Active Citizenship: Empowering America's Youth

John Minkler. Educators for Social Responsibility, 1998.

This curriculum introduces students to the knowledge, skills, and values of responsible citizenship in the context of analyzing and solving real school and community problems. Contains 17 lessons with extensions including a group project in which students identify a real political problem, research related issues, and propose a solution.

Resource Link: http://esrnational.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

AI Annotations

AI Annotations is a place to create a conversation ?– an exchange of ideas and practices - among the co-owners of Appreciative Inquiry Consulting and with others who are on the journey of exploration and collective understanding of Appreciative Inquiry. Loretta Donovan, Roberta Peirick, Loretta Randolph, Tony Silbert and Sandy Wells make up the AI Annotations blog team as of 5/07.

Resource Link: http://aiconsulting.wordpress.com

AiList: Appreciative Inquiry Discussion List

This listserv, hosted by Jack Brittain, is a forum for individuals interested in learning more about the practice of Appreciative Inquiry. The list has nearly 800 subscribers from all over the world. To subscribe, go to http://lists.business.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/ailist or send a message with the word 'help' in the subject or body to [email protected]. To submit, send messages to the list manager at [email protected].

Resource Link: http://lists.business.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/ailist

An Evaluation Tool-Kit for Study Circles

Ratnesh Nagda. Study Circles Resource Center.

The tool-kit is a community-centered and user-friendly guide to evaluation for study circles organizers. It focuses on empowerment evaluation and the logic model.

An Overview of Multi-Stakeholder Civic Scenario Work

Generon Consulting, 2001.

The purpose of a civic scenario project is to build the leadership to change the course of a country?’s history. A group of influential leaders - a microcosm of the society, representing all the principal stakeholders - works together to uncover what has happened, is happening, might happen, and should happen in their country, and what they must do to enact that vision. Through a structured process of action and reflection, with each other and with other societal leaders, they build the shared understanding and commitment necessary to bring forth a better future. This 6-page paper synthesizes Generon Consulting's learnings from their experiences leading civic scenario projects in numerous countries, and outlines a state-of-the-art civic project.

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

Andrus Family Fund

AFF funds community reconciliation projects within the United States that put their Collaborative Change Approach to the test in addressing one of AFF's three priority issues: identity-based conflict, police-community conflict and conservation conflict. Presently, AFF does not fund international projects, although it will consider supporting international research that will inform our domestic work. AFF also funds programs that help people leaving the foster care system transition to independence.

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

Appreciative Inquiry

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is about the coevolutionary search for the best in people, their organizations, and the relevant world around them. In its broadest focus, it involves systematic discovery of what gives "life" to a living system when it is most alive, most effective, and most constructively capable in economic, ecological, and human terms. AI involves, in a central way, the art and practice of asking questions that strengthen a system's capacity to apprehend, anticipate, and heighten positive potential.

Appreciative Inquiry Commons

The AI Commons is devoted to the sharing of academic resources and practical tools on Appreciative Inquiry and the rapidly growing discipline of positive change. The site is hosted by Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management. Appreciative Inquiry is the coevolutionary search for the best in people, their organizations and the relevant world around them.

Resource Link: http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu

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.

Building Strong Neighborhoods: A Study Circle Guide for Public Dialogue and Community Problem Solving

Study Circles Resource Center (SCRC), 1998.

A four-session discussion guide on many important neighborhood issues including: race and other kinds of differences; young people and families; safety and community-police relations; homes, housing and beautification; jobs and neighborhood economy; and schools.

Resource Link: http://www.studycircles.org/en/DiscussionGuides.aspx

Case Study of the Kentucky Center for Public Issues

Sandy Heierbacher. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003.

KCPI is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit public policy organization based in Frankfort, Kentucky?’s capital. KCPI?’s mission is to help citizens explore, understand and confront issues critical to the future of Kentucky. Among other things, KCPI runs Policy Councils, which involve a diverse group of experts and interested citizens from all parts of the state to consider and, if appropriate, propose improvements in public policies. Policy Councils study a specific contentious issue in depth, obtain public input and raise public awareness about the issue, arrive at a consensus about the issue when possible, and sometimes take action on their findings.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/KCPI_case.doc

Charrette ends with plan for village

Melissa Maracle, Staff writer. Franklin Press (Macon County, Georgia), 2007.

This article provides a nice overview of New Urbanism, and of how charrettes were used in a Georgia town.

Charrettes

Charrettes are typically a potent combination of modern design studio and town meeting, with a dash of the teamwork from an old-fashioned barnraising mixed in. Most start with a hands-on session for citizens and continue in an around-the-clock, energetic push until a plan is finished about a week later. A charrette can be a breakthrough event that helps overcome inertia and creates a meaningful master plan. Properly executed, this technique can produce a master plan that is more useful, better understood, and more quickly produced than one formed by other methods.

Resource Link: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/pittd/charrett.htm

Charrettes in Site Design and Land Use Regulation

Dino C. La Fiandra. Maryland Bar Journal. September/October, 2006.

There is a relatively new planning and zoning tool gaining popularity in Maryland known as "charrettes." A charrette is a series of meetings involving the stakeholders and the charrette team. Contrary to traditional zoning and development principles which apply a rigid set of regulations to proposed development within a defined geographic area, charrettes use a different methodology to design a project uniquely from scratch, or almost from scratch. In Maryland and elsewhere, charrettes have been used as a catalyst to permit a departure from restrictive zoning regulations which obstruct creative development. This article examines the use of charrettes in Maryland and elsewhere as they have emerged over the past few years.

Resource Link: http://www.wtplaw.com/publication.cfm?sp=publication&id=216

CitizenPost

In the summer of 2006, the Case Foundation published Cynthia Gibson's groundbreaking paper "Citizens at the Center: A New Approach to Civic Engagement." The publication generated much discussion and debate, and this blog was created to allow the conversation to continue. Focused on all things "citizen-centered" (a term which includes not only citizens, but also those who aspire to be citizens, including immigrants), the blog attempts to dig down into how we can make civic engagement, civic discourse, political involvement, volunteering, and other good practices part and parcel of everyday life rather than something people do in their spare time or occasionally.

Resource Link: http://www.citizenpost.blogspot.com

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

CivicEvolution

CivicEvolution is a new technology that helps people develop public policy through a goal-oriented process of online deliberation.

Resource Link: http://civicevolution.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

Community Based Collaboratives Research Consortium

CBCRC is a network of researchers, mediators and facilitators, government agencies, community groups and environmental groups which seek to understand and assess local collaborative efforts involving natural resources and community development. CBCRC provides a venue for the sharing of research, evaluation and case studies; emerging stewardship issues and practice; and policy outcomes concerning community based collaborative processes.

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

Community Dialogue Guide: Conducting a Discussion on Race

The Community Relations Service of the U.S. Department of Justice, 2003.

The Community Relations Service assists communities with crisis management and violence reduction. Their user-friendly Community Dialogue Guide includes sections on the characteristics of community dialogues on race, steps in organizing a dialogue, the role of the dialogue leader, a sample small group dialogue, and more.

Resource Link: http://www.usdoj.gov/crs/publist.html