RefShare (References for Research)

Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy.

ICDD collects references to theoretical and applied literature on democracy from many disciplines, countries, and perspectives. We classify the documentation in ways that we hope will expose its many interpretations and manifestations. Currently we are conducting research on trends in scholarly publishing on democracy from 1980 to 2006, and in the process we are developing a novel means of highlighting components of the research that are of particular interest to different users. For example, those who facilitate dialogue for citizen deliberations or those who are interested in democracy's relationship to pluralism, race relations, or identity. A Refworks database has been established for sharing these references with anyone interested in the study and practice of democracy.

Resource Link: http://www.refworks.com/refshare/?site=015251129878000000/RWWS1AA583513/027431162392817000

Regis University - The Institute on the Common Good

Regis University's Institute on the Common Good sponsors public and private forums for the discussion of significant social issues. Its intent is to promote the long-term good of the greater community of Denver and the Rocky Mountain West through the discovery of common ground for addressing these issues.

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

Report to the Deliberative Democracy Consortium: Building a Deliberation Measurement Toolbox

Peter Muhlberger.

This project was charged with creating a toolbox of measures for evaluating democratic deliberation, a toolbox of use to practitioners and researchers of deliberation. With a couple exceptions, there are few measures of the consequences or quality of deliberation with a proven record of detecting effects or quality. Indeed, some observers have suggested that it is unlikely researchers will be able to detect most effects of deliberation, in part because the effects may be small and require repeated deliberation experiences. In an encouraging sign, this report introduces a set of measures that does detect strong effects of deliberative experiences, even in one-day deliberations with relatively few participants.

Resource Link: http://geocities.com/pmuhl78/DDCReport.pdf

Resolutionary Method

Resolution creates covenantal relationships that are based on shared commitment to ideas, issues, values and goals. Covenant is the true source of connection meeting of both mind and heart that provides a source of the richness and fulfillment we seek. With covenants in place, results beyond expectation follow. When you start a new relationship or project, the "Resolutionary" model provides the tools to put in place a road map that reminds you of your objectives, and the route to get you there. If you're deep in conflict, it provides a Process to Resolution.

Resolving Identity-Based Conflict In Nations, Organizations, and Communities

Jay Rothman. Jossey-Bass, 1997.

This book presented a approach to conflict resolution that intrigued and informed practitioners and scholars alike. Writing from his remarkable range of academic and real-world experiences--including his historic work in bringing Israel and the PLO to the negotiation table--Rothman shows how identity-based conflict can be managed so that both parties reach a higher ground than either could have found on its own. His vehicle is his ARIA model, and here he traces the ARIA process through Antagonism, Resonance, Invention, and Action, demonstrating step-by-step how it can be applied in a variety of environments.

Resource Link: http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787909963.html

Reuniting America

Reuniting America is a network of organizations, associations, and individuals engaged in transpartisan dialogue. It is guided by a national steering committee and board of advisors comprised of leaders from across the political spectrum. Our intention is to foster authentic dialogue among leaders and citizens from across the political spectrum; to highlight and build on the citizen engagement work already taking place in communities across America; and to support and strengthen the capacity of leaders and citizens to discuss divisive issues and to engage in collaborative action.

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

RFP Bulletin (weekly e-newsletter)

The Foundation Center.

A roundup of recently announced Requests for Proposals (RFPs) from private, corporate, and government funding sources. The Foundation Center also offers the Philanthropy News Digest, another weekly e-newsletter packed with important information about the funding world that effects us all so much. Go to http://fdncenter.org/newsletters/ to subscribe.

Resource Link: http://fdncenter.org/newsletters/

Samoan Circle

The Samoan circle is a leaderless meeting intended to help negotiations in controversial issues. While there is no leader, a professional facilitator can welcome participants and explain the seating arrangements, rules, timelines and the process. As with the Fishbowl process, the Samoan circle has people seated in a circle within a circle, however only those in the inner circle are allowed to speak. The inner circle should represent all the different viewpoints present, and all others must remain silent. The process offers others a chance to speak only if they join the inner circle.

Sample Ground Rules for D&D Processes

Facilitators of dialogic and deliberative processes often develop their own standard set of ground rules which they suggest groups adopt or modify to meet their needs. Here are some samples of ground rules from organizations which represent various streams of online and face-to-face D&D practice. Use this list to get new ideas for ground rules or to show a variety of sets of ground rules to facilitators you are training.

School for International Training - CONTACT (Conflict Transformation Across Cultures)

CONTACT is a summer professional development program at the School for International Training designed to strengthen and support the community building, coexistence and conflict intervention efforts of peacebuilders from the U.S. and around the world.

Resource Link: http://www.sit.edu/contact

Search for Common Ground

Founded in 1982, Search for Common Ground works to transform the way the world deals with conflict - away from adversarial approaches and towards collaborative problem solving. We work with local partners to find culturally appropriate means to strengthen societies' capacity to deal with conflicts constructively: to understand the differences and act on the commonalities.

