A Brief History of Large Group Interventions

Barbara B. Bunker and Billie T. Alban. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, USA, 1997.

Large Group Interventions presents a comprehensive overview of twelve of the most powerful methods of large group interventions in use today. This comprehensive guide describes the methods' origins, explores their differences and similarities, and presents vivid examples and case studies of each intervention method in action.

A Handbook of International Peacebuilding: Into The Eye Of The Storm

John Paul Lederach and Janice Moomaw Jenner, Editors. Jossey-Bass, 2002.

This handbook offers conflict resolution professionals working in foreign countries a critical, step-by-step guide for dealing with difficult and potentially dangerous disputes in other nations. The editors have gathered a stellar panel of seasoned experts who illustrate how to approach international peacebuilding with effective actions and approaches gained through experience that will contribute ultimately to a more positive outcome. Based on the experience of the contributors' work as global peace brokers, the book includes a wide array of guidelines, pragmatic approaches, and models of constructive, culturally appropriate ways to respond to conflict.

Resource Link: http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787958794.html

A History of Alternative Dispute Resolution: The Story of a Political, Social, and Cultural Movement

Jerome T. Barrett and Joseph Barrett. Jossey-Bass, 2004.

A History of Alternative Dispute Resolution offers a comprehensive review of the various types of peaceful practices for resolving conflicts. Written by Jerome Barrett - a longtime practitioner, innovator, and leading historian in the field of ADR - and his son Joseph Barrett, this volume traces the evolution of the ADR process and offers an overview of the precursors to ADR, including negotiation, arbitration, and mediation. The authors explore the colorful beginnings of ADR using illustrative examples from prehistoric Shaman through the European Law Merchant. In addition, the book offers the historical context for the use of ADR in the arenas of diplomacy and business.

Resource Link: http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787967963.html

A Jewish Appraisal of Dialogue: Between Talk and Theology

David Schwartz. University Press of America, 1994.

This book is a collection of essays which investigate the status of dialogue between Jews and Christians. The author argues that Jews have been reluctant to engage in any but the most cursory conversations with Christians, but that there are positive reasonings for going further.

A Manual for Group Facilitators

Brian Auvine. Center for Conflict Resolution; reprinted by the Fellowship for Intentional Community, 1981.

The role of group facilitator is often pivotal to good results for groups making the transition to consensus. The Manual is a great introduction to the concept of approaching the role of facilitator as someone who welcomes both rational and emotional input. The staff of the Center for Conflict Resolution put their experience in working with groups into A Manual for Group Facilitators. This is an informal outline detailing useful and effective techniques to help groups work well. More than a simple 'how to,' the manual contains a discussion of the values, dynamics, and common sense behind group process that have been verified by our own experience.

Resource Link: http://store.ic.org

A New Engagement?: Political Participation, Civic Life, and the Changing American Citizen

Cliff Zukin, Scott Keeter, Molly Andolina, Krista Jenkins and Michael X. Delli Carpini. Oxford University Press, 2006.

A New Engagement challenges the conventional wisdom that today's youth is plagued by a severe case of political apathy. The book tells a second tale about the changing nature of citizen engagement in American society. Instead of participating less, young people may be participating differently. The authors conclude with prescriptions for how to increase citizen engagement and a vision of how things might be different if a larger group and variety of citizens were to become engaged.

A New Weave of Power, People & Politics: The Action Guide for Advocacy and Citizen Participation

Lisa VeneKlasen with Valerie Miller. Just Associates, 2002.

A New Weave of Power, People & Politics provides a well-tested approach for building people?’s participation and collective power that goes beyond influencing policy and politics to transforming public decision-making altogether. Based on 25 years of participatory research, community development, neighborhood organizing, legal rights education, and large-scale campaign advocacy experiences worldwide, A New Weave combines concrete and practical action ?“steps?” with a sound theoretical foundation to help users understand the process of people-centered politics from planning to action.

Resource Link: http://www.justassociates.org/ActionGuide.htm

A Practical Guide to Consensus

Chris Carlson and Jim Arthur. Policy Consensus Institute.

This 75-page step-by-step handbook walks readers through the stages of sponsoring, organizing, and participating in a public policy consensus process. Designed primarily for government agencies or departments, the guide also is useful for any other sponsor of - or participant in - a consensus building process.

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

A Public Peace Process: Sustained Dialogue to Transform Racial and Ethnic Conflicts

Harold H. Saunders, International Institute for Sustained Dialogue. St. Martin's Press, 1999.

Harold Saunders, former Assistant Secretary of State and negotiator of the Camp David Accords and now Director of International Programs at the Kettering Foundation, distills over 35 years of experience working with conflicts across the globe. This book describes how sustained dialogue can help conflicting groups of citizens move toward resolution.

A Safe Place for Dangerous Truths: Using Dialogue to Overcome Fear & Distrust at Work

Annette Simmons, Group Process Consulting. Amacom, 1999.

