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Johnnie Moore says we can’t go on meeting like this

Posted: August 17th, 2010, 11:19am PDT by Chris Corrigan

And he’s right.

If you’re in London UK, you might want to think about this free evening offering on September 6 with Johnnie and friends: We can’t go on meeting like this.

This emerges from my experience of all sorts of events of late. I think there may be a gap in the market for something that allows us to meet in ways that are more satisfying. The focus is on connecting with others in engaging ways – without resorting to formats of expert speakers or simply pouring drinks, putting on music and hoping for the best.

I’d go. Heck, maybe I’ll offer a local one.

NCDD News & Perspectives

Alberta Climate Dialogue hiring a Project Manager

Posted: August 14th, 2010, 10:55am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

I just heard from NCDD member David Kahane today that the groundbreaking Alberta Climate Dialogue project is looking to hire a Project Manager to be based in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada).

They will begin considering applications on August 27, 2010 and continue until the position is filled. The Project Manager will support the activities of a new and innovative project—the Alberta Climate Dialogue (ABCD) —in the areas of financial and budget management, organizational and event planning, research coordination, fund development, and communication and outreach. Download the full position description here: ABCD-ProjectMgrDescription.

ABCD is working with municipalities across Alberta and partners at the provincial level to engage citizens in climate change policy and planning, using tools of deliberative democracy. The ABCD project is premised on the conviction that well-designed citizen deliberations can play a pivotal role in transforming the politics of climate change in Alberta. Citizens taking part in ABCD-partnered deliberations will become informed, hear each other’s perspectives, work through tough decisions with each other and their elected officials, and to use democratic processes to figure out how to solve the problems that face us. Provincial and municipal elected officials and municipal administrators will learn which tough choices and policy directions the public is willing to support, build public ownership for action, and uncover new solutions for complex problems.

The Project Manager will work closely with interdisciplinary researchers and practitioners to support this community-university research initiative (with current funding of $990K from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, with over $3 million in matching cash and in-kind funding from partners). The project team includes leaders from Alberta cities, industries, and environmental NGOs and provincial ministries; Canadian and international organizations expert in convening citizens to solve tough problems; and researchers from twenty universities in Canada, the US, and Australia. Generally, this person will be responsible for the smooth operation of ABCD.

ABCD is based at the University of Alberta, to be developed and implemented with community, researcher, practitioner, and municipal partners. See www.albertaclimatedialogue.ca for more information on the project.

The Project Manager position is based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. We envision hiring full time, but could consider proposals to hold the post at .75 time or above.

The position will begin as soon as possible, and will last for ten months, with renewal (for as many as four further years) contingent on performance and on the success of project fundraising in which the Project Manager will be involved.
Your ideas needed for NCDD’s fall events

Posted: August 10th, 2010, 6:34am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
Those of you on NCDD’s Updates list saw a message about this yesterday. NCDD is working with our members to hold 5 regional events this fall: In Denver (Oct 22), the San Francisco Bay Area (Oct 29), Boston (Oct 29), Austin (Nov 5) and Portland (Nov 13). I hope you can join us at one of these regional events!

We’re conducting a quick 10-question survey of potential attendees (and others who want to share ideas) about the 3 topic areas we’re focusing on: quality public engagement, online engagement, and collaborations that work.

Would you mind taking a few minutes to share your thoughts and ideas on these 3 topics with members of our local planning teams? Your participation will help them design more valuable and productive events!

The survey is online at www.surveymonkey.com/s/ncdd2010.

If you complete the survey by the end of the day on Friday (Aug. 13), you will have a chance to win one of the following books written and donated by NCDD members (14 respondents will win a book!):
- The Wisdom of Group Decisions by Craig Freshley (3 of these will be awarded!)
- The Leaderful Fieldbook: Strategies and Activities for Developing Leadership in Everyone by Joe Raelin
- Communicating Across The Divides In Our Everyday Lives by Don Schneider (3 copies will be awarded)
- Conferences That Work: Creating Events That People Love by Adrian Segar
- Standing in the Fire: Leading High-Heat Meetings with Clarity, Calm, and Courage by Larry Dressler
- Next Generation Democracy: What the Open-Source Revolution Means for Power Politics, and Change by Jared Duval (3 copies will be awarded, and sent in Oct/Nov when published)
- United We Fall by Phil Neisser
- Society’s Breakthrough! Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People by Jim Rough
The survey will primarily ask you your thoughts and ideas on the following 3 topics:
- Quality Public Engagement: What is quality public engagement and how do we educate others about it so it becomes broadly adapted?
- Online Engagement: What new tools are available and how do they support effective engagement?
- Collaborations that Work: How can we strengthen connections between public administrators, engagement practitioners and the public?
Feel free to share this post with your colleagues and encourage them to complete the survey as well. Thanks in advance for your participation!
New book by Joe Raelin on developing leadership in everyone

Posted: August 6th, 2010, 8:39am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

NCDD member Joe Raelin recently published a new book he’d like NCDDers to know about, titled “The Leaderful Fieldbook: Strategies and Activities for Developing Leadership in Everyone.” Joe will be giving out a free copy of the book to one respondent (randomly selected) of an NCDD survey we’re about to launch related to our fall events.

Here’s a synopsis of the book:

As NCDDers already know well, the flattened network world demands a new type of leadership: one that is collective and collaborative, where solutions and vision are co-created by everyone. Although foreshadowed in Joe Raelin’s Creating Leaderful Organizations, the practical application of collective leadership remains a mystery to many practicing managers and professionals.

It is evident that the development of leaderful organizations cannot happen overnight; in fact, we need agents to emerge to help us learn how to change longstanding regressive organizational cultures into more leaderful communities. When we say “leaderful,” we refer to leadership practices that are collective and concurrent – people can serve as leaders all together and at the same time.

The Leaderful Fieldbook is designed for these change agents – coaches, facilitators, OD consultants, and weavers – wishing to embark with their clients on a leaderful journey across a range of levels – from individual to network – and adopting a style of collective engagement that matches the democratic processes that they are seeking to produce. The fieldbook presents the most practical of recommendations to promote dialogue in the form of an array of exercises that can be adopted immediately across these multiple levels of experience. It also features a set of cases that demonstrate the use of the exercises in each of these levels – individual, interpersonal, team, organizational, and social network.

One of the cases in the network chapter is co-written by long-time NCDD member Rosa Zubizarreta, and also in this same chapter is an exercise on network weaving based on the Core Principles of Public Engagement co-developed by NCDD, IAP2, and the Co-Intelligence Institute. For more information, please consult the fieldbook’s website at www.leaderful.org/bookHome.html.
About the Author:
JOE RAELIN holds the Asa S. Knowles Chair of Practice-Oriented Education at Northeastern University where he is also Professor of Management and Organization Development. His research has focused on the practice of management in such areas as managing professionals, collective leadership, and work-based learning.
Check out our “Beginner’s Guide” page

Posted: August 6th, 2010, 4:10am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
I wanted to encourage everyone to visit this page on the new ncdd.org site: [ncdd.org]

It’s our “Beginner’s Guide,” and it lists and links to some of the best resources NCDD offers, including…
- our Engagement Streams framework for helping people determine which methods fit their circumstances
- the collaboratively-created Core Principles for Public Engagement
- the town hall articles and flyer we developed for public managers last year
- a glossary of terms
- pages full of quotes about D&D
This is a great page to share with colleagues who are newer to dialogue and deliberation!

Also, for those who use the NCDD site frequently, take note of the new bottom bar. Andy Fluke (our Creative Director), finished the bottom bar for the new site design yesterday, and it’s gorgeous and highly functional. We’re moving a lot of navigation to the bottom of the page (administrative links, popular pages, etc.) to keep the site simpler at the top. It also includes links to our fall events, social media buttons so people can follow us on facebook, linkedin, youtube, etc. (note: the youtube link goes to all the playlists I created of D&D videos on youtube), and a brief description of NCDD.
Welcome to July’s new NCDD members!

Posted: August 5th, 2010, 10:06am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
11 new members joined the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) during the month of July: 1 organizational member and 10 individuals (2 dues-paying and 8 non-dues). 2 non-dues members became full dues-paying members, and 22 of our dues-paying members renewed their memberships (1 organization and 21 individuals). Thanks everybody, and welcome to our new members!

We post these monthly summaries not only to welcome our new members and to thank those who re-upped, but also to help members connect with one another. Click on anyone’s name below to learn more about them and connect with them.
Our new organizational member:
Conflict Resolution Institute (Tamra Pearson D’Estrée and Karen Feste)
Our 10 new individual members (some dues-paying and some non-dues) are:
1. Janice Thomson, EU Public Engagement Advisor of Involve
2. Joel Denis, Manager of Intergovernmental Affairs at the Public Health Agency
3. Nicole Reade, University of Sydney
4. Maria Rubio, Human Rights Commission Inter-Group Dialogues
5. Elizabeth Hudson, University of Michigan
6. Jennifer Mair, Public Dialogue Consortium
7. Janice Son, Public Dialogue Consortium
8. Gregory Crowley, Coro Center for Civic Leadership Pittsburgh
9. Elizabeth Kennedy-Wong, City of Portland, Parks & Recreation
10. Timothy Shaffer, Graduate Student at Cornell University
We also had 2 of our existing members become full dues-paying members last month, which we greatly appreciate! They are:
1. Laura Keir, Conservation Ecology Student at Sterling College
2. Michael Sayler, Owner of Praxis One Consulting
In the month of July, 22 NCDDers renewed their memberships. 1 organizational member renewed:
- Common Knowledge (Susan S. Clark)
And 21 people renewed as dues-paying individual members, and those are:
1. Tina Nabatchi at the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs at Syracuse University
2. Tamyra Freeman, professional facilitator in Indianapolis, IN
3. Greg Nelson, Retired General Manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (Los Angeles)
4. Tim Steffensmeier at Kansas State University
5. Regina Sneed at the US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights
6. Peggy Holman with Open Circle Company and Open Space Institute
7. Marty Jacobs at Systems In Sync
8. Lou Klepner at Gateway to Gov
9. Caroline Lee at Lafayette College
10. Polly Riddims with Fusion Partnerships, Inc.
11. Lyn Carson with Centre for Citizenship & Public Policy at the University of Western Sydney
12. Rosalind Spigelf of the Jewish Dialogue Group
13. Jennifer Meigs at the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs
14. Jacquie Dale with One World, Inc.
15. Hina Pendle at US Partners: Personal & Collective Evolution
16. Folorunsho Moshood at the Kettering Foundation
17. Theo Brown with AmericaSpeaks
18. Arjun Singh of British Columbia, Canada
19. Andrew Russell at the United Nations Development Program
20. Alice Warner-Mehlhorn at the WK Kellogg Foundation
21. Avril Orloff, Graphic Facilitator
Welcome and thanks, everyone!
To learn about other NCDD members (there are 1,297 of us now!), find members in your state or city, etc., visit the NCDD members network at www.thataway.org/ncddnet/.

And to see if your membership is in good standing, search for yourself in the members network and look at what’s in the Member Type field in your profile. If it says “lapsed” or “non-dues-paying,” please consider becoming a current dues-paying member (see payment details here). You can also email office manager Joy Garman at if you have questions about your status, need payment instructions, or want to change the info on your profile page.
25% discount for NCDD members on new Dotmocracy handbook

Posted: August 5th, 2010, 4:30am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
NCDD member Jason Diceman, a Senior Public Consultation Coordinator with the City of Toronto, has released a new version of his Dotmocracy Handbook: A simple tool to help large groups find agreement.

The Dotmocracy Handbook provides a unique set of easy-to-follow instructions for finding useful agreements among many people. At its core is the deceptively simple Dotmocracy sheet, which is a paper based facilitation tool designed to provide participants with equal opportunity to contribute to a reliable and transparent large group decision-making process.

C2D2’s Rob Janousek says this about the handbook:

An ingenious framework for participatory groups. Jason Diceman outlines the use of a very valuable tool for group based decision making in the Dotmocracy Handbook. This approach is a great way to ensure that amongst a large, heterogeneous group of stakeholders, everyone has an opportunity to express ideas and propose solutions on equal footing.

You can download a free PDF of the complete handbook at: www.dotmocracy.org/handbook

Jason has also offered members of NCDD a 25% discount on orders of printed versions of the book.

With its glossy cover, standard book binding and higher resolution photos, the print version of the handbook is ideal for educational institutions, professional learning and impressing clients.

To order print copies…
- Full colour version for $11.21 CDN, go to [https:] and click “Add to Cart” then apply discount code: MJP6K7AG
- Black & white version for $7.46 CDN, go to [https:] and click “Add to Cart” then apply discount code: YJAFNSHK
- Alternatively, you can get the print version at normal price from Amazon.com, at: [amzn.com]
C2D2 dialogue on evaluation on Aug 17th

Posted: August 4th, 2010, 4:44pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

I shared this on the NCDD Discussion list today, but wanted to post it here as well for those of you not on the listserv. Our Canadian sister organization, the Canadian Community for Dialogue & Deliberation (C2D2), invites interested NCDDers to participate in a conversation (the first of an ongoing dialogue) to explore the all-important topic of evaluation of dialogue and deliberation processes.

C2D2’s Miriam Wyman, Jacquie Dale and Pattie LaCroix are the dynamic trio moving the evaluation discussion forward.

The conference call will take place on August 17 from noon-1:30pm EDT. Note that C2D2 is asking people to respond to some questions by August 9th (Monday) if they’d like to participate in the call.

And for those whose interest is piqued by this invitation, you might want to also check out the Assessment Tools category in NCDD’s Resource Center, where we currently have 30 tools listed and described.

Here’s the full invitation… (I was given permission to extend the invitation to NCDDers)

From: Jacquie Dale
Subject: C2D2 invites you to a dialogue on evaluation, August 17, noon to 1:30 EDT

Hi everyone,

If you are receiving this email, you have expressed interest in joining in a conversation to explore the evaluation of dialogue and deliberation processes. Many of you attended the workshop on evaluation at C2D2 2009 where we began to talk about a number of questions related to evaluating participatory processes and sharing what we are learning about evaluation.

Evaluation as a way to help make the case for dialogue and deliberation is a strategic priority for C2D2. And we’d like to continue the conversation begun last fall.

Please join in a conference call on August 17 from noon-1:30pm EDT. This will be the start of what we hope will become an on-going dialogue (so, if you’ll be on vacation, we hope you’ll join us next time!)

The Public Health Agency of Canada has graciously offered to host the call. The dial in number and code are:

Dial-in: 1-877-413-4785
Passcode: 2646332#

To help prepare for the call and make good use of our time together, we’re asking you to email us by August 9, your responses to the following:

1. In no more than 2 sentences, tell us who you are and what you do. (This will be shared with other participants in advance of the meeting so that we don’t need to spend too much time with introductions. Please let us know if you do not want your email address shared with others.)

2. Which of the following best captures your interest in this conversation on evaluation? (Please select no more than 2 responses).

· Improving the practice of dialogue and deliberation
· Making the case for dialogue (Please specify target audience, e.g. my organization, funders, policy-makers, others)
· Learning what works and what doesn’t
· Connecting practitioners and researchers/academics
· Better understanding the links, if any, between dialogue and policy making
· Performance measures
· Other ideas, please specify:

3. How would you suggest our calls get structured for effective learning and sharing of ideas? (Please select no more than 2 responses.)

· Case studies of formal evaluations
· Sharing stories about what has worked and what hasn’t
· Sharing of tools and approaches to evaluation
· Addressing specific questions/issues around evaluation
· Other ideas, please specify:

4. Any other thoughts/reflections you’d like to share on evaluation of dialogue and deliberation?

Please send back you email responses to by August 9, 2010.

Thanks and looking forward to this first call together.

