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

Building Democratic Governance: Tools and Structures for Engaging Citizens

National League of Cities, 2005.

As the role of local officials in reforming public involvement increases, the National League of Cities (NLC) believes there is a need to assist them as they choose how to get citizens involved and at what level of engagement. This 84-page report from NLC's CityFutures Program provides principles, suggestions, and ideas for local elected leadership on citizen involvement.

Resource Link: http://www.nlc.org/ASSETS/6B83BE044C544D4AA963D48B884434FF/demgov.pdf

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.

Change Management Toolbook

The Change Management Toolbook includes a broad range of tools, methods and strategies which you can apply during different stages of personal, team and organizational development, in training, facilitation and consulting. It is based on the wealth of tools and principles that have been provided by Kurt Lewin, Edgar Schein, Peter Senge, Arie de Geus, Robert Dilts, Virgina Satir, Bert Hellinger, Harrison Owen, David Cooperrider, Marvin Weisbord, Steve de Shazer - just to name a few - and many other great teachers.

Resource Link: http://www.change-management-toolbook.com

Characteristics of Debate, Dialogue and Deliberation Table

This chart, which compares dialogue, deliberation and debate in simple terms, is taken from materials for a workshop entitled ?“Deliberation forums: a pathway for public participation.?” The workshop was given by Zelma Bone, Judith Crockett and Sandra Hodge at the APEN (Australasia Pacific Extension Network) International Conference 2006 on Practice Change for Sustainable Communities in Victoria, Australia.

Resource Link: http://www.regional.org.au/au/apen/2006/refereed/1/2918_bonetz.htm

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.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/abcs.pdf

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

Deliberative Dialogue to Expand Civic Engagement: What Kind of Talk Does Democracy Need?

Martha McCoy and Pat Scully, Study Circles Resource Center. National Civic Review, vol. 91, no. 2, pp. 117-135, 2002.

Martha McCoy and Pat Scully of the Study Circles Resource Center wrote this excellent article that distinguishes deliberation from dialogue and discusses the merits of ?“the marriage of deliberation and dialogue.?” Although the article focuses on the Study Circles process, it is a great introduction to public engagement processes and their principles. This is a very readable 19-page article that we highly recommend you take the time to read.

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

Democratic Dialogue: A Handbook for Practitioners

Bettye Pruitt and Philip Thomas. The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 2007.

This 242-page handbook is a joint effort of CIDA, International IDEA, OAS and UNDP, receiving valuable input from a wider network of organizations (including NCDD). This handbook is the result of a joint initiative to provide decision-makers and practitioners with a practical guide on how to design, facilitate and implement dialogue processes. It combines conceptual and practical knowledge, while providing an overview of relevant tools and experiences. NCDD highly recommends this handbook.

Resource Link: http://www.democraticdialoguenetwork.org/documents/view.pl?s=13;ss=;t=;f_id=789

Dialogue and Deliberation Spectrum

Tom Atlee.

In this piece, begun on the NCDD wiki, Tom Atlee explores what a spectrum of public dialogue and deliberation might look like, from D&D that is unconnected to governance to "Citizen dialogue and deliberation with a coherent outcome that plugs into policy-making and decision-making where the citizens are selected to reflect the diversity of the community and the whole process is officially institutionalized and empowered such that it drives policy-making."

Getting the Public into Public Policy

Judy Watling, Canadian Policy Research Network (CPRN).

In Getting the Public into Public Policy, a presentation to the Canadian School of Public Service, Judy Watling, Assistant Director of CPRN's Public Involvement Network, distinguishes citizen engagement from processes like public communication and public consultation. The latter entail one-way, rather than interactive information flows.

Resource Link: http://www.cprn.org/en/doc.cfm?doc=1398

IAF Methods Database

The IAF Methods Database is an online methods resource and knowledge sharing community for group facilitators, managers, management consultants, business lecturers and students, and anyone else preparing, facilitating or leading professional meetings. The site is related to the www.iaf-world.org site (the home of the International Association of Facilitators), but is operated independently. The IAF Methods Database also has a monthly e-newsletter, which lists all newly added methods and suppliers.

Resource Link: http://www.iaf-methods.org

IAP2 Public Participation Spectrum

The International Association for Public Participation.

