New Resource for Campus Democracy Practitioners: HEDEX Launch Event - July 29th, 2026

Campus Compact and the American Association of Colleges and Universities are launching the Higher Education Democracy Exchange (HEDEX), a new online platform designed to connect democracy-focused work happening across colleges and universities, at a live event on July 29, 2026. Developed in partnership with More Perfect and the University of Virginia's Karsh Institute of Democracy, HEDEX aims to give faculty, students, administrators, and community partners shared infrastructure for connecting efforts that too often remain isolated within individual institutions. The launch event will include a platform walkthrough, remarks from HEDEX's founders, and input from practitioners in the field on how the platform will evolve. Faculty, administrators, and civically engaged practitioners whose work touches democratic engagement on campus are encouraged to attend and help shape the platform going forward. HEDEX's mission to strengthen cross-institutional collaboration around civic and democratic engagement aligns closely with NCDD's own work supporting the broader dialogue and deliberation field.

---

---

Higher education has long played a role in preparing students for democratic life, yet the people doing that work, faculty, administrators, students, and community partners, have often lacked a shared space to connect across institutions. The Higher Education Democracy Exchange (HEDEX) is designed to close that gap. Built by Campus Compact and the American Association of Colleges and Universities, in partnership with More Perfect and the University of Virginia's Karsh Institute of Democracy, HEDEX launches publicly on July 29, 2026, with a live event introducing the platform and outlining how practitioners can become part of it. The platform was developed with direct input from field leadership, positioning it as infrastructure shaped by the people who will actually use it rather than a top-down initiative.

​HEDEX's core purpose is connective: it is intended to help practitioners share best practices, access resources, and build collaborations across institutions, disciplines, and regions, rather than leaving each campus to develop its democratic engagement work in isolation. The July 29 launch event will feature remarks from HEDEX's founders, a live walkthrough of the platform itself, and perspectives from practitioners already active in the field, alongside information on how attendees can help shape the platform's future direction. The event is structured as an informational session, with attendees able to submit questions through Zoom's Q&A feature, making it accessible to those who simply want to understand what HEDEX offers before deciding how to engage further.
​
For NCDD's network, HEDEX represents a parallel effort worth watching closely: another attempt to build durable, cross-institutional infrastructure for democratic engagement work, this time centered specifically on higher education. Faculty, administrators, civically engaged practitioners, partners, and funders whose work touches democratic engagement on campus in any form are encouraged to attend. The event takes place Wednesday, July 29, 2026, from 1:30 to 2:00 PM ET. Readers can register at https://events.compact.org/hedex-launch/register.