The C2D2 team of:
Jacquie Dale, Pattie LaCroix and Miriam Wyman
www.C2d2.ca

Planblog

Lo Dudo (José José, 1983)

Posted: August 2nd, 2010, 11:03pm PDT by Tim

Anda y ve, te esta esperando,
Anda y ve, no lo hagas por mí,
que al fin y al cabo, somos solo amigos…

Anda y ve, te veo nerviosa,
Anda y ve y que sientas con él,
lo que en su día tu sentías conmigo…

Pero lo dudo, conmigo te mecías en el aire,
volabas en caballo blanco el mundo,
y aquellas cosas no podrán volver…
y es que lo dudo porque hasta veces
me has llorado con un beso…
llorando de alegría y no de miedo,
y dudo, que te pase igual con él, igual con él…

Anda y ve, te esta esperando,
Anda y ve, no lo hagas por mi,
que al fin y al cabo, somos solo amigos…

Pero lo dudo, conmigo te mecías en el aire,
volabas en caballo blanco el mundo,
y aquellas cosas no podrán volver…
y es que lo dudo porque hasta veces
me has llorado con un beso…
llorando de alegría y no de miedo,
y dudo, que te pase igual con él, igual con él…

From the hit album Secretos (1983).

NCDD News & Perspectives

Ch-ch-ch-changes on the NCDD site

Posted: August 2nd, 2010, 4:06pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Faithful visitors to the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) website may have noticed there are some major changes going on. We’re in the middle of transitioning our whole site from www.thataway.org to ncdd.org (don’t worry – www.thataway.org will always take people to ncdd.org automagically). We’re not only changing URLs, though; we’re also changing our logo and site design.

We’re trying very hard to make the new site design friendlier, bolder, less overwhelming, and – most importantly – easier to navigate. We have LOTS of content on the NCDD site, with thousands of resources, newsy blog posts, discussions and member pages, so this is no easy feat!

Check out what’s now on the new site at www.ncdd.org…
NCDD’s Fall 2010 Events
Learn about the 5 one-day regional events we’re holding this October and November: in Austin, Boston, Denver, Portland, and San Francisco (and a follow-up event in Washington, DC next spring).
NCDD Resource Center
Our resources are back online and growing (there are over 2,400 of them!)… dialogue guides, D&D methods, videos, case studies, evaluation tools, articles, books, and more.
Beginner’s Guide
A good resource for everyone in our field to know about, this page lists and links to some of the best resources NCDD offers to help people understand dialogue and deliberation and get started in this work.
NCDD Forum
A social space where you can introduce yourself, post questions, and interact with other NCDDers.
NCoC Seeks Director of Civic Health Index (apps due Aug. 6)

Posted: July 27th, 2010, 9:03am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Sorry for the late posting on this one, but it’s a great job opportunity for someone in our field. NCoC is looking for a DC-based entrepreneurial leader who can help expand their groundbreaking Civic Health Index program into all 50 states and over 100 cities within the next few years.
National Conference on Citizenship Seeking Director of the Civic Health Index
Please send resume/CV and cover letter to David B. Smith at dsmith(at)ncoc(dot)net
All applications due by August 6, 2010

Founded in 1946 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1953, the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) is a leader in promoting our nation’s civic life. We track, measure and promote civic participation and engage in partnership with other organizations on a bipartisan, collaborative basis. We focus on ways to enhance history and civics education, encourage national and community service, and promote greater participation in the political process. Through our programs, research, and reports, NCoC defines modern citizenship.

Many distinguished Americans have been involved with the growth and development of the NCoC over the years including Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower and Chief Justices Earl Warren and Warren Burger. The roster of board members, advisors and guest speakers at NCoC events represent a diverse spectrum of leaders from across government, industry, academia, community and nonprofit organizations and the media; people like Senators Robert Byrd and Lamar Alexander, Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Stephen Breyer, philanthropists Ray Chambers and Eugene Lang, authors David McCullough and Walter Isaacson, scholars Robert Putnam and Stephen Goldsmith, Ian Rowe (formerly of MTV), ABC’s Cokie Roberts, Jean Case of the Case Foundation, Facebook’s Sean Parker, former Clinton Administration advisor William Galston and former Bush Administration advisor John Bridgeland.

Director, Civic Health Index

America’s Civic Health Index (CHI) is the definitive measure of our nation’s civic engagement. This annual report elevates the discussion of how our country and communities are building a more informed, engaged, giving, and trusting citizenry. Through measuring a variety of civic indicators, the CHI educates Americans about our civic life and motivates citizens, leaders and policymakers to strengthen it.

NCoC, in partnership with the Civic Health Indicators Working Group, launched the Civic Health Index in 2006, measuring the civic trends over the last 30 years. In 2008, NCoC released three state level reports, localizing the data and telling the story of how changes in civic health affect specific communities. In 2010, we will be publishing our fifth annual report focused on these national trends, and expanding our local report to 15 states and cities.

NCoC seeks an entrepreneurial leader, based in Washington, DC, who can help expand this program into all 50 states and over 100 cities within the next few years. This individual will be responsible for managing the growth and operation of this program and assist in crafting a strategy that ensures these tools are helpful and informative to local nonprofits, foundations, corporations, and lawmakers. This position reports to the Executive Director of the National Conference on Citizenship.

Demonstrable skills should include:

• Analytical skills
• Outstanding writing and editing abilities
• Outstanding presentation and public speaking skills
• Experience in building partnerships with local institutions and universities
• Experience in raising funds from organizations and foundations
• Computer literacy (MS Office, Google Tools, Social Media)
• Experience in producing quality publications
• Ability to work efficiently independently and as part of a team

Duties will include:

• Analyzing civic health indicators and suggesting strategies to promote greater civic participation
• Recruiting and maintaining relationships with local partners/clients and vendors
• Raising money from local partners and foundations
• Managing production and publishing of state indexes
• Production of announcement events
• Expanding NCoC’s presence and brand awareness into communities around the country
• Working with leading social scientists and government researchers to improve civic indicators
• Serving as a spokesperson and champion for NCoC’s products.

Salary is commensurate with experience.

NCoC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
New NCDD Events Video… please watch & share!

Posted: July 26th, 2010, 7:14am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Our creative director, Andy Fluke, just created a new 3-minute video featuring some of our favorite photos from NCDD conferences over the years (maybe you’re in one of them!). Those of you who have attended NCDD events will enjoy revisiting some of the highlights of the events, and those of you who haven’t may be inspired to join us at the one-day regional events we’re holding this October and November in Austin, Boston, Denver, Portland and San Francisco!

Enjoy the video, and please consider sharing it the YouTube link, which is [youtu.be], on FaceBook, Twitter, your blog or website, and elsewhere!
What Does It Take to Have a Civil Conversation These Days?

Posted: July 23rd, 2010, 4:23pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

I wanted to share this great article posted on the Huffington Post this afternoon. The article is by Carolyn Lukensmeyer, Founder of America Speaks (an organizational member of NCDD). Check it out at HuffPo, or read on…

What Does It Take to Have a Civil Conversation These Days?

Carolyn Lukensmeyer, July 23, 2010

On Tuesday, America Speaks will release a report on the results of our June 26 National Town Meeting on the nation’s fiscal future. The report will provide additional insight into what a diverse group of 3,500 Americans had to say when they sat down with one another for seven hours to talk about the federal budget.

Above and beyond the conclusions reached by people in the national discussion, what really stands out to me is the tone and quality of what took place.

Based on watching the news these days, it would be safe to predict that fights would break out if you sat thousands of people together from across the political spectrum and asked them to talk about sensitive political questions. Instead, we saw that people had the courage to sit down with one another and really listen to each other. There was plenty of disagreement, but the disagreements tended to be civil and respectful.

MaryEllen, a participant from Albuquerque, wrote:

It was so refreshing to have civil discourse among people of different ages, persuasions, and backgrounds. Congress could learn a lot from our experience. The tone of our discussions was polite, respectful, and everyone contributed.

Fran, a participant from Portland, OR, echoed this sentiment when she said:

The most important thing I learned from this process is that ordinary citizens could tackle a complex issue, filter it civilly through their own perspective, and come up with consensus. I literally did not think this was possible.

Early in the meeting, we asked participants what they thought about the tone and quality of political discussions today. 89% of them said they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied. At the end of the National Town Meeting, we asked them what they thought about the tone and quality of the discussions in which they had been a part. 91% said they were very satisfied or satisfied.

Among the participants, only 15% said that they had not at all been influenced by the views of others in the discussion and only 3% said that they didn’t learn anything.

Contrary to portrayals from the mainstream media, people can come together and find common ground. At many tables across the country, we had conservative members of Tea Parties sitting together with liberal members of groups like MoveOn. I’m quite certain that this was the first time many of them had spoken to each other and that most came to the discussion with a fair amount of skepticism.

But report after report agreed that these kinds of conversations reflect what our democracy should be; people coming together to learn from one another and identifying shared priorities on pressing problems facing our nation.

There are a few principles that I think are essential for convening the public in civil, productive deliberations. I hope that we can see more public forums using them.

First, we need to create forums that attract the true diversity of our communities by age, race, income and political ideology.

Second, we need to create spaces in which people from every walk of life feel safe to openly share their points of view in a way that will be respected and heard.

Third, we need to provide people with information that has credibility and has been vetted by a diverse enough set of experts so that it has as little bias as possible.

Finally, we need to support discussions with skilled facilitators who can help keep a group on track, make sure everyone is heard, and foster consensus building.

We’ll soon be sharing specific results about what people had to say at the National Town Meeting, but I think it is important to step back from this content and consider what was most important about this unique opportunity to convene people from across the country in a real national conversation. It was a chance to realize our greatest hopes for our democracy.

In the words of Ray, a participant from Overland Park, KS: “It was a life changing event. I would do it again tomorrow.”
Looking for promising practices in public engagement

Posted: July 23rd, 2010, 4:32am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

The National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) is conducting an important survey of public engagement practitioners in collaboration with Penn’s Fels Institute of Government.

Fels is looking for stories about successful (however YOU define it) efforts to engage people in public policy and community problem-solving – as well as lessons learned from less-than-successful efforts. They’re working on a Promising Practices Report on Public Engagement, and your contributions could be featured. NCDD is looking for such stories as well, for the NCDD website and for other projects that benefit our field.

If you think your experience could contribute to these efforts, I encourage you to take a few minutes to complete this survey today (deadline is next Friday).

The survey is online at www.surveymonkey.com/s/promisingpractices (feel free to share this link with your colleagues and networks!)
Announcing CommunityMatters10 conference and Strong Communities competition

Posted: July 22nd, 2010, 6:01am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

NCDD member Ariana McBride asked me to extend an invitation to all NCDD members to consider attending the Orton Family Foundation’s upcoming conference, CommunityMatters10, which is taking place October 5th – 8th in Denver, Colorado. The event is shaping up to bring together an exciting coalition of leaders, thinkers and doers committed to building strong, vibrant communities from the ground up.

CommunityMatters is an interactive exchange for individuals and organizations working to engage citizens and build strong, vibrant communities from the ground up. CommunityMatters fuels a growing network of leaders, thinkers and doers in a variety of disciplines—planning, sustainability, health, democracy, education, economic development and the arts. CommunityMatters is a project of the Orton Family Foundation, in collaboration with other partners. Register before August 27 and benefit from Early Bird Rates. You’ll also get first pick of our Workshops and Mobile Tours and reserve your place to take part in a unique innovation-action experience with our Strong Communities competition finalists and hundreds of other community innovators.

In addition to registering for the CommunityMatters10 conference, consider submitting an entry in the Strong Communities Competition. Finalists will be showcased at CommunityMatters10, and the top 3 entries will win $5,000 each.

Submissions will be accepted from June 16 to August 11, 2010 at www.changemakers.com/strongcommunities. Here’s a bit more info about the Strong Communities competition…

CommunityMatters, in partnership with Ashoka’s Changemakers, has launched Strong Communities: Engaging Citizens, Strengthening Place, Inspiring Change, an online competition to find the best ways for citizens to connect and work to build vibrant, enduring places.

The vitality and quality of life in many small towns and urban neighborhoods is threatened by rampant, unsustainable growth. Other communities struggle economically and face serious challenges like unemployment, homelessness and substandard education.

When citizens rise to meet these challenges with creative solutions, leadership and collaboration, their communities thrive. Ashoka’s Changemakers and CommunityMatters, a project of the Orton Family Foundation, invite solutions that apply interdisciplinary approaches in which different people, organizations and fields join together and learn from each other to collectively solve problems.

Eight Strong Communities competition finalists will be invited to attend the CommunityMatters’10 Conference in Denver, October 5-8, 2010 to showcase their work and collaborate with other leaders in the field.
Updated Results of Open Gov Plan Audit Released

Posted: July 20th, 2010, 8:47am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
I received the following announcement today from Amy Bennett at OpenTheGovernment.org. Those of you keeping up with Open Gov news will find this very interesting. I’m so impressed with what our friends at OpenTheGovernment have been able to accomplish! Here’s the message from Amy…

“As many of you may know, earlier this year OpenTheGovernment.org launched a project to evaluate open government at the agencies. The first step in the project was an audit conducted by volunteers from nonprofit groups, academia, and other organizations that serve the public interest who have experience working with the agencies and evaluating information policies of the Open Government Plans required to be posted by April 7, 2010 by the Open Government Directive (OGD). Our audit found that many of the Open Government Plans produced by the agencies failed to fulfill the basic requirements outlined in the OGD. In light of the ample room for improvement, OpenTheGovernment.org invited revisions to the plans by June 25 for re-evaluation.

Twenty-three of 39 agencies that have published substantive open government plans submitted revised plans for re-evaluation. Today we are releasing the results of those re-evaluations, along with evaluations of plans created by agencies that were not required to do so, but did anyway.
- For a full updated list of how the agencies’ plans rank, click here: [bit.ly]
- For the full results of the audit and links to agency evaluations, click here: [bit.ly]
This is the last time we will audit the open government plans. Currently we are working with a consortia of academic institutions to develop some metrics to measure implementation. Soon, we will release our proposed metrics for public comments. Please let us know if you have any questions about our project, or the results.

Amy Bennett
OpenTheGovernment.org

Parking Lot

From the feed

Posted: July 16th, 2010, 9:49am PDT by Chris Corrigan
Slow week here with summer arrived and work at a standstill. Found some time to scrape the feedreader though:
- Peter Rukavina exposes the vapidity of TV
- Peter also tackles the problem of creating a cafe that plays your music to you.
- Johnnie Moore posts on the philosophical underpinnings of conversation.
- Viv McWaters playing at graphical representation of facilitation tips.
- The Tyee has brought on Andrew Nikiforuk to write about the tar sands.

NCDD News & Perspectives

NCDD resources are back online (all 2,392 of them!)

Posted: July 14th, 2010, 12:29pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
I wanted to let everyone know that the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation’s resource database is back up and running (yay!) at [ncdd.org] (on the NCDD site, you can click on “resources” at the top of any page to get to the Resource Center).

The Resource Center describes and categorizes close to 2,400 resources — including many dialogue guides, D&D methods, online tools, case studies, videos, higher ed programs, articles, NCDD publications, and more. It’s up on the new ncdd.org site (we’re transitioning from www.thataway.org to ncdd.org) so you can see the new, simpler, cleaner site design while you’re at it.

One of our summer interns, Allyson Gasdaska, has been updating the Resource Center with resources we announced on the NCDD blog while our old Learning Exchange was down. She and our other summer intern, Cait Kershner, will be doing all kinds of other work in the Resource Center, but we could really use some volunteer help as well. We need to check all existing resources, updating broken links and adding appropriate categories and tags. And we need to add new resources that came out during the hiatus. Let me know if you’re interested in helping out with this project!

Also, when you look over the main page of the Resource Center, you’ll see that the right sidebar includes some things to help you find and navigate resources:
- A list of Meta-Resources (like our helpful Glossary and beginner’s pages)
- Advanced Search, which allows you to look for resources in specific categories and tags (search for your name and make sure YOUR work is listed!)
- Categories, which show how many resources we have in each (54 journals & newsletters, for ex)
- Newest Resources (most recently added)
- Tag Cloud (which will be more and more useful as we add tags to more of the resources)
Please check out the Resource Center and let me know what you think (and whether you’d like to help update and add resources). And feel free to add the RSS feed, which is [ncdd.org], to your RSS readers, facebook walls, linkedin accounts, etc!
Whose Voice Matters Most?