This one-page chart shows how various forms of public participation?have different levels of public involvement.? It categorizes public participation by the level of public impact on the decision-making process, beginning with informing the public, moving on to consulting with the public (taking feedback and ideas into consideration), then involving the public throughout the decision-making process, followed by collaborating with the public?in the development of alternatives and the identification of a perferred solution, and culminating with empowering the public with decision-making power.? The chart lists a few techniques that fall under each category.

Resource Link: http://www.iap2.org/associations/4748/files/spectrum.pdf

IAP2 Public Participation Toolbox

International Association for Public Participation.

This 9-page chart introduces nearly 50 "techniques to share information."? The techniques range from websites and newspaper inserts to future search conferences and citizen juries.?Includes brief descriptions, as well as bullet points summarizing things to think through, things that can go right, and things that can go wrong.

Resource Link: http://www.iap2.org/associations/4748/files/toolbox.pdf

Innovative Techniques to Engage the Community

Janette Hartz-Karp, Ph.D..

This phenomenal 36-page handout was distributed at Janette Hartz-Karp's workshop ("Breakthrough Initiatives in Governing with the People: The Australian Experience") at the 2004 NCDD Conference in Denver, Colorado. It provides detailed information about a variety of community engagement techniques, including citizens jury, consensus conference, future search, charrette, consensus forum, multi criteria analysis conference, local area forum, people's panel, deliberative poll/survey, televote/telesurvey, and e-democracy. Under each method are details about why, when and how they are used, as well as a useful how-to flowchart.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/Hartz-Karp-TechniquesManual.doc

Inventory of Major Deliberative Methods in the United States

Prepared by Joe Goldman and Lars Hasselblad Torres., AmericaSpeaks.

This chart introduces 10 approaches to deliberative forms of citizen engagement that have evolved in the United States over the last 25 years. The approaches included are 21st Century Town Meeting, Deliberative Poll, Large-Scale Online Dialogue, Citizen Jury, Dynamic Planning Charrette, National Issues Forum, Constructive Conversations, Community-Wide Study Circles, ChoiceWork Dialogue, and online Small Group Dialogue. Includes distinguishing characteristics and notable examples of each method.

Resource Link: http://www.americaspeaks.org/library/del_methods_matrix_as.pdf

Key Terms for High-Tech Collaboration

Blogs, decision support systems, asynchronous communication, e-government, groupware, social media... those new to online dialogue & deliberation and high-tech collaboration can feel like they need to learn a completely new language just to begin understanding their options. Utilize our glossary of terms for high-tech collaboration to help you get by.

Mapping Dialogue: A research project profiling dialogue tools and processes for social change

Marianne "Mille" Bojer, Marianne Knuth, Colleen Magner. Pioneers of Change Associates. Johannesburg, South Africa, 2006.

A number of methods for facilitating face-to-face dialogue have been emerging globally, in particular over the past 20 years. This collection profiles 10 such methods in depth and a number of others more briefly. This research project was commissioned by the German Technical Co-operation (GTZ). It is part of their supporting the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) to explore ways in which dialogue can be used to address social challenges in South Africa.

Resource Link: http://pioneersofchange.net/library/dialogue/

Martin Carcasson's "Deliberation Charts"

Martin Carcasson. Colorado State University, Center for Public Deliberation.

Carcasson, the director of the Center for Public Deliberation at Colorado State University, has created a series of two diagrams that depict the relationship between (1) Deliberation & Communication Studies and other areas of study (public administration, law, journalism, education, etc.) and (2) Deliberation & Collaborative Governance and other areas of study (communication, philosophy, urban planning, sociology, etc.).

Resource Link: http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/Speech/cpd/charts.pdf

Millions of Voices: A Blueprint for Engaging the American Public in National Policy-Making

AmericaSpeaks, 2004.

In 2002, Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah and Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon introduced legislation that called for a national conversation on health care reform. The following spring and summer, AmericaSpeaks convened more than a dozen leaders in the field of citizen engagement to develop a strategy for making it happen: to figure out how to involve more than a million Americans in deliberations that would identify shared priorities for reforming the nation's troubled health care system - or any other matter of pressing national importance.

Resource Link: http://www.americaspeaks.org/resources/library/as/pubs/millions_of_voices_1104.pdf