A Review of Public Participation and Consultation Methods

J. Abelson, P-G. Forest, J. Eyles, P. Smith, E. Martin, F-P Gauvin. Deliberations about Deliberation: Issues in the Design and Evaluation of Public Consultation Processes, McMaster University Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis Research Working Paper 01-04, June, 2001.

This PDF document presents a 5-page matrix of public participation and consultation methods, both deliberative and non-deliberative. Included are Citizens Juries, Citizens Panels, Planning Cells, Consensus Conferences, Deliberative Polling, focus groups, consensus building exercises, surveys, public hearings, open houses, Citizen Advisory Committees, community planning, visioning, and more.

Resource Link: http://www.vcn.bc.ca/citizens-handbook/compareparticipation.pdf

African Coalition of Dialogue and Deliberation (ACDD)

Formed in 2005 after the first Canadian Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation, the ACDD is an African-led network of practitioners, researchers, students, and organizations interested in connecting African practitioners to each other, assuring access to the full benefit of African experience and expertise for the larger dialogue and deliberation community, and gaining financial and collegial support for African initiatives.

Resource Link: http://www.africandialogue.org

AmericaSpeaks' Network News

AmericaSpeaks, a non-profit organization, engages citizens in the public decisions that impact their lives through their innovative 21st Century Town Meetings, as well as citizen engagement consulting, strategic planning services, and public speaking. Their one-way e-newsletter, geared towards their network of AmericaSpeaks facilitators, is sent out once a month.

Resource Link: http://www.americaspeaks.org/resources/facilitators/newsletter/

Beyond Neutrality: Confronting the Crisis in Conflict Resolution

Bernard Mayer. Jossey-Bass, 2004.

In this thought-provoking, passionately written book, Mayer - an internationally acclaimed leader in the field - dares practitioners to ask the hard questions about alternative dispute resolution (ADR). What?’s wrong with conflict resolution? Why aren?’t more individuals and organizations using conflict resolution when they have a problem? Why doesn?’t the public know more about it? What are the limits of conflict resolution? When does conflict resolution work and when does it not? Offering a committed practitioner?’s critique of the profession of mediation, arbitration, and ADR, Beyond Neutrality focuses on the current crisis in the field of conflict resolution and offers a pragmatic response.

Resource Link: http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787968064.html

Beyond Public Meetings: Connecting Community Engagement with Decision-Making

Vivien Twyford, Max Hardy, John Dengate, Stuart Waters and Dr. Vicki Vaartjes. Published by Twyford Consulting, 2007.

Beyond Public Meetings challenges myths and assumptions associated with community engagement and provides organisations, including all layers of government, with a comprehensive guide to why and how communities can be engaged to make better decisions. Written by five internationally recognised experts in the field of community engagement, the book provides a best practice guide to community engagement, building upon the successful framework developed by the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2).

Resource Link: http://www.twyford.com.au/Book_brochure.pdf

Bridging the Racial Divide

Paul Martin Du Bois and Jonathan Hutson, The Center for Living Democracy. Brattleboro, VT: Center for Living Democracy, 1997.

Includes lessons, tips and success stories from 65 intergroup dialogues across the country, plus an annotated reading list of resources. Although this book is no longer available and the Center for Living Democracy has closed its dorrs, it was one of the first books to provide best practices from race dialogues in the U.S. Published at the time of President Clinton's Initiative on Race.

Brisbane Declaration on Community Engagement

The Brisbane Declaration drew on numerous definitions and aspirations for community engagement, including IAP2's core values and the Queensland Government's community engagement resources. A draft of the Declaration was reviewed and revised to reflect the feedback from the community of practitioners, academics, policy advisers, government and citizens who responded to a questionnaire. Importantly, there were also a number of deliberative sessions on the Declaration held during the 2005 International Conference on Engaging Communities. Feedback from these sessions was incorporated into the final version of the Declaration.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/brisbane_declaration.pdf

Canadian Community for Dialogue and Deliberation

The NCDD-inspired 2005 Canadian Conference on Dialogue and Deliberation has been transformed into the Canadian Community for Dialogue and Deliberation. Mirroring the growth of this exciting field of practice, C2D2's website will also grow and reflect the different emergent streams of the Canadian dialogue and deliberation community from coast to coast.

Resource Link: http://www.c2d2.ca

Canadian Policy Research Networks

CPRN creates knowledge and leads public debate on social and economic issues important to the well-being of Canadians. The birth of CPRN's Public Involvement Network (PIN) in 2002 reflects the growing conviction in policy circles that effective public policy requires effective public engagement.

Resource Link: http://www.cprn.ca

Categorizing the Dialogue & Deliberation Community

National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation, 2002.

The following is a working document developed in 2002 to ensure that members of the planning team for the first National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation were aware of the various streams of dialogic and deliberative practice. The 2002 conference was the first major event to bring people together from the entire spectrum of D&D practice, and it was important to us that all of these streams felt welcomed to the conference, and were represented in all aspects of the conference - from the handbook to the break-out sessions.

Citizens at the Center: A New Approach to Civic Engagement

Cynthia M. Gibson, PhD. The Case Foundation, 2006.