Posted: July 14th, 2010, 9:44am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

NCDD member Jeffrey Abelson gave us permission to share his article here on the NCDD blog. It was featured on the Huffingting Post here, and on Jeffrey’s Song of a Citizen blog. On the NCDD Discussion list, we’ve been discussing the heck out of the recent AmericaSpeaks national discussion on the federal debt (and the surrounding controversy), but we haven’t posted much to the blog about it. Jeffrey’s article is a good summary and a good example of how people in our field can respond…

All serious citizens claim to revere Thomas Jefferson. It might be worth noting how deeply rooted were his convictions and faith in the people’s ability to govern themselves. A faith justified by what he saw in the common sense of the common man, and a faith in the power of reason to regulate human affairs.

Cut to June 2010, and the odd outburst of anti-self-governance sentiment by some of America’s popular thinkers on the left — each trying to outdo the next in excoriating AmericaSpeaks, and the national town meeting they recently held. Since that event (like all citizen deliberation events) was the kind of grass roots democracy-building exercise that one would expect to be trumpeted from the heights of liberalism, one must ask: What’s going on here?

On the surface, the criticism was directed at perceived bias in the study guides prepared for the event (though also sprinkled with baseless assertions about AmericaSpeaks as an organization) — charges nicely rebutted by Harvard’s Archon Fung. But beneath the surface, there seems to lurk a sense that The People can’t be trusted to think for themselves about the priorities of our national budget, or the direction of our country. And I fear that view is not limited to critics of AmericaSpeaks, but is shared by many on the left.

Ironically, deliberation should soothe the hearts and quiet the minds of anxious liberals, just as it often frightens conservatives, because the result of most deliberations are policy proposals that you’d have to describe as progressive. And that’s what happened yet again at the recent national discussion, even though sizable numbers of participants would hardly consider themselves left of center.

Now, I’ll admit I’m often critical of the willingness of The People to assume their full measure of responsibility as citizens. Witness the vast majority who choose to stay uninformed and disengaged, and how that enables all the political mayhem we all disdain. But that criticism is not aimed at the capabilities of fellow citizens, but at their willfully low levels of civic and political literacy. But I still trust in the peeps, and know they’re up to the job if only given a catalytic opportunity.

Which is why I cheerlead for Deliberative Democracy, as practiced by AmericaSpeaks, and several other national organizations, and hundreds of local efforts across the country. Because citizen deliberation processes give me a dose of much-needed optimism when contemplating the matrix of seemingly intractable problems facing this nation. A sense of relief that there actually exists a way to simultaneously educate and engage citizens, and generate policy solutions that a supermajority of the public can sign off on — enabling political “leaders” to at long last pass the kind of transformative policies we so desperately need.

If Deliberative Democracy were scaled up nationally, so there were citizen-driven forums happening in every city in the country, on a regular basis, covering all major issues — we could actually create a self-perpetuating machine of high performance, citizen-driven democracy. Because once you participate in these events, especially the ones that produce real policy impact in the direction that you and a consensus of participants called for — you feel empowered as a citizen for the first time, and it’s exhilarating, and you want to engage more. Once bitten, you’re hooked.

Does that sound like an outcome that deserves an assault by otherwise brilliant politically-concerned thinkers and writers?

Most everyone in America agrees that politics-as-practiced is incapable of acting in the national interest. Although I cut the pols a little slack, as it’s hard to do that when the people themselves don’t know what they really think the national interest is, or should be. At minimum, there’s certainly no agreement about it. So we continually search (too often through a partisan lens) for politicians to blame, for policies or institutions to complain about or reform. But sometimes you just have to turn the mirror around.

That’s what happened at the National Town Meeting. And that’s what happens all the time at the many smaller deliberative events that unfold in towns and cities across America with astonishing results.

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather live in a country that was governed with the input of informed, engaged, networked citizens — no matter the policies they arrived at — than live in a country where my team played pendulum power politics with the other team to see who’d temporarily take control and ram policies down half or more of the country that didn’t understand or want them — only to be reversed or watered down when the other guys came back in. All the while, our biggest problems continuing to just sit and fester while these partisan tribes insist on their ideological positions, impervious to the legitimacy of voices with contrary views, their political representatives fighting endlessly to the death by appealing to their lowest common denominator of their blinkered bases.

It’s pure fantasyland to believe, in this day and age, that ideological solutions can be sufficiently transformative and sustainable. No “solution” can be without the informed support of 70-80% of The People. That’s what we need to move the mountains that need moving. The big fixes will never come with 51%, or even 60%. Isn’t that obvious yet? To end polarization and paralysis and overall government fecklessness, we need a public consensus on all major issues. And the only way to get there is from the bottom up. The only way.

So instead of seeking to slay dragons where only butterflies soar, critics — and anyone who considers themselves a friend of self-governance — should be supporting the hell out of deliberative exercises.

Is any given one of those events perfect? Of course not. But they’re our best shot at a future that’s safe, prosperous, and healthy. So we should work hard to find any flaws in the process and make improvements — and then lend our full support — not snipe and snarl and accomplish nothing.

Far from the critics’ characterization of the National Deliberation as “propaganda” or a “rigged deck,” it was in fact an inspiring and ambitious effort to involve citizens in the process of learning about, thinking about, and deciding about the priorities and direction of our country

If only we all did that, all the time.

This post appeared at Song Of A Citizen

Follow Jeffrey Abelson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jeffreyabelson
Common Sense CA merging with Davenport Institute at Pepperdine

Posted: July 13th, 2010, 4:00am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

NCDD member Pete Peterson invited me to share some big news with the NCDD network. Common Sense California is merging with the Davenport Institute at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy to form the new Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership. Pete just started as its executive director.

Pete feels this will be a great platform to continue CSC’s training, consulting, and grant-making in the area of participatory public problem solving. He sees the connection to Pepperdine is part of a shift happening in policy schools across the country that are realizing that public engagement is a civic “leadership skill,” and one that should be included in curriculum and internship opportunities.

See below for the press release and Pete’s new contact info.

Contact:
Pete Peterson
Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership
Pepperdine School of Public Policy
[email protected]
(310) 506-8054
Pepperdine School of Public Policy and Common Sense California announce creation of Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership
MALIBU, CA – James R. Wilburn, dean of the School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University, ([publicpolicy.pepperdine.edu]) and Pete Peterson, executive director of Common Sense California are happy to announce the creation of the new Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership ([publicpolicy.pepperdine.edu]). Peterson will assume the role of executive director of the new Davenport Institute, which will be based at the School of Public Policy in Malibu.

Since its founding in 2005, Common Sense California has moved to the forefront of a transformation in governance in the Golden State—one that is more participatory, particularly at the local and regional levels. This shift in the relationship between citizens and our governing institutions is the foundational reason for creating the Davenport Institute of Public Engagement and Civic Leadership.

The new Davenport Institute of Public Engagement and Civic Leadership will continue and expand the three roles assumed originally by Common Sense California in supporting public participation in local policy-making: consulting on projects; funding them through grant programs and relationships with concerned foundations; and promoting the ever-growing field of public engagement through training, writing, and public speaking.

The launch of the new Davenport Institute is a “homecoming” of sorts for Common Sense California, as the School of Public Policy helped support the development of the organization five years ago. David Davenport himself (for whom the Institute is named) was one of Common Sense California’s founding Board members. “After playing a role in its creation, it’s great to welcome Common Sense California back after it has made such a name for itself around the state,” noted Wilburn, “We look forward to seeing their work in training and supporting public engagement grow through the development of the Davenport Institute.”

The new Davenport Institute seeks to become the foremost training and educational resource for current and future civic and municipal leaders endeavoring to gain competencies in the essential leadership skill for the coming decades: engaging the public in order to solve increasingly difficult policy problems. “We are extremely excited about the new public engagement training and consulting opportunities open to us through the creation of this new institute,” said Peterson. He continued, “If these last few years have taught us anything, it is that local and regional leaders throughout California are confronting more and more difficult policy decisions in new and creative ways, reaching out to their residents for ideas and actual participation in ‘common sense’ solutions. Through the new Davenport Institute we will continue to support them as they lead in the ‘new normal’ of tight budgets and tough land use decisions,”

Academically, the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership embarks on a unique direction as a university-based organization that focuses its public engagement training and consulting at the city and regional levels. “Both Common Sense California, and the Pepperdine School of Public Policy have shared an abiding interest in having citizens take on the vital tasks of self governance,” said Dean Wilburn, “the new Davenport Institute plays a practical role in realizing this ideal in local governments throughout California and the country, while also providing our students with the opportunity to learn about these efforts firsthand from practitioners and public officials.”

At its foundation, the new Davenport Institute of Public Engagement and Civic Leadership will seek to answer the most fundamental public policy question in a democratic republic: How can our governing institutions and the citizens they represent work together to solve public problems—practicing effective governance while engendering self governance? The “new normal” has made finding real answers to this question more important than ever.

Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy ([publicpolicy.pepperdine.edu]) is built on a distinctive philosophy of nurturing leaders to use the tools of analysis and policy design to effect successful implementation and real change. This requires critical insights balanced with personal moral certainties that only a broad exposure to great ideas, courageous thinkers, and extraordinary leaders can encourage. It prepares graduates for careers as leaders and seeks also to strengthen the institutions which lie between the federal government and the individual, including the family, religious organizations, volunteer associations, local and regional government, and nonprofit organizations.

Parking Lot

Pitch invasions in football

Posted: July 12th, 2010, 12:21pm PDT by Chris Corrigan

I was at the Vancouver Whitecaps game the other night and witnessed this pitch invasion at the ‘Caps end. This is some good footage of Vancouver keeper Jay Nolly taking on the invader and physically removing her from the pitch.

Heart stopping stuff.

NCDD News & Perspectives

Welcome to June’s new NCDD members!

Posted: July 12th, 2010, 7:44am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
20 new members joined NCDD during the month of June: 3 organizational members and 14 individuals (3 dues-paying and 11 non-dues). 4 non-dues members became full dues-paying members, and 9 of our dues-paying members renewed their memberships (2 organizations and 7 individuals)!

We post these monthly summaries not only to welcome our new members and to thank those who re-upped, but also to help members connect with one another. Click on anyone’s name below to learn more about them and connect with them.

Our new organizational members:
1. Tomorrow Makers, Inc. (Contacts: Todd Johnston and Gail Taylor)
2. City of Boroondara in Victoria, Australia (Deb Ganderton, Mandy Bow, and Belinda Lowing)
3. IFOK (Felix Oldenburg)
Our 14 new individual members (some dues-paying and some non-dues) are:
1. Peg Carlson-Bowen of San Jose, California
2. Kathleen Rice, Consultant with K L Rice Consulting
3. Karen Hirsch at Clearing The Way
4. Lilly Bertz at Fels Institute of Government
5. Janice Thomson at Involve
6. Allyson Gasdaska, NCDD summer intern
7. Will Thomas at the University of Alabama
8. Tim Hartnett with Consensus Facilitation
9. Steve Levin with Leading Change Consulting & Coaching
10. Daniel Phillips at the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado
11. Melinda Epler at Re-Vision Labs
12. Bill Scheurer at KarmaKorn
13. Maggie Nyabate with the Art Outreach Program in Kenya
14. David Rosenberg of Massachusetts
We also had 4 of our existing members become full dues-paying members last month, which we greatly appreciate! They are:
1. Cynthia McDermott at University of Arizona and Foxfire
2. Susan Loucks at the Greater Boston Employment Collaborative
3. Ernie Ting at Smart Voter
4. Craig Freshley with Good Group Decisions
In the month of June, 9 NCDDers renewed their memberships. 2 organizational members renewed:
1. AmericaSpeaks (Contacts: Janet Fiero, Joe Goldman, and Josh Chirnila)
2. Clark University’s Higgins School of Humanities (Sarah Buie, Walter Wright and John Sarrouf)
And 7 people renewed as dues-paying individual members, and those are:
1. Ginny Morrison with Collaboration Specialists
2. Carol Stewart at New Hampshire Mediation Program, Inc.
3. Jeff Weissglass at More Than Money
4. John Stephens with the School of Government at the Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
5. Delia Horwitz at BRC (Business Relationship Consultants)
6. Carol Chetkovich at Mills College’s Public Policy Program
7. Hans-Peter Meister with IFOK
Welcome and thanks, everyone!
To learn about other NCDD members (there are over 1,290 of us now!), find members in your state or city, etc., visit the NCDD members network at www.thataway.org/ncddnet/.

And to see if your membership is in good standing, search for yourself in the members network and look at what’s in the Member Type field in your profile. If it says “lapsed” or “non-dues-paying,” please consider becoming a current dues-paying member (see payment details here). You can also email office manager Joy Garman at if you have questions about your status, need payment instructions, or want to change the info on your profile page.

Parking Lot

From the feed

Posted: July 9th, 2010, 9:05am PDT by Chris Corrigan
Back to some regular noticing:
- An Indian MP calls for a 21st century residential school policy. Appalling.
- Johnnie Moore finds research that vindicates my approach of having questions rather than goals.
- Metafilter post on desire lines.
This ain’t Canada right now

Posted: July 7th, 2010, 11:30pm PDT by Chris Corrigan

Or so says the police officer about 3:50 minutes into this video. Wow. If that is true, then York Regional Police officer 815 was acting out of his jurisdiction and was therefore simply a bully. With a sidearm.

Think about that.

There are dozens and dozens of stories like this coming out of the G20. Only a public inquiry will get to the bottom of that, and it needs to result in some clear guidelines for how police enforce laws within the context of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, even when there are special circumstances. Since 9/11 politicians and police have used “security” as a pretext for suspending civil rights with dubious pieces of legislation and unlawful policing behaviour. This has to stop. If indeed we live in a world with heightened security threats, we have to find ways to deal with them precisely and without arbitrary measures. If the state gets sloppy with law enforcement, it crosses the line. In a democracy you cannot round up dozens of people on the pretext that there might be someone hiding among them. Those who call for that have no idea what they are asking for. We will become a police state no different from other states in which civil rights are suspend for arbitrary reasons.

The cop is right. This ain’t Canada right now. That needs to change.

NCDD News & Perspectives

Boost your Dialogue Skills & Credentials

Posted: July 7th, 2010, 5:48pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

NCDD member Paul Weisman is sponsoring a one-day dialogue workshop followed by a two-day certification program in Jacksonville, Florida on July 26-28, and he invites NCDD members to participate at a discounted rate (10% off).

SMART Conversations® is a work that incorporates best practices of thought leaders like Stephen Covey, Daniel Goleman, David Bohm and William Isaacs. After the certification, you will be able to more confidently facilitate public engagement events, strategic planning sessions, business meetings and all types of conversations that would benefit from consensus building, relationship building, appreciating diversity and developing solutions.

SMART Conversations® provides a simple, memorable, heart-centered process rooted in four core conditions: Shared Meaning, Authenticity, Respect and Trust and Five Principles. For more information, please contact Paul Weisman at 617-413-4291 or Michele Simos Weisman at 781-844-4916. Or click here to learn more: [bit.ly].

Planblog

Happy Birthday, America!

Posted: July 4th, 2010, 6:32pm PDT by Tim

Looks like it’s been a while since I last said happy birthday, so here goes…

America The Beautiful

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!

America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

Here’s a playlist I started today with a few more classics (and more to be added, I’m sure).

NCDD News & Perspectives

Job opening at Public Agenda for Public & Stakeholder Engagement Associate

Posted: July 2nd, 2010, 8:54am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
Public Agenda, a national non-profit, non-partisan research and civic engagement organization, and an NCDD organizational member, is seeking a public & stakeholder engagement associate. Public Agenda (www.publicagenda.org) is at the forefront of the vibrant field of public & stakeholder deliberation/collaborative problem solving and is pleased to offer this opportunity for a confident, motivated professional.

