NCDD’s Conferences and Events
NCDD runs highly participatory events which bring together practitioners, scholars, public leaders, trainers, artists, activists, teachers, and students from across the rapidly-growing dialogue and deliberation community. Since 2002, we have held four successful national conferences, involving nearly 1,400 people from dozens of different countries.
2010 NCDD Events
In 2010, rather than holding a single National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation, we are mobilizing our members to organize regional one-day events in 6 cities across the country:
- Washington, DC – Charles Sumner School and Museum on Friday, October 15, 2010
- Denver, Colorado – The Wellshire Inn on Friday, October 22, 2010
- Cupertino, California (Bay Area) – De Anza College on Friday, October 29, 2010
- Boston, Massachusetts – UMass Boston on Friday, October 29, 2010
- Austin, Texas – St. Edwards on Friday, November 5, 2010
- Portland, Oregon – Concordia (date TBD)
The events will build on what we learned in the past year and a half from our involvement in the White House’s Open Government Initiative, and through efforts like the creation of the Core Principles for Public Engagement. With the increase in national and local attention to open government and public engagement, members of the dialogue and deliberation community are focusing in on three priorities:
- Learning how to use online tools and technology more effectively, to help people discuss contentious issues and have a greater impact on policy decisions.
- Engaging and working with public officials, and working within government structures in more effective and sustainable ways.
- Educating more public managers about what constitutes quality public engagement and how to connect with public engagement organizations and practitioners.
Our fall one-day events will connect practitioners, researchers, and public managers locally around these three priorities. NCDD feels that building knowledge and capacity in these three areas will better position members of our professional community to successfully navigate new opportunities that are emerging in open government and online engagement so they can make a greater impact in their communities.
If you’re interested in participating in the planning for an NCDD event or just want to learn more (especially if you’re based near one of the cities mentioned above!), contact Sandy Heierbacher, NCDD’s Director () with your interest.
2008 National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation
The 2008 NCDD conference took place in Austin, Texas October 3-5, 2008. You can still…
- learn more about the Austin conference or flip through the conference guidebook
- read about the 5 challenges we focused on at the conference
- watch videos from the conference (including the gorgeous photo journal played during the closing session)
- learn about the amazing people and the wonderful supporters who made the conference possible
- view photos from the conference (including lots of images of the graphic recordings created at the conference)
2006 National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation
The third NCDD conference took place in downtown San Francisco, California in August 2006. Download the 2006 conference guidebook to see descriptions of all the plenary sessions and workshops that were held during the conference, details about the speakers, presenters and artists who joined us for the weekend and a complete listing of everyone who made the conference possible.
You can also visit the main 2006 NCDD Conference page to learn more than you’d ever care to know about our third conference. There, you’ll find links to over 550 photos taken by conference participants, videos captured at the conference, blog posts added by attendees, and more.
2004 National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation
Our second NCDD conference took place in Denver, Colorado October 23-25, 2004, followed by trainings on Tuesday, October 26th. The conference took place on the campus of Regis University, with support from the Regis-based Institute on the Common Good.
Over 300 people came together for NCDD 2004. Read the 2004 Conference Report for details on what transpired, what was accomplished, and what’s next. You can also download the 2004 Conference Guidebook, which includes a complete schedule of events, lists all the conference sessions, workshops and post-conference trainings, along with information about the location and arts programming at the conference. You are also welcome to look over the results of the online needs assessment we conducted before the 2004 conference, and the summary of the highly-rated Playback Theatre session at the conference.
2002 National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation
The first-ever National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation took place in Alexandria, Virginia October 4-6, 2002, with pre-conference activities on Thursday, October 3rd. The conference was held at the Radisson Alexandria, just south of Washington, DC.
The 28-page 2002 Conference Report includes a letter from the conference director outlining what worked and what could be improved, a list of who made the conference happen, a listing of all workshops offered at the conference, a description of the three plenary sessions and their outcomes, descriptions of the 12 “next steps groups” that formed at the conference, and a detailed look at whether we met our initial goals. In addition to the conference report, you are welcome to look over the results of evaluations on the 2002 conference and the results of the online needs assessment we conducted to find out what people might want out of a national conference on D&D.
Get Involved with Our Events!
If you’re interested in attending, exhibiting, co-sponsoring, or just staying informed as we plan future events, email NCDD’s Office Manager, Joy Garman at and let her know. Our events are planned collaboratively by people with all levels of experience in dialogue & deliberation, and the planning teams are open to your suggestions and ideas. Email NCDD director Sandy Heierbacher at with any ideas you may have. We look forward to hearing from you!
Follow these links to learn more about our conferences…
© 2003-2010 National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation.
Learn more about us or explore this site.