The central claims of this noteworthy 31-page white paper are that "public service" is a more powerful frame around which to rally Americans for democratic renewal than "civic engagement" and the encouragement of public deliberation should be at the center of renewal efforts. Scholar Peter Levine of the University of Maryland has written that he considers the paper a breakthrough. Cynthia Gibson makes deliberation-linked-to-action the heart of civic engagement, instead of voting and/or service.

Resource Link: http://casefoundation.iad.cachefly.net/pdf/citizen_whitepaper_web.pdf

Citizens Building Communities: The ABCs of Public Dialogue

League of Women Voters Education Fund, Pub #2070, 2005.

This League of Women Voters booklet is designed to share some of the basic principles involved in public dialogue processes and to acquaint the reader with what is needed to organize various types of gatherings, from small- and large-group interactions to online formats. Included are some basic planning questions as well as resources to help the reader conduct citizen engagement through dialogue at the community level. Citizens Building Communities is designed to help users understand some of the basics and guide them to resources so that they can foster dialogues at the community level.

Resource Link: http://www.lwv.org

Civic Innovation in America: Community Empowerment, Public Policy and the Movement for Civic Renewal

Carmen Sirianni and Lewis Friedland, Civic Practices Network. University of California Press, 2001.

This book is a scholarly examination of the civic renewal movement that has emerged in the United States in recent decades. In contrast to some recent studies that stress broad indicators of civic decline, this study analyzes innovation as a long process of social learning within specific institutional and policy domains with complex challenges and cross-currents. The study is based upon interviews with more than 400 innovative practitioners, as well as extensive field observation, case study, action research and historical analysis.

Resource Link: http://www.cpn.org

Civic Life International

Civic Life International is an organization dedicated to promoting deliberative dialogue and active citizenship in African and local communities. The organization consists of a team of journalists, dialogue and policy researchers and practitioners who work with citizens, agencies, faith groups and institutions to disseminate educational programs that foster citizen?’s and community well being.

Resource Link: http://www.civiclifeint.org

Civic Revolutionaries: Igniting the Passion for Change in America's Communities

Douglas Henton, John Melville and Kim Walesh. Jossey-Bass, 2003.

Civic Revolutionaries offers a practical guide for renewing the great American tradition of spirited, breakthrough community leadership. By their very nature, revolutionary leaders help their communities reconcile the competing values on which our nation was built: individualism and community, freedom and responsibility, trust and accountability, economy and society. Like the Founders, today's civic revolutionaries are extraordinary leaders who are deeply committed to place, not just to specific issues or constituencies. They provide the vital spark, inspiring others who must ultimately own the revolution if it is to be successful. Written for leaders in business, government, education, and community, Civic Revolutionaries features practical guidance and in-depth case studies from communities across the country.

Resource Link: http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787963933.html

Civil Dialogue: Making It Work Better

Elodie Fazi and Jeremy Smith. Study commissioned by the Civil Society Contact Group, 2006.

NGOs play a growing role in shaping the EU project through their participation in a "civil dialogue" with the EU institutions. After several decades of involvement in the European project, the time came for a common reflection on how to make this dialogue between EU and its citizens work better. This study is based on an overview of dialogue with EU institutions and on case studies with a particular focus on national NGOs?’ involvement, and looks at the practice of dialogue between NGOs and EU institutions, reviewing what works and what doesn?’t, and making recommendations for change.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/Civil_Dialogue.pdf

Co-Intelligence Email Bulletins

Co-Intelligence Institute.

Tom Atlee, Founder of the Co-Intelligence Institute (CII), regularly sends out inspiring and informative messages about collective intelligence to his mailing list of over 1000 people. CII promotes awareness of co-intelligence (a shared, integrated form of intelligence) and of many tools and ideas that can be used to increase it. CII's website is loaded with excellent, useful resources.

Resource Link: http://www.co-intelligence.org

Collaborative Governance: A Guide for Grantmakers

Doug Henton and John Melville (Collaborative Economics), with Terry Amsler and Malka Kopell (Hewlett Foundation). The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, 2006.

This 47-page guide focuses on collaborative governance, an emerging set of concepts and practices that offer prescriptions for inclusive, deliberative, and often consensus-oriented approaches to planning, problem solving, and policymaking. Collaborative governance typically describes those processes in which government actors are participants and/or objects of the processes.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/Collaborative_Governance.pdf

Collective Decision Making Around the World

Ileana Marin. Kettering Foundation, 2006.

Is public deliberation rare? How widespread has it been? Are deliberation?’s organic practices at the very core of collective decision making? Did it exist before governments developed? The case studies included in Collective Decision Making Around the World begin to answer these questions. The research suggests, rather paradoxically, that deliberation may have been widespread throughout the world and throughout history. Taken as a whole, the case studies also show that deliberation is both fragile and powerful. It can be destroyed by top-down politics, but like a sturdy plant, if eradicated in one area, it reseeds itself in another.

Resource Link: http://www.kettering.org/readingroom/pub_detail.aspx?pubID=&catID=22&itemID=2560

Collective Wisdom Initiative

The Collective Wisdom Initiative (CWI) helps make visible an emerging field of collective wisdom, its study and practice. Through its website, commissioned papers, network of active practitioners and continuing research, CWI seeks to articulate key concepts, highlight developing practices and effective group processes, document lived experience and provoke an on-going inquiry in this field as it emerges.

Resource Link: http://www.collectivewisdominitiative.org