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

Shared Vision

Shared Vision is a nonprofit organization founded in 1993. Its mission is to leverage the imaginative power of communities to build cataylsts for social, cultural and economic renewal. It does this by producing monumental public artworks of exceptional quality in urban areas thatengage the public directly in their creation. We harness the combined imaginative power of thousands of people to build a potent force for the revitalization of cities and communities. In this we follow the vision of our artistic director, William Cochran, one of the country's leading muralists. Cochran's amazing "Community Bridge" in Frederick, Maryland was featured at the 2002 NCDD conference.

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

Simon Fraser University - Diploma in Dialogue and Negotiation

Lasting and durable multi-party agreements require collaborative decision-making processes. Authority-driven methods of decision-making with adversarial procedures for addressing conflict have generated increased demand for decision makers to be more responsive to individual and community interests and needs. The Diploma in Dialogue and Negotiation offers participants the conceptual tools to analyze, understand and plan multi-interest consensus, dialogue and negotiation using case studies and scenarios reflecting a wide range of contexts. The program will also provide participants with the skills to apply what they have learned to their respective sectors.

Resource Link: http://www.sfu.ca/dialogue/diploma.htm

Simon Fraser University - The Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue

A conference centre located in Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada), the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue is dedicated to understanding effective communication. Dialogue activities include undergraduate courses, graduate internships, professional development and programs of research into the application of dialogue and of lessons learned from experience.

Resource Link: http://www.sfu.ca/dialogue/

Smart Communities: How Citizens and Local Leaders Can Use Strategic Thinking to Build a Brighter Future

Suzanne W. Morse, Pew Partnership for Civic Change. Jossey-Bass, 2004.

Based on the results of more than a decade of research by the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, which Morse directs, Smart Communities provides directions for strategic decision-making and outlines the key strategies used by thousands of leaders who have worked to create successful communities. Smart Communities offers leaders the tools they need to create a better future for all the community's citizens. Using illustrative examples from communities around the country (including examples of dialogue and deliberation), Smart Communities shows how these change agents' well-structured decision-making processes can be traced to their effective use of seven key leverage points.

Resource Link: http://www.pew-partnership.org/smartcommunities.html

Society for Organizational Learning

SoL is an intentional learning community composed of organizations, individuals, and local SoL communities around the world. A nonprofit, member-governed corporation, SoL was formed in 1997 to continue the work of MIT's Center for Organizational Learning (1991-1997). Peter Senge, author of the The Fifth Discipline: the Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, is the founding Chairman of SoL. Senge's work emphasized the importance of dialogue as a tool for creating learning organizations.

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

Socrates Café Method

Developed by the Society for Philosophical Inquiry, Socrates Cafés take place at coffee houses, libraries, hospices, senior centers, prisons, bookstores, homeless shelters, schools and more. The Socrates Café® method of dialogue (based on Socrates' ways of facilitating learning through continuous questioning) is spontaneous yet rigorous, and inspires participants to articulate and discover their unique philosophical perspectives and worldview. The Cafés encourage participants to become more autonomous thinkers and more engaged and empathetic citizens.

Socratic Seminars

"Socratic Seminar" is perhaps the most widely varied and commonly known name for a class discussion model in which the teacher poses questions concerning a text or idea, and students respond. No individual or organization claims ownership of the model, and most practitioners trace its history to the Platonic Dialogues, in which Socrates engaged his interlocutors in a methodical line of questioning.

Solutions for America

Developed in 2003 by the Pew Partnership for Civic Change as a resource for anyone interested in addressing a broad range of community challenges, Solutions for America is an online clearinghouse of information organized into four categories: healthy families and children, thriving neighborhoods, living wage jobs, and viable economies. With brief overviews of each topic backed by relevant statistics and publications this website is a great first-stop resource for anyone interested in social change in their community.

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

Speaking of Politics: Preparing College Students for Democratic Citizenship through Deliberative Dialogue

Katy J. Harriger and Jill J. McMillan. Kettering Foundation Press, 2007.

This book follows the ?“Democracy Fellows?” - a group of 30 college students during their four years at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina - to discover whether their experiences in learning and practicing deliberation might counteract the alienation from public life that has overtaken so many young Americans today. Their research design included classroom learning and practical experiences in organizing and conducting deliberative forums both on campus and in the Winston-Salem community. Observations gleaned from interviews, focus groups, and surveys of a comparison group and the larger student population indicate that, upon graduation, the Democracy Fellows had the skills and the interests needed to become more involved and responsible citizens than their fellow students.

Resource Link: http://www.kettering.org/readingroom/pub_detail.aspx?pubID=&catID=2&itemID=2821