The School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA) at the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences announced the creation of the SMPA Democracy Innovation Prize, an endowed annual competition recognizing student projects that promote democracy and build public engagement.
The prize was established through a gift from veteran journalist John Barth, a member of SMPA’s National Council, who said the award is designed to encourage practical student-led solutions to today’s democratic challenges.
“The students in SMPA and the George Washington University are on the front lines of democracy,” Barth said. “This prize will…reward student ideas and practical ways to strengthen the democracy they will inherit and lead.”
Modeled after business plan and venture competitions, the prize will challenge students to develop innovative approaches to issues such as voter participation, trust in local media, civic engagement and civil discourse.
“SMPA will identify an area in which our democracy can be strengthened and challenge students to find a way to meet that need,” said SMPA Director Peter Loge.
The first challenge will be announced this fall, with the inaugural competition launching at the start of the 2026–27 academic year.
“This competition will encourage students to directly confront fundamental problems with democracy and address pressing problems,” Barth said. “Given SMPA’s leadership in the study and practice of political communication and journalism, and GW’s location in the heart of the nation’s capital, there is no better place, school and student body for a competition like this. Certainly, there is no more important time for an effort like this to focus on small and large solutions.”
Loge said he hopes the competition will draw students from across GW’s academic disciplines and inspire broader interest in democratic innovation, particularly from national organizations and foundations. “A lot of successful entrepreneurs got their start in case-based competitions. We think we can do the same for democratic innovation,” he said.
He nodded to Barth’s generosity which “will allow SMPA to significantly turn up the volume on what we’re already doing and bring a multi-year focus to democracy,” he said. He also noted that, in recent years, SMPA alumni have launched a local newspaper and a nationally recognized effort to register and turn out voters at historically Black colleges and universities.
“While numerous colleges and universities have business case competitions, few have anything like what SMPA and GW will do,” Barth said. “We hope the Democracy Innovation Prize competition will be a model for others to follow.”