Public Agenda’s public and stakeholder engagement methodologies and practices include issue framing, community forums, leadership dialogues, and on-line engagement strategies. Current projects involve work with community-based organizations and leaders at all levels across the United States to build capacity for engaging critical stakeholders in problem solving on issues around K-12 and higher education reform, economic development/regional planning, the environment/energy use, health care and others. The engagement associate will work on a variety of research and writing tasks, on field–based work on diverse projects, and will assist with organizational tasks in support of a busy department.

Public Agenda is looking for a highly motivated, collaborative fully bi-lingual (Spanish/English) individual who is interested in joining their team in New York City and developing into a project leader over time.

Required Skills and Abilities:
- Fluency in Spanish
- Minimum educational requirement is a BA in a social science or related discipline (public policy, political science, urban planning, etc). An advanced degree in public policy or a related social science field is a plus.
- Minimum 3 years work experience in any of the following (or related) fields:
- - Public engagement, deliberative democracy, participatory governance
  - Community or organizational change work
  - Public policy
  - Research, especially qualitative methods
- Exemplary written and verbal communication skills
- Strong analytic capacities (ability to research and synthesize material quickly).
- A sense of humor and ability to work with a diverse team on diverse projects
- Must be extremely organized, able to coordinate multiple schedules and project logistics on an ongoing basis.
- Must have an eye for detail—for example, in analyzing material, keeping track of project deliverables, and helping the team stay on task
- Must have the desire and ability to travel domestically, as this position requires significant travel.
Public Agenda is an equal opportunity employer based in New York City offering a competitive salary, excellent benefits, and room to grow. Minority candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Interested parties should email a resume, cover letter, and brief (3 pages maximum) professional writing sample to Jassica Bouvier at:

Applications will be reviewed immediately, and until the position is filled. No phone calls please.
Today’s NCDD Confab Call: “Online Engagement” Using Maestro

Posted: June 30th, 2010, 3:31pm PDT by Andy Fluke

Nearly 80 people joined us today for our latest NCDD Confab call where we discussed online engagement through a World Cafe-style conversation using Maestro, a conference call / online tool that provides both traditional conference call features with the ability to create small group conversations amongst the participants of the same call. Teresa Bidlake, of Concepts Captured, was kind enough to offer her services as graphic facilitator and provided us with the visual recording above. The conversation is being continued online at the newly re-activated NCDD Forum where we will be assembling stories and information about online dialogue & deliberation in conjunction with our Fall 2010 events.
Don’t forget to register for tomorrow’s NCDD Confab on online engagement

Posted: June 29th, 2010, 7:55am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
Lots of people have signed up for tomorrow’s “NCDD Confab” (June 30th, 12 noon to 1:45pm EST), but it’s not too late to register! Our confabs provide members and potential members of the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) a chance to network with one another while delving into an important issue in our field.

Register at the following link (once you register, you’ll receive call-in details):
- [myaccount.maestroconference.com]
Tomorrow, we’ll be using Maestro conference call software to run a World Cafe on the topic of online engagement. World Cafe is an easy-to-use method for fostering collaborative dialogue, particularly in large groups.

Our host for this Confab is new NCDD member Amy Lenzo of the World Cafe Community. The call is co-sponsored by the World Cafe Community and Maestro Conference. NCDD member Ben Roberts will be co-facilitating, and members Greg Keidan and Lynn Adams helped us design the call.

I’m particularly excited about the Maestro conference call system, which is a new technology that provides hosts with some unique, exciting options that are really appropriate for our community — like breaking people up into small groups in separate virtual rooms (for small group dialogue) and setting up polls that people can participate in just by pressing numbers on their phone (like keypad polling).

Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with the technology yet; aside from registering for the call, you just need to call in with the phone number and access code on the 30th like any other conference call (there’s nothing to download and no site to visit during the call). Though unlike typical conference calls and webinars, you can’t get away with much multitasking because you’ll be actively engaged and involved throughout the call.

Note: “NCDD Confabs” are conference calls and webinars for NCDD members where we explore key issues in the dialogue & deliberation community and encourage new connections among members. (Potential NCDD members and members of the World Cafe Community are welcome to join us for this call.)

Parking Lot

Shocking!

Posted: June 28th, 2010, 11:41pm PDT by Chris Corrigan

Dave Pollard has posted an item on his blog entitled G20: A Corporatist Show of Force and Power in Toronto. It is a compendium of a number of videos showing what happened in Toronto last week. I have spent the last two hours watching these videos, and many more. I challenge you to do the same. Because frankly what I am seeing is terrifying and shocking, and I don’t mean the vandals. I mean the actions of the police.

None of these videos are the whole story, but they leave me futilely hoping for an explanation from the powers that be. The police are the people’s force, and they are there to enforce the laws of society. When they are challenged to cite the law under which they seize a man’s property, they refuse. If you have to use force against your own citizens, you better be able to explain why, who gave the orders and what laws you were enforcing. What I saw in these videos was a shocking and one-sided use of intimidation and arbitrary arrest against peaceful, non-threatening citizens who were asking for explanations and receiving no help at all. I’d love to hear someone in power explain what was going on.

When I was younger I used to join tens of thousands of people every year marching down University Avenue from Queen’s Park protesting against nuclear weapons. We had a massive peaceful march, without needing “free speech zones” and without thousands of police officers dressed in riot gear. There was always a little vandalism and garbage strewn around. One year in fact, I was working at a building on University Avenue and my job was to clean spray paint off our building. No big deal. Took four hours and a can or two of paint remover.

Back then, most of us looked like the young people in these videos: impassioned, aware, concerned about their world and PEACEFUL. The videos from Queen’s Park surprise and disturb me. I can’t help but think that dozens of those officers clad head to toe in riot gear telling peaceful young people to “GET BACK!” must have been thinking that the whole thing was a stupid charade. They were never in any danger. The protesters were milling around in the designated free speech zone and they were moved, intimidated, cajoled and randomly wrestled to the ground by heavily armed riot police.

What the hell is happening? What about the group singing Oh Canada in front of Steve’s Music on Queen Street? They sing and then are charged by the police. That is a frightening image. There isn’t a single one of them wearing the uniform of the so-called “Black Bloc.”

After watching videos of these young people for hours, I turned my attention to a few videos of the windows being smashed and the police cars being torched. I was immediately struck by how different the so-called Black Bloc anarchists were. They looked strong, powerful and well trained in martial arts. They were delivering accurate and well executed kicks to windows and cars, the same kicks that are used by police to knock in doors. Police all over the world have used agents provocateurs at all the major summits of world leaders to stir up chaos and violence. The Quebec police admitted to it at the Montebello Summit and there are many Toronto videos that show clean cut, muscular men posing as Black Bloc activists who are having nothing to do with the crowd. Back in the day on our anti-nuclear protests, it was all about joining the crowd, and even today, anarchists don’t look to be the best fed group of people.

So what is happening here? How is it that a massive police force can intimidate and push around unarmed and generally disorganized young people at Queen’s Park and yet not stop the torching of police cars left inexplicably alone and unguarded in the city centre by men who look very much like police or soldiers.

And who actually knows anything about “the Black Bloc?” Did they release a statement claiming responsibility for the havoc? Where is their website? I have no doubt that there are a few militant activists who undertake these kinds of tactics, and I condemn them. They distract from the real work of social change and they are easy to exploit. All it takes is a few bait cars, a couple of cops dressed up as a friendly faction and away they go. If they DO exist, they are naive and destructive and easily made tools of the very state and corporate agenda they claim to hate. If they don’t exist, then who are they?

What the hell is happening? Why this show of arbitrary force? Why was the limited but wanton destruction allowed to occur, but the free speech zone overrun by riot cops? What has become of this country?

NCDD News & Perspectives

NCDD Discount for Art of Convening Core TeleTraining

Posted: June 28th, 2010, 7:53pm PDT by Andy Fluke

Patricia Neal of Heartland, Inc. has asked us to let our community know about the special summer rate (for July-September 2010) of $495 (regularly $550-595) they are offering to NCDD members for their next “Art of Convening” teletraining.

The Art of Convening - Authentic Engagement in Meetings, Gatherings & Conversations

In an age of reduced travel budgets and reliance on effective, virtual communication, the AoC adds crucial capacities to leaders who are conveners/facilitators of conversations and meetings that matter and work. Not just another meeting methodology, the Art of Convening Core TeleTraining (AoC Core) provides the practices, tools and skills that create the conditions for authentic engagement to transform your meetings, gatherings and conversations. As you meet with, convene, facilitate and gather people (virtually or in person), The Art of Convening will expand your capacity and thought leadership in depth and breadth.

You can learn more or register at the program’s website. NCDD members should use the following discount code at checkout while registering: DSC-HeartCom

The next 3-month AoC Core Series begins July 13. The series meets via teleconference for 2 hours every other Tuesday morning.

For more information about the teleconference or the discount contact Patricia Neal () or visit their website at [heartlandcircle.com].
Submit your nominations for Vitalizing Democracy through Participation award

Posted: June 28th, 2010, 11:33am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Hi, everyone! I’ve announced before that the 2011 Reinhard Mohn Prize is focused on the work that many of you do: “Vitalizing Democracy through Participation.” The prize carries a value of €150,000. NCDD member Hans-Peter Meister is one of the leads on the research team for this award, and I know he would like to see more submissions from NCDD members. Matt Leighninger (another NCDDer) is also on the research team. (Note: the deadline for nominations is August 22nd.)

Nominees should be governmental institutions (departments, administrations, towns, etc.) that have shown innovative democratic leadership by making a strong and lasting contribution to vitalizing democracy through participatory projects, program or structural measures. The prize will be awarded to a governmental institution – possibly in cooperation with a non-governmental actor – which has initiated successful projects (or programs) to vitalize democracy, to integrate underrepresented citizens and to establish new forms of democratic problem-solving capacities through participation. It is crucial that the projects and actions can be adapted to the German context, as the Bertelsmann Stiftung aims to draw on these examples of international best practice as inspiration for possible future projects.

At this point it looks like there are about a dozen nominations posted, so the odds are not too shabby if you submit a new nomination. The current nominations (which you can vote and comment on now) including Roger Bernier’s Public Engagement Project on Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Priorities, CaliforniaSpeaks, Bridgeport, CT Community Conversations, and a few others you might recognize.

Below is the full announcement I received this morning…

Subject: Submit your Nominations to www.vitalizing-democracy.org!

Dear Ms Heierbacher,

Nominations for the Reinhard Mohn Prize (previously known as the Carl Bertelsmann-Prize) “Vitalizing Democracy through Participation” can now be publicly viewed online! Don’t miss out on the chance to nominate governmental institutions (departments, administrations, towns, etc.) that have shown innovative democratic leadership by making a strong and lasting contribution to vitalizing democracy through participatory projects, program or structural measures.

Please nominate projects at: vitalizing-democracy.org. To submit a project you can simply create a user name and password. If you nominate the winning project, you will be invited to attend the symposium and prize-ceremony being held in Germany next year as part of the Reinhard Mohn Prize 2011.

Your project submission is decisive for the evaluation of your project nomination – both for the Reinhard Mohn Prize Team and other users who can rate and comment on your submission. Pictures, videos and additional documents will help communicate the objectives and the impact of the project and give a better picture of why the project is prize-worthy.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to your comments and nominations on vitalizing-democracy.org!

Best Regards,

Hans-Peter Meister and Christina Hanley
Reinhard Mohn Prize Research Team
______________________________
Dr. Hans-Peter Meister
President
Meister Consultants Group, Inc./IFOK GmbH
98 North Washington St
Boston, MA 02114
+1.617 934.4847
[email protected]

Christina Hanley
Meister Consultants Group
German Office: +49.6251.8416.72
German Mobile: +49.170.124.4387
[email protected]

Parking Lot

Scrubbed clean…details to follow

Posted: June 26th, 2010, 10:13pm PDT by Chris Corrigan

You’ll forgive my lack of posting from Kiluea this past week. I certainly had intended a detailed account of our gathering, but things went to such a deep level that words and time kept failing me. THis was one of the most tranformational experiences of my life, and one of the most difficult, challenging and exuberant facilitation experiences I have ever had. It will take me a while to get the story straight, so forgive me if it trickles out. I met fear in a new place, above my heart. A fearless heart was born, but it was birthed in much fire and truth grief and elation, found in a windy misty and cold morning on the edge of Halema’uma’u when so much in myself and in our group was laid bare before Pele, the goddess of fire, of creation of life itself.

I’m home but in a new way. All is good!

NCDD News & Perspectives

Keep track of today’s national town hall on the budget

Posted: June 26th, 2010, 12:57pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

As you hopefully know because we’ve posted about this numerous times, today is AmericaSpeaks’ national town hall on “Our Budget, Our Economy.” NCDD has served as a promotional partner for the event, and many NCDDers are involved in various capacities (I’d be there myself, but tonight is my 20-year high school reunion).

Across the U.S., thousands of people have come together to take part in this national discussion. I’ve been following the day’s events off and on today, by watching the live feed at [ht.ly] (which is showing real small-group discussions happening in different cities; it’s pretty cool and fascinating to watch) and following what people are posting on twitter today with the hash tag #usabudget. Thought some of you might want to check out these links, too!
An Experiment in Blending Dialogue Media

Posted: June 23rd, 2010, 5:40pm PDT by Lucas Cioffi
What’s working in our political system? What isn’t? Our company is OnlineTownhalls and we are passionate about improving the quality of our national dialogue. We recently joined the Open Model for Citizen Engagement Working Group here in Washington, DC which inspired us to give this a shot.

From June 23-27, 2010 we are conducting an experiment called the American Townhall on National Politics. Our mission is to find deeper ways to discuss critical issues facing our democracy combining tools for discussion online, in-person, and over the phone. The target audience is not the general public; we’re testing these tools on our own communities: opengov, NCDD, e-democracy, transparency, etc. When we learn what works and what doesn’t, then we’ll repeat the experiment with the general public and publicize the method for others to replicate.
Join Us In-Person:
We’ve kick-started the townhall by conducting video interviews on the National Mall in Washington, DC. We’ll be asking visitors to our nation’s capital what they think is broken and what they think is working well in our national politic system. All the videos are available here and are included in the OnlineTownhall mentioned below where others participants can build on these ideas.
Join Us on the Phone:
The central question for the three-day show is, “What is working in our national political system, and what isn’t?” We’ll be joined by Wayne Burke of the Open Forum Foundation and the lead organizer of the Open Model for Citizen Engagement, key staff in the Sunlight Foundation, and members of the National Coalition of Dialogue and Deliberation (if you’d like to be interviewed about your dialogue work, 6:30pm EST is open on Thursday and Friday; email if you’re interested).

We have three live call-in radio shows:
- Wednesday, June 23 from 5pm-7pm EST. Click HERE to listen.
- Thursday, June 24 from 5pm-7pm EST. Click HERE to listen.
- Friday, June 25 from 5pm-7pm EST. Click HERE to listen.
- From June 23-27, join this OnlineTownhall to discuss the ideas raised in the radio shows.
Want to call into the radio show? Dial (917) 889-2510 to join the discussion during the times listed above. You can also add your thoughts via email to [email protected] or through Twitter using the tag #ATHNP (for American Townhall on National Politics). We look forward to hearing what you have to say!
Join Us Online:
Using this conversation at OnlineTownhalls, participants will be able to take the conversation started on the videos and the radio show deeper from June 23-27.

OnlineTownhalls is different than standard commenting software; it helps participants visualize all the branches in a conversation and see which issues are controversial and which are common ground.

For those that would like a brief orientation to the software, we will be available over the phone. The dial-in number for the live walk-through is 605-715-4920 with an access code of 616033 from 7pm-9pm EST on June 23-25. The online discussion will be open through June 27.

If you’re comfortable with online tools, you’ll probably be able to figure out the townhall technology after watching this three minute intro video.
Final chance to sign up for national deliberation on Our Budget, Our Economy

Posted: June 21st, 2010, 5:38pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
I wanted to remind everyone that on June 26th, thousands of concerned citizens — and a whole bunch of NCDDers — are coming together for an unprecedented national conversation on our budget and economy hosted by NCDD organizational member AmericaSpeaks. (NCDD is a promotional partner for this event.)