Too often, speaking the "truth" is perceived career suicide. Yet truth-telling is desperately needed if we are to move past current levels of frustration and disillusionment. Dialogue is a way for a work group to get "un-stuck" when frustration and apathy threatens forward progress. Annette Simmons will explore some of the dangerous truths currently sabotaging the wordplace, the risks and rewards of truth telling, and the art and practice of creating a place safe enough so that "truths" do not deteriorate into blame sessions, scape-goating, or hopelessness. Genuine dialogue is a way to turn dangerous truths into shared responsibility.

Resource Link: http://www.groupprocessconsulting.com

Advanced Facilitation Strategies: Tools & Techniques to Master Difficult Situations

Ingrid Bens. Jossey-Bass, 2005.

From Ingrid Bens, the author of the best-selling book Facilitating with Ease!, this 272-page book is the next-step resource for project leaders, managers, community leaders, teachers, and other facilitators who want to hone their skills in order to deal with complex situations. Advanced Facilitation Strategies is a field guide that offers practical strategies and techniques for working with challenging everyday situations. These proven strategies and techniques are based on experience gleaned from hundreds of facilitated activities in organizations of all sizes and in all sectors.

Resource Link: http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787977306.html

Alternative Dispute Resolution for Organizations: How to Design a System for Effective Conflict Resolution

Allan J. Stitt. Jossey-Bass, 1998.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a rapidly growing field, due to its popularity as an alternative to long and expensive lawsuits. ADR involves resolving disputes of any kind outside of the judicial system, through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and other processes. This book is for people who work within organizations and are involved in disputes themselves, or for people who are required to deal with or resolve disputes. It covers how to set up a dispute resolution process in an organization.

Resource Link: http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0471642959.html

Appreciative Sharing of Knowledge: Leveraging Knowledge Management for Strategic Change

Tojo Thatchenkery. Taos Institute Publishing, 2005.

True knowledge sharing in organizations occurs less regularly than most of us think. What can be done to help create a system in which people share the internal "know-how" unique to each organization? In this contribution to change management, Tojo Thatchenkery describes a brand new methodology called Appreciate Sharing of Knowledge [ASK] and provides a step-by-step tool kit for anyone interested in knowledge management.

Art, Dialogue, Action, Activism: Case Studies from Animating Democracy

Americans for the Arts' Animating Democracy Initiative, 2005.

This 114-page book opens with an essay by Detroit-based activist, cultural worker, and nonagenarian, Grace Lee Boggs. The book?’s case studies feature projects by the Council for the Arts of Greater Lima and Sojourn Theatre on longstanding issues of race and trust among city and county leaders, Los Angeles Poverty Department on the advent of crack in the United States and drug policy reform, The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center on engaging disenfranchised people in dialogue and action on current issues of cultural equity and democracy, and Out North Contemporary Art House on the role of same-sex couples in society.

Resource Link: http://americans4thearts.stores.yahoo.net/noname.html

Becoming a Conflict Competent Leader: How You and Your Organization Can Manage Conflict Effectively

Craig E. Runde and Tim A. Flanagan. Jossey-Bass, 2006.

Becoming a Conflict Competent Leader combines research, conceptual models, practitioner experience, and stories that highlight the core conflict competencies. The book underscores the importance for leaders to develop the critical skills they need to help them, their colleagues, and their organizations deal more effectively with conflict and move their organizations forward.

Resource Link: http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787984701.html

Better Environmental Policy Studies: How To Design And Conduct More Effective Analyses

Lawrence Susskind, Ravi K. Jain and Andrew O. Martyniuk. Island Press, 2001.

Environmental policy studies commissioned by government agencies or other stakeholders can play a vital role in environmental decisionmaking; they provide much-needed insight into policy options and specific recommendations for action. But the results of even the most rigorous studies are frequently misappropriated or misunderstood and are as likely to confuse an issue as they are to clarify it. Better Environmental Policy Studies explores this problem, as it considers the shortcomings of current approaches to policy studies and presents a pragmatic new approach to the subject. Reviewing five cases that are widely regarded as the most effective policy studies to have been conducted in the U.S. in the last few decades, the authors present a comprehensive guide to the concepts and methods required for conducting effective policy studies.

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

Blog On: Building Online Communities with Web Logs

Todd Stauffer. McGraw-Hill/OsborneMedia, 2002.

This 361-page book explains the basics of blogs, reviews popular blog tools, and shows how to build an active community around your blog site by using message boards, mailing lists, and numerous other features. Includes practical tips for making tweaks and improvements with HTML, Flash, Web images, and much more.

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community

Robert D. Putnam. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.

Putnam shows how we have become increasingly disconnected from family, friends, neighbors and our democratic structures - and how we may reconnect. Putnam warns that our stock of social capital - the very fabric of our connections with each other, has plummeted, impoverishing our lives and communities. But America has civicly reinvented itself before, and can do it again.

Resource Link: http://www.bowlingalone.com