CB: I deeply believe in IDDP's mission to conduct research that investigates critical challenges that arise at the intersection of digital technology, media and democracy, with an emphasis on generating practical and actionable applications for enhancing the health of American democracy and its citizens. I also wholeheartedly believe in our principal researchers and the type of interdisciplinary work that IDDP facilitates. I am very grateful to be able to step into a leadership role at this moment in this country's history, when this type of research is of huge importance and is likely to only grow in significance and relevance.

Q: You both have experience doing research in areas including digital harms to democracy and misinformation correction, which are central to the IDDP's mission. How do your individual expertise and experiences complement each other in leading the Institute together?

CB: Ethan and I successfully co-authored two studies together previously, and there are a number of areas where we complement each other well in terms of how we approach our own research. We also share a lot of values and have overlapping visions for what it means to do good, meaningful research, as well as how, as leaders, we can help foster a research community that supports and empowers our principal researchers, postdocs, and members of the IDDP team.

EP: Catie and I are both driven to pursue research that matters. That doesn't mean research always has a clean lesson or offers a simple solution. Research is a slow, often frustrating process. But when we do research, we do so with an eye toward asking questions of broad public interest and arriving at answers that won't just be germane to the ivory tower. A fair bit of my research has concerned the effects of providing people with factually accurate information. On one level, this work relates to long-standing questions in political science about political knowledge. But on another level, this work connects to very public debates about misinformation and how we can best combat it. That's the sweet spot for IDDP research-work that touches on long-running academic debates that also has clear real-world lessons.

Q: IDDP has been establishing itself as a center for research at the intersection of technology, media and democracy. As you step into your roles, what is your vision for its future growth?

EP: Since its founding, IDDP has facilitated research not just at GW, but around the world. We've focused on issues of public concern, ones that have immediate relevance to policymakers and the public. We intend to build on this reputation and make it a premier site for research about democracy, broadly construed. We'll not just conduct this research, but we'll amplify it, by organizing events that bring together scholars, journalists, policymakers and the public.

CB: We will continue to incubate and help facilitate good research with practical relevance, and then provide a platform to amplify and translate that research to policymakers, journalists and the broader public. Being situated in D.C., we are uniquely-positioned to bring different stakeholders-working at different corners of the intersection between media, technology and democracy-together for meaningful discussions and collaboration.

Q: How do you see IDDP contributing to important conversations as the 2026 midterms approach and in the years to come?

CB: Free and fair elections are the single most essential determinant of the health and survival of a democracy. Without the accountability mechanisms that elections serve to incentivize representative and good governance, everything else falls apart. Whether it be the potential for electoral manipulation via misinformation, computational propaganda campaigns, threats of political violence or the decline in political trust and participation among American citizens-IDDP's research is central to efforts to better understand and counter these threats to the integrity of the U.S. electoral system.

EP: We're going to have public discussions about the election, but not just about the horse race-who's up, who's down and who might win-but about the deeper forces shaping our politics.

Q: IDDP brings together scholars from across the university. How do you plan to foster even more interdisciplinary collaboration, both at GW and with partners beyond the university?

EP: Research is often question-driven. But all too often, scholars only have the tools from their disciplines to answer the questions they ask. We bring together researchers who might not meet regularly, and who have very different approaches, but who are asking similar questions. Interdisciplinary research isn't easy. Sometimes, the gaps between approaches can be too wide to bridge. But when it works, the payoffs can be enormous.

CB: IDDP has been thoughtful and deliberate in bringing together researchers from across the university-from SMPA and political science, to GW Law, Milken Institute School of Public Health, and School of Engineering and Applied Science. This provides a forum for researchers working in different fields and with different methodological toolsets-but whose substantive interests overlap-to regularly come together and have discussions that can lead to new ideas for collaboration. In the future, we also hope to issue internal and external calls for proposals for research funding, with a special eye toward research that involves interdisciplinary collaboration. More broadly, we are very excited to have IDDP's new executive director, John Penn, join the institute. His experience in senior roles in the federal government, the nonprofit sector and leading global broadcaster (BBC) will be instrumental in helping IDDP identify opportunities for collaboration beyond the university as we continue to expand our visibility, footprint and impact.

Q: What do you hope the GW community and broader public takes away from the work being done at IDDP?

CB: This is a pivotal moment in this country's and even the world's history. There are many people who remain committed to doing rigorous, evidence-based research that seeks to answer questions and generate new insights that can help improve the well-being of our people, communities and societies. IDDP is and will continue being a part of this effort.

EP: Research matters. It can speak to some of the most important questions of our time. We might not always like the answers, but academic research is very much worth pursuing and worth listening to.