Together, we’ll find common ground on the tough choices our nation will have to make in the years ahead in order to ensure that growing debt payments don’t crowd out our national priorities, like education, healthcare, national defense, and transportation infrastructure. Learn more about Our Budget, Our Economy at [usabudgetdiscussion.org].

If you’re not already signed up (or facilitating!), I encourage you to participate in the event nearest you this Saturday (June 26) – and help spread the word by sharing this message with others in your networks.

Can you participate in a meeting near you on June 26?
- Yes, I can participate (find a meeting near you)
- I can’t attend, but I will share it on Facebook
The event you attend will link you to thousands of other Americans around the country via satellite video, webcasts, and interactive technologies. Experts will brief us on the basic budget challenges we’re facing, and then we’ll work together to identify shared priorities and discuss options we have to reduce the national debt. Most importantly: the results of all the meetings across the US will be compiled into a report that will be submitted to the White House and Congress later this summer.

We are working to have this non-partisan citizen discussion reflect the political, socioeconomic, and ethnic diversity of the United States. So, please invite your friends — and I hope to see you there.

Also- for those interested, the issue guide for Our Budget, Our Economy, titled Federal Budget 101: An Introduction to the Federal Budget and our Fiscal Chalelnges, can now be downloaded here.
OpenGov and the Gulf Coast Restoration Plan (July 16th)

Posted: June 21st, 2010, 6:34am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
I just got an invitation from NCDD member Lucas Cioffi for July’s Open Government Community Summit (July 16 from 9-12 EST, location in D.C. TBD). Previous summits and workshops have been hosted by the Department of Transportation, the General Services Administration, the US Department of Agriculture, and the US Department of Treasury.

Who: This workshop is open to federal, state, and local officials involved in restoring our nation’s Gulf Coast. Members of the Open Gov Community from the private sector and non-profit organizations are also welcome to participate. RSVP here by July 14th: [gulf-coast-restoration.eventbrite.com]

What: The summit will focus on the intersection of open government and the Gulf Coast Restoration Plan which President Obama assigned to the Secretary of the Navy on June 15th.

Where: Due to the urgency of the Gulf oil spill crisis, we are convening this workshop while the location is still TBD. Several agencies have already expressed interest, and the first agency to have space available will be the host.

When: Friday, July 16, 2010 from 9am-12:10pm EST. This 3 hour workshop will allow us to roll our sleeves up and jump-start a powerful and ongoing conversation about the Gulf Coast Restoration Plan. Next steps will emerge from the ideas of the participants.

Remote Participation begins after the in-person workshop ends and lasts from 1pm-2:30pm EST. Remote participation consists of an innovative technology called Maestro Conference which enables us to separate a large conference call into small-group breakout sessions.

Online Discussions: Between now and July 16th, we’ll be using GovLoop discussion forums to put some ideas on the table. (GovLoop is a popular social network for people who work in or with government.) Here is the list of questions so far:
- How can the opengov ethos of transparency improve the Gulf Coast Restoration Plan?
- How can the opengov ethos of participation improve the Gulf Coast Restoration Plan?
- How can the opengov ethos of collaboration improve the Gulf Coast Restoration Plan?
- Propose another question for the online discussion to
Lucas Cioffi
OGD Workshop Co-Organizer

Note: NCDD is a partner for the Open Government Workshops.

Parking Lot

From crystal seas to a brooding volcano

Posted: June 21st, 2010, 1:38am PDT by Chris Corrigan

Last night we arrived in Kona, on the dry side of the big island of Hawai’i. We overnighted there and woke early in the morning for a swim in crystal clear waters at Hapuna Beach. About 9am we hit the road, taking the Saddle Road over the island between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, the twin 13,000+ volcanoes on this island. As you crest the top of the pass between them, the clouds coming up from Hilo-side start flying overhead, and rain showers start. We drove down to Hilo and then back up the south flank of Mauna Loa to Kilauea and Halema’uma’u, the active crater in Volcanoes National Park. Kilauea is the home place of Pele, the goddess of creation and tonight Tim and Andrea – one of our colleagues – and I drove to the rim where, in the dark and drizzle, the plume of steam was clearly seen, illuminated from above by a bright quarter moon and below by the lava glowing in the crater.

Surrounded by earth, fire, air and water, all of the elements appeared. A very powerful synthesis of the earth being born below our feet, beneath an ancient sky that in these parts of the world is the map for navigating. We are wrapped in time, treated to a window on the liquid centre of our planet, standing on ground that is emergent and compelling. The crater began to hold the archetype of the centre of our gathering – a purpose that burns regardless, that steams and smokes and is visible in its production but not in its source. A purpose that defines the form that holds it. It became clear to us tonight the way in which this gathering, this purpose and intention is to be hosted: in a deep container that can hold the fire of creation and let itself be moulded by whatever flows out.

This is not easy work and there are few roadmaps for doing it. But to prepare by sitting with Halema’uma’u is a great teaching, and we haven’t even begun hearing the Hawaiian perspective on all of this.

Work is afoot. Tomorrow participants arrive and we begin to welcome them in, prepare our space and ready ourselves for ceremony and practice. We are ambitiously pursuing the small openings that invite the transcendence of world views that have been at conflict for centuries. To see what the next level of human consciousness could be if we married indigenous wisdom and wester wisdom. If we understood each other and invited all to join in the space in the middle. What would we learn about values? What would our relationship to the earth be? What IS a community of leadership based on a platform of reverence and what could such a community do?

Like the stea, plume

NCDD News & Perspectives

App Deadline Extended to July 2 for Fielding DDPE Certificate Pgm

Posted: June 20th, 2010, 1:22pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
If you’ve been thinking about enrolling in Fielding’s award-winning Dialogue, Deliberation and Public Engagement Certificate program, now may be a good time. They’ve just extended the deadline to apply for sponsorships to July 2nd and wanted to invite all NCDD members to apply!

Dialogue, Deliberation and Public Engagement Certificate (DDPE)
August 16, 2010 – January 18, 2011

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY

Deadline Extended to July 2, 2010

The dialogue, deliberation, and public engagement certificate helps you build mastery by working with a scholar-practitioner model of collaborative learning and reflective practice. An exceptional faculty of scholar-practitioners who do real world work in diverse contexts and cultures, will support your learning and provide coaching for a culminating capstone project over 19 weeks of online, telephone, and 2 face to face workshops.

You should participate in this program and its on-going community of practice if you want to:
- Learn about the field of dialogue and deliberation in conversation with those who are leading and shaping it;
- Engage in structured, collaborative critical self-reflection focused on you as a practitioner;
- Analyze specific situations and chose wisely what dialogic, deliberative or engagement process is most appropriate;
- Understand how dialogic and deliberative processes work in some situations but not in others;
- Develop diagnostic, design, and in-the-moment facilitation skills;
- Explore conceptual and theoretical foundations of dialogic and deliberative practice; and,
- Belong to an international community of practice of like-minded people.
This program is available for 8 academic graduate credits.

For information on tuition, please see: [www.fielding.edu]

The Institute for Social Innovation at Fielding Graduate University announces partial sponsorships of up to $1,300 to professionals based in the US who are interested in improving their practice and beginning a project in the area of dialogue, deliberation, and public engagement. We are particularly interested in participants who have the opportunity and interest in supporting dialogic, deliberative and engagement practices in their organizations or communities through projects which have the potential to build civic engagement capacity.

Applicants must have organizational support in the form of commitment to dialogue, deliberation and public engagement. Applicants with financial support from their organization/community will be given preference. Applicants can be from any sector of society: nonprofit, government, or for-profit. (To be eligible you must live in the United States.)

The review team is now accepting applications until July 2, 2010. If you are interested in submitting an application, please send the following by email to .
1. Two page description of how you intend to use this certificate in your work; a description of a potential project opportunity that would help build capacity for and through dialogue, deliberation, and/or public engagement. We are particularly interested in community-based projects focused on local capacity building in civic engagement.
2. An email letter of support for the potential project from your organization or community with an indication of their financial contribution.
For questions, please contact:

Dr. Katrina Rogers, Fielding Graduate University
(805) 898-2924
Email:

–

The Institute for Social Innovation (ISI) supports the creation of social capital by strengthening the capacity of individuals and organizations to address societal problems. Housed in Fielding’s School of Human & Organization Development (HOD), ISI is organized into three areas: frontiers in research, leadership for change, and organizational development.

ISI supports projects that exemplify the following principles:

Research: Knowledge that blends multidisciplinary theory and professional practice

Leadership: Action that leads to sustaining positive social change

Organizational Development: Collaboration that builds more effective organizations
Four new regional listservs for D&Ders in DC, Boston, Cascadia and Austin

Posted: June 17th, 2010, 3:21pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
People involved in dialogue and deliberation work in the following regions can take advantage of NCDD’s free (of course!) discussion lists:
- In and around Boston, Massachusetts
- Cascadia region (Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia)
- Washington, DC metro area
- Central Texas (Austin and beyond)
- Colorado
- Northern California (Bay Area and beyond)
Four of the listservs are brand new (the Colorado and Northern California lists have been around for a while), and we encourage you to subscribe and send a quick introductory message to the list. NCDD members are always telling us they want more opportunities for regional and local networking, so we’ve gone ahead and subscribed NCDD members in those regions (just to opt out). If you’re not an NCDD member, follow the links below to subscribe.

These are the 6 areas we are planning one-day NCDD gatherings in October and November (Austin, Boston, Portland, DC, Denver and San Francisco), so we’ll definitely use the lists to keep people informed of our Fall events and to encourage regional networking before and after the events!

Note: I’m also looking for official “moderators” for all of the lists, so if you live in one of these regions and want to take on the challenge of initiating conversations on the lists once in a while, please let me know ().

Central Texas list

All in Central Texas are welcome to subscribe to this list. Subscribe by sending a blank email to . Subscribers should email to send a message to the list.

Cascadia list

All in Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia (Canada) are welcome to subscribe to this list. Subscribe by sending a blank email to . Subscribers should email to send a message to the list.

DC Metro Area list

All in Washington, DC and the surrounding area are welcome to subscribe to this list. Subscribe by sending a blank email to . Subscribers should email to send a message to the list.

Boston list

All in and around Boston, Massachusetts are welcome to subscribe to this list. Subscribe by sending a blank email to . Subscribers should email to send a message to the list.

Northern California Network list

Formed after the 2003 Northern California Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation, anyone from the San Francisco Bay Area (and anywhere else in Northern CA) is welcome. Subscribe by sending a blank email to . Subscribers should email to send a message to the list.

Colorado Network list

Formed around the time of the 2004 NCDD conference in Denver, in response to requests from scholars and practitioners in the Denver-Boulder region. Anyone in Colorado is welcome to subscribe to this list. Subscribe to the Colorado Network list by sending a blank email to . Subscribers should email to send a message to the list.
Introducing our newest summer intern: Allyson Gasdaska

Posted: June 16th, 2010, 4:31pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

I’m excited to introduce Allyson Gasdaska to the NCDD community, as our second part-time summer intern here at NCDD. Allyson is joining the ranks of Cait Kershner, our other summer intern. She’ll be working on our online Resource Center and other projects.

Allyson Gasdaska is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania. She is from Marysville, PA and will be spending the summer at home. She is a Philosophy, Politics, and Economics major, tentatively minoring in Modern Middle Eastern Studies or international development. Allyson hopes to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector and is specifically interested in women’s and children’s issues, particularly at the international level.

At school, Allyson is involved in the campus chapters of Amnesty International, UNICEF, and Nourish International. She also works as a research assistant with Penn’s School of Social Policy and Practice. She will be spending the fall semester in Washington, DC in order to take classes and intern, most likely with a nonprofit organization.

In her spare time, Allyson enjoys listening to music, playing clarinet and saxophone, reading, keeping up with the news, and spending time with friends and family, particularly her three younger siblings.
Registration open for NCDD Confab on online D&D – June 30 at noon EST

Posted: June 15th, 2010, 6:33pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
Our next “NCDD Confab” is scheduled for Wednesday, June 30th from 12:00 noon to 1:45 pm Eastern (9am Pacific), and I invite everyone interested in the topic (and connecting with NCDDers) to join us! We’ll be using Maestro conference call software to run a World Cafe on the topic of online engagement.

Registration is open at this link, and I recommend you register today (once you register, you’ll receive call-in details):
- [myaccount.maestroconference.com]
Our host for this Confab is new NCDD member Amy Lenzo of the World Cafe Community. The call is co-sponsored by the World Cafe Community and Maestro Conference. NCDD member Ben Roberts will be co-facilitating, and members Greg Keidan and Lynn Adams helped us design the call.

I’m particularly excited about the Maestro conference call system, which is a new technology that provides hosts with some unique, exciting options that are really appropriate for our community — like breaking people up into small groups in separate virtual rooms (for small group dialogue) and setting up polls that people can participate in just by pressing numbers on their phone (like keypad polling).

Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with the technology yet; aside from registering for the call, you just need to call in with the phone number and access code on the 30th like any other conference call (there’s nothing to download and no site to visit during the call). Though unlike typical conference calls and webinars, you can’t get away with much multitasking because you’ll be actively engaged and involved throughout the call.

Note: “NCDD Confabs” are conference calls and webinars for NCDD members where we explore key issues in the dialogue & deliberation community and encourage new connections among members. (Potential NCDD members and members of the World Cafe Community are welcome to join us for this call.)
New report by Barnett & Kim Pearce on public managers’ views of public engagement

Posted: June 13th, 2010, 9:40am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
The February 2010 report to the Kettering Foundation, “Aligning the Work of Government to Strengthen the Work of Citizens: A Study of Public Administrators in Local and Regional Government,” was written by my friends (and NCDD members) Barnett Pearce (pictured here) and Kimberly A. Pearce. The Pearces’ report surveys California administrative leaders from cities and counties, noting their changing views of “public engagement.” The main research question for the study was “What do public administrators need to know and to do in order to promote and respond constructively to an engaged community?” Downloadable here from the NCDD site.

The primary research method was participatory action research. The Pearces took advantage of an opportunity to work with Common Sense California (CSC), a multi-party, nonprofit organization founded in 2005 whose purpose is “to help solve California’s public problems by promoting citizens’ participation in governance.” They offered their services in helping design and evaluate a series of seminars for public administrators in exchange for access to those seminars and contacts and information gathered in other CSC projects.

The report is chock-full of useful quotes from public managers like this one:

“It is part of our job to get the public engaged to give a meaningful voice and ultimately have control over their government…[civic engagement] is not in addition to, but it is the work…if we are going to be as good as we can be in serving the community.”

- David Bosch, Manager, San Mateo County

Here are the sections included in the must-read conclusion of this paper:
- Public administrators question the public’s will or ability to communicate responsibly in civic engagement.
- Public administrators think of civic engagement in the context of their professional responsibilities.
- Public administrators are reassured by the experience of their peers and adaptable examples.
- Civic engagement involves “culture change” and “authenticity.”
- Public administrators have powerful motivations to support civic engagement.
- Public administrators know that they need to develop new skills for supporting civic engagement, but are not sure what those skills are.
About the Authors: Barnett Pearce is Professor Emeritus at Fielding Graduate University; Kim Pearce is Professor at De Anza College. Both are Principals of Pearce Associates, Inc. and Founding Members of the Public Dialogue Consortium
Neighbors Online Report Issued Today

Posted: June 9th, 2010, 12:07pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
NCDD member Steven Clift of e-democracy.org just sent a message about this to the main NCDD Discussion list…

A very important report came out today called the Neighbors Online Report. The report shows that Americans use a range of approaches to keep informed about what is happening in their communities and online activities have been added to the mix. Face-to-face encounters and phone calls remain the most frequent methods of interaction with neighbors, while internet tools are gaining ground in community-oriented communications.

Be sure to check out Steven’s blog post on the report, titled Neighbors Online – What have 27% of Internet Users Discovered? Women Lead the Way. Need More Inclusion, at [blog.e-democracy.org]. Steven also let us know you can join the “hosts” of neighborhood online hosts in a Q&A with the report author at: [e-democracy.org].

In short:
- 27% of American adult Internet users (or 20% of adults overall) use “digital tools to talk to their neighbors and keep informed about community issues.” – Steve’s spin: Very exciting.
- Lower income, rural, and Latino Internet users are being left out -Steve’s spin: We need to fix this.
Welcome to May’s new NCDD members!

Posted: June 8th, 2010, 6:54pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
17 new members joined NCDD last month: 2 organizational members and 15 new individual members (8 dues-paying and 7 non-dues-paying). And 3 of our dues-paying members renewed their memberships (1 organization and 2 individuals)!

We post these monthly summaries not only to welcome our new members and to thank those who re-upped, but also to help members connect with one another. Click on anyone’s name below to learn more about them and connect with them.

Our new organizational members:
1. Center for the Study of Conflict, Collaboration and Creative Governance (3CG) and the Peace and Conflict Studies Program (Contact: Stan Deetz)
2. Mediation and Applied Conflict Studies program at Champlain College (Contacts: Julian Portilla, Susan Terry and David Specht)
Our 15 new individual members (some dues-paying and some non-dues) are:
1. Caitlin Kershner, a new NCDD summer intern!
2. Kimberly King, President of The Peace Company
3. Jenn Scharf, Group Process Facilitator and Educator for Creative Generation Consulting
4. Hildy Gottlieb, President of The Community-Driven Institute
5. Octave Baker, President of The Octave Group
6. Benjamin Roberts, Connecticut point person for the Coffee Party Movement
7. Amy Lenzo, Director of Global Comunications for The World Café
8. Deb Wisniewski, Founder of Sharing Common Ground
9. Don Schneider, Psychologist, Educator, Trainer, and Facilitator
10. Susan Loucks, Manager of the Greater Boston Employment Collaborative
11. Mark Woerd, Planner for Lura Consulting
12. Louisa Edgerly of Seattle, Washington
13. Patricia McIntosh, HR Trainer and Technology Analyst for the State of Vermont
14. Angela Blanco, Trainer and Student for the University of Mount Union
15. Craig Freshley, Owner and President of Good Group Decisions  .
In the month of May, 3 NCDDers renewed their memberships. 1 organizational member renewed:
1. C2D2 and Ascentum (Sandra Zagon, Mary Pat MacKinnon, and Joanna Ashworth)
And 2 people renewed as dues-paying individual members, and those are:
1. Mari Pearman of California
2. Myriam Laberge, Principal for Breakthroughs Unlimited Inc. and Masterful Facilitation Institute
Welcome and thanks, everyone!
Save the date: next NCDD Confab on June 30th at noon EST

Posted: June 8th, 2010, 1:24pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Our next “NCDD Confab” is scheduled for Wednesday, June 30th from noon to 1:30 pm Eastern (9am Pacific), and I wanted to encourage you to add it to your calendars now if you’re interested. The Confab calls are free (you pay your regular long-distance phone charges) and open to all NCDD members.

Our host for this Confab is Amy Lenzo of the World Cafe Community (and a new NCDD member!), and we’ll be using Amy’s Maestro account to organize a virtual World Cafe to further examine a question we’ve been exploring on the NCDD listserv lately: What constitutes quality online/virtual engagement?

We’ll be using the Maestro conference call system, which is a new technology that provides hosts with some unique, exciting options that are perfect for our community — like breaking people up into small groups in separate virtual rooms (for small group dialogue) and setting up polls that people can participate in just by clicking numbers on their phone (like keypad polling). The good news: all YOU need to do is call in to the conference call, like any of the conference calls we’ve done in the past! Well, you’ll also need to register for the call, but we’ll include all the details you need in future announcements.

Please save the date in your calendars if this Confab interests you!

By the way, our last “Confab” of sorts was our May 14th webinar with PublicDecisions featuring Caroline Lee and Francesca Polletta. A bunch of you participated, and it was a great webinar. The presentation and audio recording are available for download at [www.publicdecisions.com].

Parking Lot

The Slips

Posted: June 4th, 2010, 12:50am PDT by Chris Corrigan

I’ve been trolling through Geoff’s harvest of our Open Space conference last month in Melbourne and just enjoying the memory of working with friends. Our friend and conference cartoonist Simon Kneebone drew our hosting team. We call ourselves The Slips. The term is from the cricket world and has two purposes. First it signals that this is an all-Commonwealth team, which is lovely, and second, it’s a large cordon and nothing gets past us. From right to left, our members are Anne Pattillo from New Zealand who is our wicket keeper, Aussie Viv McWaters at first slip, Johnnie Moore from the UK at second slip, Geoff Brown also from Australia at third and me on the end, occasionally moving out to gully or silly point when needed.

At any rate I love this drawing. It bring back some lovely memories and has me salivating when we join together again in Amsertdam in September for the Applied Improv Network Conference where we will play together mostly and probably end up opening space again.

NCDD News & Perspectives

Update on Conversation Cafe

Posted: June 3rd, 2010, 7:18pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

I received a message tonight from Vicki Robin, co-founder with Susan Partnow of Conversation Cafes. Vicki and Susan are both NCDD members, and Conversation Cafe is a well-known dialogue model that is elegantly simple, if you aren’t familiar with it (learn more here). Conversation Cafe is going through some big changes, and I wanted to share them with the NCDD community.

In her message, Vicki said…

You haven’t heard from us at Conversation Cafes in quite some time. We’ve been reorganizing and the whole project is moving to a new host: Community Action Dialogues CAD in Richmond Virginia. Jacqueline Pogue and her CAD group have been among the most active and creative CC hosts and they are super enthusiastic about a new CC website that will replace the current one this summer – and hosting annual Conversation Weeks.

Susan Partnow and I did our very best to spread the Conversation Café method with integrity and fidelity – and it is now used around the world in cafes, classrooms, conferences and more. We are thrilled that the CAD group with their new energy and vision are here to take the CCs to the next level. They will be glad to hear from you and serve you.

I spoke to Jacqueline Pogue about this switch-over recently (Jacqueline is also an NCDD member – click here for her contact info), and she is very enthusiastic and hopes to collaborate with NCDD on Conversation Weeks and other activities. Further updates from Jacqueline are forthcoming.
Job Opening: Director of Online Engagement & Participation at AmericaSpeaks

Posted: June 2nd, 2010, 9:54am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
There’s a great job opening at AmericaSpeaks for those looking…

The Director of Online Engagement and Participation will lead AmericaSpeaks’ initiatives to design, facilitate and organize online participatory processes that provide citizens and stakeholders with a greater voice in governance processes. The Director will be responsible for generating new projects through which AmericaSpeaks may engage the public online, representing AmericaSpeaks in discussions with federal agencies about how to use online methods to create a more open government, managing a group of online associates and partners to deliver online engagement programs, and forming and nurturing partnerships with other online innovators. The Director will also oversee the organization’s online and social media presence. Full job description below.

Director of Online Engagement and Participation, AmericaSpeaks

The Director of Online Engagement and Participation will lead AmericaSpeaks’ initiatives to design, facilitate and organize online participatory processes that provide citizens and stakeholders with a greater voice in governance processes. The Director will be responsible for generating new projects through which AmericaSpeaks may engage the public online, representing AmericaSpeaks in discussions with federal agencies about how to use online methods to create a more open government, managing a group of online associates and partners to deliver online engagement programs, and forming and nurturing partnerships with other online innovators. The Director will also oversee the organization’s online and social media presence.

AmericaSpeaks seeks a candidate with deep experience in the field of online engagement and participation. Candidates should have a proven track record of leading online participatory processes.

AmericaSpeaks is a world leader in the field of citizen engagement and public deliberation. For more than fifteen years, AmericaSpeaks has helped citizens influence many of the most pressing issues facing the public, including the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site after 9/11, the creation of regional plans for the greater Chicago and Cleveland regions, and the development of a recovery plan for New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. AmericaSpeaks’ mission is to reinvigorate democracy; we are doing this by developing innovative tools and a rich infrastructure for engaging citizens in our nation’s policy making process. For more information about AmericaSpeaks, visit www.americaspeaks.org.

The Director will report to the Vice President of Citizen Engagement. Salary will be commensurate with experience.

Duties and Responsibilities:
- Lead AmericaSpeaks’ initiatives to engage citizens and stakeholders in online participatory processes
- Work with other AmericaSpeaks’ staff to attract and develop new projects to engage citizens and stakeholders online, especially with federal agencies
- Form and nurture partnerships with other leaders in the field of online engagement to deliver projects and develop new innovations
- Form and manage a group of consultants who can assist AmericaSpeaks in delivering online engagement projects and online aspects of other engagement projects
- Oversee the content of the AmericaSpeaks website and social media presence, and work with AmericaSpeaks’ communications associate and interns to ensure that content remains dynamic and fresh
- Develop and manage an online innovations agenda for AmericaSpeaks to ensure that the organization remains a leader in the field
- Develop programmatic and budget protocols for the delivery of online deliberations and engagement processes to support business development and the delivery of programs by associates and other partners
  Work with the organization’s communications cluster on the marketing and branding of the organization
Knowledge and Skills Preferred for the Position:
- Demonstrated track record of organizing, designing and facilitating online efforts to engage people in crowdsourcing, dialogue or other related online activities
- Familiarity with online current online platforms for engaging the public, like IdeaScale, User Voice, etc. and social media tools
- Familiarity with online organizing practices, including social network and blogger outreach
- Entrepreneurial skills and the ability to develop new business
- Strong preference for candidates who live in or are willing to move to the Washington, DC area
- A commitment and passion for increasing the voice of citizens in policy making and realizing AmericaSpeaks vision
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills
- Experience with directing large, complex campaigns or initiatives
- Strong management skills
- Willingness to adjust hours according to the demands of the job and travel
- Proven ability to meet multiple deadlines and balance numerous projects while maintaining a perspective on long-term goals
- Strategic thinking
- Basic web skills such as basic HTML, CSS and image manipulation preferred
- Familiarity with Salsa is preferred
- Familiarity with the field of deliberative democracy is preferred
To Apply

Resumes with a cover letter should be submitted to Joe Goldman at jgoldman [at] americaspeaks [dot] org with “Director of Online Engagement” in the subject line. All attachments should be in PDF or Microsoft Word format and titled as follows “Lastname_Firstname_documentype”.

For more information about AmericaSpeaks, visit: www.americaspeaks.org.

AmericaSpeaks is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage and value a diverse work force, and we seek diversity among applicants for this position.

Parking Lot

Time is relative

Posted: June 1st, 2010, 3:29pm PDT by Chris Corrigan

Thanks to Benjamin Aaron Degenhart for pointing this out.
Harvesting learning about design

Posted: May 31st, 2010, 4:44pm PDT by Chris Corrigan

Geoff Brown put up a formidable blog post capturing the whole process of our recent designing, planning and facilitating a conference in Melbourne. If you are interested in multiple ways of learning and understanding process as well as ways of telling a story, set aside some time and go dive into what he has written. As one who was there, all I can say is, bang on, mate!

PS there should be some sort of blog award for “most formidable blog post.” This one would win it.
Researching the soft stuff

Posted: May 31st, 2010, 3:18pm PDT by Chris Corrigan

I think it’s important to note that there is no research on “the art of hosting” that we know of but that there is much research out there in the world on what it is that we are working with and trying to evoke. One of the problems, as we are seeing in this thread, is that we don’t have the language or the conceptual frameworks to handle the extreme interiorty of this inquiry. In general, people looking for “research” on collective intelligence, emergence and social fields are looking for objective evidence that if we use participatory methods, things will be better than if we use top-down and mechanistic modes of working. This is such an elusive inquiry, let alone an easy project to undertake.

Of course there are models for looking at the world that balance interior and exterior modes of seeing the world, including Ken Wilber’s integral models and others. But I’d like to invite us to look beyond the Western scientific methodologies for some other clues.

In many traditional indigenous North American cultures, there are well established methodologies for understanding the world and understanding the social context for individual action and collective dynamics. Specifically, some of us in teh Art of Hosting CoP have been learning about Nuu-Chah-Nulth concepts of “tsawalk” which is a view of the world that is as foundational to Nuu-Chah-Nulth science as Cartesian world views are to western science. Tsawalk means “oneness” or “interdependence” and the methodology for understanding this world views is called “oosumich” which is a methodology in teh same way that empiricism is a methodology for Cartersian world views. Oosumich is both an individual and collective practice of accessing and understanding the collective and individual spiritual worlds (or the deep interior worlds, from which all forms derive their basic organizing pattern). It is a way to tap what is often called “source” and is therefore a very useful methodology for understanding design of structures and processes. Oosumich is also an evaluation method, being used both in real time and in reflective learning to gauge the various effects of things against the principle of Tsawalk. If something is understood to be contrary to Tsawalk, it can be said to have “failed” – if that is the right term, although I think there are more nuanced ways of looking at this.

Tsawalk has been written about in a very valuable book called “Tsawalk” a Nuu Chah-Nulth worldview” by Richard Atleo, who is a friend of our work. I sometimes use it in indigenous communities as an alternative to Theory U. Last december we structured an entire workshop on participatory process based on Tsawalk, and the participants were given Atleo’s book as a text. I wrote a little about it here.

At least one of our list members, Pawa Haiyupis, has been in this inquiry with me for several years. I think what it points to is thinking about the valid epistemologies that can help us understand what is happening in collective intelligence. It makes sense to me that we look at models that have been employed for centuries by societies who are collective in nature and whose concepts of the world are less about the split between subject and object and more about exploring the connection between things and their context, and especially the “unseen” dynamics that are at play in social and other fields.

Those of us working in the Art of Hosting community with indigenous communities have had this conversation and are in this inquiry with Navajo, Hawaiian, Anishnaabe, Skwuxw7mesh, Kwa’kwa’kawakw and other indigenous cultures. It doesn’t necessarily help us in putting western science to work, but I think it provides perspectives on ways of knowing that could open the inquiry in ways that are helpful from a foundational and conceptual point of view.

PS: Here is a report from a few years ago about using Tsawalk as the primary view to see systemic breakdowns in the child welfare system in BC.

NCDD News & Perspectives

Skills Enrichment Institute in Austin this July

Posted: May 25th, 2010, 5:55pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Our friends at UT’s Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution asked us to let NCDDers know about the upcoming Innovations in Collaboration and Conflict Resolution – Skills Enrichment Institute (July 28-30 in Austin).

This is their 2nd annual Summer Skills Enrichment Institute for conflict resolution professionals and academicians interested in insightful learning and discussion. This dynamic skill-building program allows participants to choose either two one-day tracks, or one intensive two-day track. In addition, the program fosters opportunities to form a variety of connections including small topical discussion groups and an opening reception. The selected session tracks showcase prominent trainers (like Mark Gerzon, Bill Potapchuk and Colin Rule) and represent the latest advances in the field. Participants will learn to integrate innovative techniques into their work, while the setting provides a congenial atmosphere for deliberate thought and dialogue among colleagues and recognized leaders in the field.
Welcome to April’s new NCDD members!

Posted: May 19th, 2010, 11:29am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
17 new members joined NCDD last month: 2 organizational members and 15 new individual members (6 dues-paying, 1 partial-dues paying and 8 non-dues-paying). And 8 of our dues-paying members renewed their memberships (6 organization and 2 individuals)!

We post these monthly summaries not only to welcome our new members and to thank those who re-upped, but also to help members connect with one another. Click on anyone’s name below to learn more about them and connect with them.

Our new organizational members:
1. University of Wisconsin Colleges and University of Wisconsin-Extension (Contact: Stephan Gilchrist). Stephan has been a member of NCDD since 2007 with another organization.
2. The Paulist Center’s Office of Outreach and Reconciliation (Contact: Robert Bowers)
Our new 15 individual members (some dues-paying and some non-dues) are:
1. Joseph McCormick, Co-Founder and Chairman at Reuniting America
2. Pat McKenney, President of the Synthesis Center of Saint Mary’s
3. Vicki Totten, Associate Professor of Counseling at St. Edward’s University
4. Walt Roberts, Generative Change Consultant at the Transformation Systems Intl
5. Peter Hwoschinsky, Owner of Hwosch Productions
6. Ron Lubensky of Australia
7. Joanna Kelly, Master’s student in the Conflict Analysis and Engagement Program at Antioch University
8. Alessandro Rossi, a Community Development Facilitator
9. Osaretin Imahiyereobo at the Independent National Electoral Commission  (Nigeria)
10. Tyler Goulet at the Deliberative Democracy Consortium
11. Carina Costom at Carina Costom Contemplative Arts
12. Lindsey Mullen with the University of Alabama
13. Christopher Berendes at Netalyst, Inc.
14. David Beard with the University of Minnesota (Duluth)
15. Debra Lambo of New Jersey
In the month of April, 8 NCDDers renewed their memberships.

Our 6 renewed organizational members (with contacts in parentheses) are:
1. City of Portland, Office of Neighborhood Involvement (Brian Hoop, Judith Mowry, Afifa Ahmed-Shafi, Nickole Cheron, and Paul Leistner)
2. The International Institute for Sustained Dialogue (Hal Saunders, Chris Wagner, and Rhonda Fitzgerald)
3. Institute for Local Government (Terry Amsler and Greg Keidan)
4. Regis University’s Institute on the Common Good (Paul Alexander, TJ Bowen and Malia Crouse)
5. The Public Conversations Project (Cherry Muse, Dave Joseph, and Bob Stains)
6. Everyday Democracy (Martha McCoy and Amy Malick)
And 2 people renewed as dues-paying individual members:
1. Bettye Pruitt at the Generative Change Community
2. Tod Sloan with the Lewis and Clark College
Call For Papers – 3rd issue of eJournal of eDemocracy and Open Gov

Posted: May 18th, 2010, 6:26am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
Thought some of you might be interested in this announcement I saw in one of the Democracies Online groups I’m part of. In collaboration with the European Network for eParticipation, the Centre for E-Government at the Danube University Krems invites you to submit an article for the third issue of the eJournal of eDemocracy and Open Government (JeDEM). The eJournal of eDemocracy and Open Government addresses the theory and practice in the areas of eDemocracy and Open Government as well as eGovernment, eParticipation, eDeliberation and eSociety. The aim is to impact the quality, visibility, efficiency and use of research and work in eDemocracy, Open Government and related fields.

From: noella.edelmann Date: May 17 08:05

Please distribute to your colleagues, students and networks – apologies for cross-posting!

Call For Papers – eJournal of eDemocracy and Open Government (JeDEM)
Issue 3/ September 2010 (ISSN: 2075-9517)
www.jedem.org

Special Issue in collaboration with PEP-NET: Sustainable eParticipation

Guest Editors:
- Rolf Luehrs (PEP-NET, TuTech Innovation GmbH, D)
- Francesco Molinari (SmartIntuitions Ltd., CY)
Call for Papers
The past decade has seen a significant increase in the number, variety and quality of eParticipation trials, particularly in Western and Southern European countries. The impulse of the European Parliament and the financial support by the Commission have been instrumental in establishing a pan-European community of practice, made up of academia, governments and solution providers from virtually all EU Member States.

However, on the evaluative side, many projects that were seen through to their conclusion apparently failed to meet expectations. The most evident limitations are the typically low number of active participants and the relatively poor impact of the (majority of) projects.

Although it is often taken for granted that ICT-supported political participation will be of increased importance in the future, the question of how to enhance the sustainability of eParticipation projects has not yet been convincingly answered. In times where most of the European countries have to cope with a difficult financial situation, eParticipation supporters and particularly Public Administration officials will be put under even more pressure to show that the required resources lead to tangible results and create real value for the citizens.

In this volume of JEDEM we are calling for theoretical and practical papers addressing the challenges of *Sustainable eParticipation*.

- review of successful examples of implementation
- institutional, legal, social and economic aspects of sustainable eParticipation
- ICT supported co-creation of public services
- eParticipation and Gov 2.0
- Living Labs and eParticipation

The journal encourages critical, multi-disciplinary approaches including political science, legal studies, economics, sociology and psychology so as to better understand and support societal and institutional needs, developments and changes.

We look forward to your submission in one of the following categories (maximum length 15 pages excluding references):
* Scientific Research Papers (research in progress or completed) – anonymous peer review;
* Case Studies * anonymous peer review;
* Project Descriptions (focus on practitioners) – editorial review;
* Part IV: Reflections (Literature reviews, comments, discussions, and interviews) – no review.

Important Dates:
Deadline for submission: 21 June 2010
Notification of acceptance: 2 August 2010
Camera-ready paper: 16 August 2010
JeDEM Issue 3 will be online 1 September 2010.

* Submission procedure and format template:
[www.jedem.org]

JeDEM is a peer-reviewed, Open Access journal. All journal content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under the Creative Commons License.

Contact:
Francesco Molinari:
Noella Edelmann:

Noella Edelmann BA, MSc, MAS
Researcher

CeDEM11
Conference for E-democracy, E-participation and E-voting
www.donau-uni.ac.at/cedem

JeDEM
eJournal of eDemocracy and Open Government
www.jedem.org

Digital Government Blog
[digitalgovernment.wordpress.com]

Centre for E-Government
Danube University Krems
Dr.-Karl-Dorrek-Strasse 30
3500 Krems
Austria
Tel.: ++43 2732 893 2303
www.donau-uni.ac.at/egov
Introducing NCDD’s summer intern, Cait Kershner

Posted: May 17th, 2010, 7:31pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce Caitlin Kershner to the NCDD community. Cait will be serving as NCDD’s part-time summer intern, working on our fall events and other projects. We’re very excited to have her!

Cait is a senior at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. She was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (just a short drive from NCDD World Headquarters!), where she will spending her summer. Cait, whose interests include knitting, painting, and serving others, will be turning 21 this month.

Cait is currently studying Psychology but after she graduates hopes to be able to do some work in the nonprofit sector, specifically in human rights.

At Mansfield, Cait is part of the Alpha Sigma Tau sorority, which works with Adopt-a-Highway, Habitat for Humanity, and Pine Mountain Settlement School. She hopes to get involved in the Student Government Association next year, to be able to have a larger influence on campus. She is interested in getting an internship with Student Peace Alliance next summer.

Parking Lot

From the feed

Posted: May 15th, 2010, 12:18am PDT by Chris Corrigan

Enclosure: [download]
Been too busy to read the feed lately, but here’s some stuff:
- Dave Snowdon argues for data over information.
- whiskey river posts a little something that Dave might therefore appreciate.
- WFMU shares some really interesting older progressive music sounds.
And for your further listening pleasure: Steve Mason – All Come Down from Said the Gramaphone…very nice mellow tune.

NCDD News & Perspectives

Deliberative democracy master class and workshop with John Dryzek

Posted: May 14th, 2010, 1:02pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
Susanna Haas-Lyons just shared this with the NCDD Discussion list, and I thought it was worth posting here for those of you in the U.K…

Deliberative Democracy Master-class and Workshop, John Dryzek, 30 June – 2 July 2010

John Dryzek will be leading a one-day master-class in deliberative democracy at the London School of Economics on 30 June 2010. Immediately following the master-class (1 and 2 July) there will be a two-day workshop of presentations on the theme ‘The epistemic potential and empirical realities of deliberative democracy’.

The schedule for the master-class on 30 June is as follows:

Session 1:

Revisiting the foundations of deliberative democracy

This will be based on the first half of his forthcoming OUP book, “Foundations and Frontiers of Deliberative Governance”. The concepts covered include:
- Legitimacy
- Representation
- Communication
- (Meta)Consensus
Session 2:

The deliberative system

This will look at a macro-systemic approach to deliberative democracy. It will discuss Mansbridge, Parkinson, Hendriks, Goodin, and Dryzek’s own recent work on this, with applications to public policy, comparative politics, and international relations.

Participation in the event is free, and is particularly relevant for research students and early career researchers. To register your interest in attending, please email .
Intergroup Dialogue National Institute, June 16-19, 2010

Posted: May 12th, 2010, 11:32am PDT by Andy Fluke
NCDD member Adrienne Dessel has asked us to invite all NCDD members to the Intergroup Dialogue National Institute from June 16-19, 2010 at the Four Points Sheraton hotel in Ann Arbor, Michigan, hosted by the University of Michigan’s Program on Intergroup Relations. The Institute is designed for faculty and staff who are interested in expanding and assessing intergroup dialogue programs already in place or are interested in starting one at their institutions. We hope that you and/or others from your institution or program can participate in the upcoming institute. The goals of the Institute are to:
- Participate in engaging activities commonly used in intergroup dialogue settings
- Explore the overall dialogue framework and The Michigan Model
- Strategize the development and support of academic and co-curricular programs
While we will engage in interactive activities, the purpose of this Institute is to demonstrate the curriculum and structure of intergroup dialogue. Facilitator and “train the trainer” workshops are not included as part of this Institute.

In addition to the Institute, we will be offering a pre-Institute workshop focusing on religion dialogues. This workshop is recommended for campuses considering focusing on this specific dialogue topic area. It is also recommended for those campuses with a religious base and/or campuses that are currently experiencing tension between academia and faith perspectives. The pre-Institute workshop is free to registered Institute participants and will include the following highlights:
- A keynote speaker who will discuss interfaith issues and dialogues
- A panel of diverse, local interfaith leaders engaged in interfaith dialogue
- Exposure to various experiential activities unique to religion dialogues
When you register, you will have the option to register for the pre-Institute workshop as well.

Registration, as well as, housing information can be found at [www.conferences.housing.umich.edu]. More information about the national institute is available at [www.igr.umich.edu].
2010 Fielding Graduate Level Certificate Program Announced

Posted: May 12th, 2010, 11:10am PDT by Andy Fluke

Our friends at Fielding wanted us to make sure NCDD’ers saw the announcement for this year’s Dialogue, Deliberation & Public Engagement certificate program (NCDD members get a 10% discount) running from August 16, 2010 until January 18, 2011.

Fielding Graduate University has announced the seventh year of their award-winning graduate level certificate program in dialogue, deliberation, and public engagement. 2010’s DDPE Certificate Program will be held in partnership with the University of Western Sydney, Australia. This distinctive program strives for the development of mastery through building the skills, knowledge and intuitive sensibility that are needed to make wise choices about how to bring forms of dialogue, deliberation, and engagement into situations where they are most effective.

Designed and delivered in collaboration with The International Institute for Sustained Dialogue, the Kettering Foundation, and the Public Dialogue Consortium, the DDPE program focuses on foundations and innovations in dialogue, deliberation, and public engagement. It features outstanding faculty (Hal Saunders, Barnett Pearce, Phil Stewart, Jan Elliott, Lyn Carson, Keith Melville, John Dedrick and Linda Blong) as well as widely recognized scholars and innovative practitioners who join us as guests in Phone Dialogues. Previous featured guests have included: Carolyn Lukensmeyer, Juanita Brown, Martha McCoy, Bob Stains, Shawn Spano, Rich Harwood, Janette Hartz-Karp, Matt Leighninger, Joseph Peters, and Adam Kahane.

Tuition & Registration:

Tuition is US$ 3,740 if you register by July 16, 2010. NCDD and IAP2 members will receive a 10% discount. A late registration fee of $250 applies to all registrations after July 16th. There are a limited number of sponsorships available for up to $1,300. Selected applicants must be based in the United States and working with a community or organization to build capacity for and through dialogue, deliberation, and public engagement. The application process for these sponsorships closes June 25, 2010. For more information, contact Dr. Katrina Rogers, Fielding Graduate University, (805) 898-2924 or email: .

Information Calls:

You can get more information about the program by joining one of the DDPE’s Teleconferences. The first is May 18 at 5 pm EDT. To register for information calls, contact Amy Boutell at . For a program description and registration visit [www.fielding.edu].
Facilitators needed on June 26 for national town meeting on the economy

Posted: May 12th, 2010, 7:53am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
On June 26, 2010, thousands of Americans across the country will participate in the AmericaSpeaks: Our Budget, Our Economy National Town Meeting, an unprecedented national discussion on finding solutions for the budget and deficit. The National Town Meeting will take place in locations all across the country, connected live via satellite video, webcast and interactive technologies.

The purpose of this national discussion is to find common ground on tough choices about our budget. Throughout the day, Americans across the country will weigh-in on strategies to ensure a sustainable fiscal future and a strong economic recovery. The national discussion will be a chance to demonstrate that the American public can find common ground across demographic, geographic and political divides and that we as a nation can govern ourselves in a new way.

Skilled volunteer table facilitators are crucial to the success of the meeting and the work is varied, challenging, and fun. Facilitators are responsible for drawing out equal participation from their table of ten participants, focusing the group’s conversation, and holding respectful space for differences of opinion and communication styles.

AmericaSpeaks is currently recruiting table facilitators for the following Town Meeting locations:
- Albuquerque, NM
- Augusta, ME
- Casper, WY
- Chicago, IL
- Columbia, SC
- Dallas, TX
- Des Moines, IA
- Detroit, MI
- Grand Forks, ND
- Jackson, MS
- Overland Park, KS
- Louisville, KY
- Missoula, MT
- Philadelphia, PA
- Portland, OR
- Portsmouth, NH
- Redlands, CA
- Richmond, VA
- San Jose, CA
To learn more about the required skills and commitment for facilitators, go to [usabudgetdiscussion.org] to apply.

Bilingual Facilitators Needed: AmericaSpeaks: Our Budget, Our Economy will include a demographically representative sample of participants. In cities with diverse populations, bilingual table facilitators may be needed.

Stipend for volunteer facilitators: Due to the generosity of the project funders, we are able to provide a $100 stipend for facilitators as a thank you and recognition for their contribution.

If you have questions about this facilitation opportunity, email Ruthann Prange at Ruthann Prange at .
Last day to register for Friday’s joint PublicDecisions/NCDD webinar

Posted: May 12th, 2010, 7:04am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

I wanted to remind everyone that today is the last day to register for Friday’s 1pm EST joint PublicDecisions/NCDD webinar titled “Emerging Opportunities and Challenges in Dialogue & Deliberation: What Are the Implications for Practice?” with guests Caroline Lee and Francesca Polletta. Over 80 people have registered so far, and it’s quite an amazing group of people.

Here is the registration link: [www.publicdecisions.com] (don’t worry – the form is super-short!)

Note: you’ll receive an email from PublicDecisions that includes instructions for participating in the webinar. I suggest looking that over and preparing (doing any downloading required, etc.) the day before the webinar if you can. We’ll be using Microsoft Live Meeting.

Full details on the webinar can be found in the original blog post at www.thataway.org/?p=2535.
Coffee Party Mvmt looking for good videos for training moderators

Posted: May 9th, 2010, 8:46am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

I’m sure most of you have heard of the Coffee Party Movement (CPM) by now; launched early this year on Facebook by Annabel Park, it quickly gained over 100,000 fans and initiated hundreds of face-to-face “coffee parties” across the country (fans now exceed 212,000!). A left-leaning alternative to the Tea Party Movement, CPM The Coffee Party Movement is embracing civil discussion and collaboration as a means to impacting public policy.

I had a great conversation with Annabel Park a couple of days ago, and she felt that CPM’s coffee party moderators could really benefit from the expertise in our community of practice. For starters, she wondered if we could help identify some great videos on group facilitation they could encourage their moderators to watch. (In my opinion, any group that is bringing so many people together for civil political discourse – from any side of the political spectrum – deserves our help with process.)

What training videos would you recommend? Videos/films/clips that are freely available for online viewing – or could be made so – are highly preferred!

Knowing the dialogue & deliberation community, you guys will recommend all kinds of resources that are great for new facilitators, and that’s fine (just please include titles, brief descriptions, and links). I’ll compile everything here on the NCDD blog as it comes in (I’ll be sending this request to various listservs, LinkedIn groups, facebook groups, etc.). Let’s show Annabel and other civic pioneers how responsive and generous our community can be!

Learn more about the Coffee Party Movement at www.coffeepartyusa.com or www.facebook.com/coffeeparty?ref=ts if you’re on Facebook. And check out this February post on the CPM site, which talks about how they “want the political process broken down into three steps: 1) open and respectful dialogue, 2) thoughtful and informed deliberation, 3) competent and decisive execution.”
Article on Deliberative Polling published in The Economist

Posted: May 8th, 2010, 1:21pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

NCDD member Jim Fishkin was just featured in an article in The Economist print edition. If you aren’t familiar with Jim yet, he’s Director of the Center for Deliberative Democracy at Stanford and creator of the Deliberative Poll.

The article, titled “Ancient Athens online: Democracy is about discussion, not just voting” can be viewed in full at this link. It begins with a bit of history about the use of random selection for public deliberation…

REFLECTION and representation are not an easy fit. For an individual voter, being well-informed about every twist of public policy is an irrational use of time. But leaving a self-selecting elite of wonks and careerists in charge of policy-making is unappealing. In ancient Athens, which invented both democracy and the dilemma, a machine called a kleroterion picked a random 500 people to make policy from the 50,000-odd polity. The jury excluded women and slaves and the decisions it reached were sometimes dodgy (condemning Socrates was probably a mistake). But the approach is returning in a modern guise, under the label of “deliberative democracy”.

It also included some helpful stats about the impact of deliberative polls in participants’ opinions…

Discussions and briefing often lead to a shift away from populist viewpoints. In a recent poll in Britain support for making party manifesto promises legally binding plunged from 41% to 18%. In recession-hit Michigan a discussion raised support for bigger taxes (from 27% to 45% for income tax, for example). By contrast, support for cuts in corporate taxes rocketed 27 points to 67%: the more people thought about the issue, the more they wanted a better business environment and a lower deficit. But some results are discomfiting (at least for those with this newspaper’s views). A pan-European poll in October 2007 found that support for European Union membership for Turkey and Ukraine fell by a fifth as the discussion progressed. Deliberation counts for something, with a statistically significant shift in opinion on three out of four questions, and the biggest changes coming from those whose gains in knowledge are the greatest.
50-page lit review on citizen participation

Posted: May 7th, 2010, 5:58pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Now HERE’S a resource for you… the 50-page Understanding Participation: A Literature Review covers a wide range of participatory activities that are often viewed in isolation. Download it here.

The review brings together different bodies of literature on participation, including literature on community development, volunteering, public participation, social movements, everyday politics and ethical consumption. It looks at the historical and current drivers of participation, the activities and actors of participation and different theoretical approaches that contribute to a better understanding of participation. It closes with our emerging ‘participation framework’ that we aim to further develop and refine in the subsequent stages of the project.

This literature review forms part of a major national research project called “Pathways through Participation: What creates and sustains active citizenship?” led by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) in partnership with the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR) and Involve. All three UK-based organizations have a history of researching the different forms of participation that will be explored in the project.

(A shout-out to NCDD members Steven Clift and Taylor Willingham, both of whom reached my inbox today with this announcement.)
Save the date: national town meeting on the U.S. economy on June 26

Posted: May 6th, 2010, 12:29pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

AmericaSpeaks: Our Budget, Our Economy is a national discussion to find common ground on tough choices about our federal budget. Americans from across the country will come together to weigh in on strategies to ensure a sustainable fiscal future and a strong economic recovery. As a part of this national discussion, on June 26, 2010, thousands of Americans across the country will participate simultaneously in an unprecedented National Town Meeting. For those who do not live near the large conversations, the dialogue can occur in Community Conversations.

We encourage U.S.-based members of the NCDD community to consider hosting a Community Conversation in your city or town on June 26th.
What is an AmericaSpeaks: Our Budget, Our Economy Community Conversation?
Community Conversations are volunteer-led events, where participants use materials provided by AmericaSpeaks (an NCDD organizational member) to engage in a discussion about our federal budget. Conversations can take place in businesses, schools, libraries, places of worship, community centers, homes, or anywhere else a group chooses to meet. They may be as small as 8 people or as large as several hundred. AmericaSpeaks will provide you with all the materials and information you need to bring the national discussion on Our Budget, Our Economy to your community.

You can volunteer to host a Community Conversation at a public venue (like a library or office) near you or in your home. We’ll provide you with all the materials and information you need to bring the national discussion on Our Budget, Our Economy to your neighborhood. You can create a Community Conversation by filling out the form here:

[org2.democracyinaction.org]

To find out more about the project, www.usabudgetdiscussion.org.

Planblog

Sono come tu mi vuoi (Mina, 1967)

Posted: May 5th, 2010, 10:29pm PDT by Tim

Sono
come tu mi vuoi
e t’amo
come non ho amato mai
Io sono
la sola
che possa
capire
tutto quello che c’è da capire in te.
Forse
se baciassi me
forse
capiresti meglio che
io sono la sola
che tu
possa amare
non lo vedi che sono a due passi
da te.
Non sai quanto bene di un anno
e non sai quanto amore sprecato
aspettando in
silenzio che tu
ti accorgessi di me
per capire
quello che già sai
che io sono
sono come tu mi vuoi
come tu
mi vuoi.
Io
sono
la sola
che tu
possa amare
non lo vedi che sono a due passi
da te.
Non sai quanto bene di un anno
e non sai quanto amore sprecato
aspettando in silenzio che tu
ti accorgessi di me
per capire
quello che già sai
che io sono
sono come tu mi vuoi
come tu mi vuoi
come tu mi vuoi
come tu mi vuoi

NCDD News & Perspectives

Dialogue group facilitators needed at RCP Conf. in June (Dearborn, MI)

Posted: May 5th, 2010, 4:43pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Here’s a timely message from NCDD member Steve Olweean, Director of the Common Bond Institute…

We’re holding the 2nd Annual International Conference on Religion, Conflict, and Peace this June 11-13 at Henry Ford College in Dearborn, Michigan, and offering opportunities for experienced individuals interested in facilitating daily dialogue break-out groups.

As with all of our conferences, this conference is designed to be highly dialogic and interactive in nature, and so the program is primarily made up of workshops, topical panels/roundtables, and facilitated dialogue groups. We schedule 3 dedicated time periods each day in which we run only concurrent dialogue group breakout sessions to provide regular opportunities for processing the material offered in prepared presentations, processing the conference experience in general, and networking to form collaborative relationships.

These 75-90 minute dialogue groups are seen as the engines of the conference that promote action planning and putting principles into practice beyond the conference, and so we ask all presenters and attendees alike to participate in them to make the best use of them. We pair up facilitators with a scribe for each of these groups to assist and note down essentials of the dialogue content, which we then compile with notes from all groups to post on our website. If desired, facilitators also sometimes team up.

For a sample of the program format and content you can view last year’s full program posted at: [www.cbiworld.org]

The conference is also described in more detail at: [www.cbiworld.org]

There may also be a couple of remaining openings for workshops or topical roundtable sessions as well. If you are interested please contact me directly, given the date.

Forms for both Facilitators and Presenters are available to be copied or printed off on-line at:
- Facilitators: [www.cbiworld.org]
- Presenters: [www.cbiworld.org]

All are welcome. If there are any questions feel free to contact me at .
NCDD-PublicDecisions free May 14th webinar: join us!

Posted: May 5th, 2010, 11:59am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Join us for a free webinar titled “Emerging Opportunities and Challenges in Dialogue & Deliberation: What Are the Implications for Practice?” on Friday, May 14 from 1pm to 2:30 Eastern (10am Pacific) with NCDD members Caroline Lee and Francesca Polletta. The webinar is jointly sponsored by the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) and PublicDecisions.

The field of public dialogue and deliberation (D&D) is growing dramatically—so dramatically, in fact, that no one fully knows what the field looks like: who is doing public dialogue and deliberation work, what forms their work is taking, what common challenges they face. This webinar will use the results of a recent survey of dialogue and deliberation practitioners as a jumping off point for a wide-ranging discussion of current and future issues in the public engagement practitioner community.

We’ll discuss results that shed light on topics such as how people get started in D&D practice, the role of gender in deliberation, and how best to measure and market D&D outcomes. In this interactive program, webinar participants will be invited to identify the emerging challenges they see and to share steps they are taking to chart the course of 21st Century public engagement. Come prepared to engage and be engaged!

Caroline Lee and Francesca Polletta, the sociologists who conducted the survey, will join hosts Sandy Heierbacher of NCDD and Beth Offenbacker of PublicDecisions in a highly interactive, dynamic discussion that will delve into tough issues and exciting possibilities.

Register by the end of the day on Wednesday, May 12th at [www.publicdecisions.com] . This webinar uses Microsoft Live Meeting, an online meeting platform. You will click on a unique weblink we send you to view the slides, etc., and you can either plug in a computer headset or call a U.S. telephone line (long distance charges apply, but you can always use Skype) to hear/speak.

I encourage you also to check out the survey results before the webinar at [sites.lafayette.edu].
About Our Speakers
Caroline Lee is an assistant professor of sociology in the Anthropology & Sociology Department at Lafayette College, Easton, PA. She received an M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology at the University of California, San Diego. Her research explores public participation, deliberative democracy, and regional governance. She is currently working on projects on public engagement professionals and the democratic potential of new technologies.

Francesca Polletta is professor of sociology in the School of Social Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. She works in the areas of culture, politics, social movements, and law. She is the author of two award-winning books: Freedom Is an Endless Meeting: Democracy in American Social Movements (2002) and It Was Like a Fever: Storytelling in Protest and Politics (2006). Polletta¹s current research, on public involvement in rebuilding the World Trade Center site after 9/11, is aimed both at assessing contemporary theories of deliberative democracy in the context of a high-stakes development process and tracing how new modes of citizen participation are reshaping traditional structures of urban policy and protest.
About PublicDecisions & NCDD
PublicDecisions is the premiere provider of online, “live” training, professional development events and conferences on stakeholder engagement. Our international registrants include professionals in the planning, transportation and environmental sectors; community health workers and other health professionals; school administrators, librarians and nonprofit/NGO leaders. PublicDecisions programs – such as our PublicForum book talks and webinars – feature state-of-the-art best practices and leading-edge ideas for successfully engaging stakeholders today.

The National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) is an active network of over 1,200 groups and professionals who bring people of all stripes together to discuss, decide and collaborate on today’s toughest issues. Formed in 2002 after the first National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation, NCDD is a U.S.-based organization with international members and affiliations, all of whom are dedicated to expanding the capacity of people with divergent views from all walks of life to engage in honest dialogue and quality deliberation. Through our projects, online forums and events, NCDD connects professional and grassroots practitioners, academic researchers, businesses, government officials, activists, artists, students and technologists drawn from a wide range of sectors and practices.
New Report on Creating Spaces for Change

Posted: May 2nd, 2010, 11:05am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Matt Leighninger, Executive Director of The Deliberative Democracy Consortium (an NCDD organizational member), recently announced the release of his report Creating Spaces for Change: Working Toward a “Story of Now” in Civic Engagement. Creating Spaces for Change draws heavily on the views and experiences of the people who participated in the Kellogg Foundation’s Civic Engagement Learning Year and the conference convened by DDC and The Democracy Imperative called “No Better Time: Promising Opportunities in Deliberative Democracy for Educators and Practitioners.”

Matt encourages those who see opportunities to use the report in ways that will catalyze future discussions and action to improve civic engagement to contact him (click on his name above for contact details). Here is Matt’s announcement…

Over the last two decades, ordinary people have been playing increasingly prominent roles in politics and public life, thanks in part to the work of an unheralded set of leaders. These practitioners of “active civic engagement” are a diverse lot, and their work is inspired by several different philosophies. They are, however, using similar strategies, and their goals and ideas may in fact be converging. Creating Spaces for Change: Working Toward a “Story of Now” in Civic Engagement, a new report from the DDC and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is an attempt to describe these areas of convergence, and the remaining differences, so that the people who advocate, support, or practice civic engagement might better understand one another and decide how to work together more effectively.

Creating Spaces for Change draws heavily on the views and experiences of the people who participated in the Kellogg Foundation’s Civic Engagement Learning Year and the conference convened by DDC and The Democracy Imperative called “No Better Time: Promising Opportunities in Deliberative Democracy for Educators and Practitioners.” The report captures the spirit and substance of the discussions that occurred at those meetings, explains some of the tensions and opportunities facing this emerging field, and provides recommendations for funders and other leaders. It raises up the area of shared interest that both community organizers and deliberative democrats want to prioritize: going beyond mobilization techniques to more structural changes in the ways that communities make decisions and solve problems.

The report can be downloaded on the DDC Resources page at [deliberative-democracy.net]
What D&D programs are addressing the red/blue divide?

Posted: April 29th, 2010, 12:00pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

I got an email the other day from Tamra Pearson d’Estrée from the University of Denver’s Conflict Resolution Institute. Tamra is interested in knowing about programs that address the partisan divide in the U.S. through dialogue, deliberation, and conflict resolution.

I sent her info on a couple of great programs, but I’m curious about what others in the NCDD community know about that I may not be aware of. I’d like to compile a list of programs addressing the red/blue divide (past, present, and developing) so we can easily share it with people like Tamra. If you are involved in such a program or are aware of one, please use the comment field to let us know about it. If you can, please include the project name, a contact person (name and email, at a minimum), a URL for more detail, and a short description.
Conversations that matter…make us feel better?

Posted: April 28th, 2010, 11:12am PDT by Noam Shore

This blog post is by David J. Weinstein, Education and Communications Maven for Idealogue, Inc.

In the post “Talk Deeply, Be Happy?” in The New York Times “Well” blog (3/17/10), Roni Caryn Rabin reports on a study of college students suggesting that people who have deeper conversations more often are happier than those who do not.

It may sound counter-intuitive, but people who spend more of their day having deep discussions and less time engaging in small talk seem to be happier, said Matthias Mehl, a psychologist at the University of Arizona who published a study on the subject.

“We found this so interesting, because it could have gone the other way — it could have been, ‘Don’t worry, be happy’ — as long as you surf on the shallow level of life you’re happy, and if you go into the existential depths you’ll be unhappy,” Dr. Mehl said.

There are important caveats to bear in mind, including the standard reminder that “correlation does not imply causation.” (For a more humorous exploration of that point)

And the definition of a “deeper conversation” might vary.

But the idea is powerful. One might assume that people who “keep it light” and thus do not engage with challenging or distressing topics, and who do not engage in conflicts when in conversation, would be happier. No one gets hurt. No one has to think about sad or depressing things.

Yet maybe there is something hardwired into us as humans – a craving for meaningful connection, perhaps – a need that must be fulfilled for us to be…fulfilled.

For many of us striving to promote and improve dialogues on challenging issues in challenging contexts, our intuitive sense is that this work is important. And there are situations that arise among people, among nations, within businesses, in schools and elsewhere in which we believe smoothing over or ignoring challenging topics and decisions is not an option.

It is interesting to consider that beyond the practical needs to address problems and resolve dilemmas, there is a deep human need to get real and go deep, and ensuing benefit to our well-being. So this study may be another helpful reference when working with individuals and groups that are reluctant to engage in dialogue. Substantive conversations – even, we might extrapolate, on difficult matters – bring happiness!

Might this perspective encourage people to engage in conversations they would otherwise have avoided because they feared discomfort and unhappiness?
Crossing Arizona documenary on immigration worth checking out

Posted: April 26th, 2010, 4:46pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Here’s an interesting resource from Lindsay Dedo, Director of Educational Programming at The Cinema Guild. Sounds like a good film to lead into a timely dialogue on immigration – in the classroom, in libraries, and elsewhere…

This past weekend, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law the “nation’s toughest bill on illegal immigration,” (NY Times, April 23, 2010), which aims to identify and deport illegal immigrants from the state. Highly controversial, the immigration issue has been a hotly-debated topic in Arizona politics in particular over the past few decades. Rarely is this debate more thoroughly examined than in the award-winning film, CROSSING ARIZONA, a critical tool in educating students to all sides of this debate.

CROSSING ARIZONA, Directed by Joseph Mathew & Daniel DeVivo A Sundance festival favorite, Crossing Arizona offers a far-reaching and up-to-the-moment look at the hotly debated issue of illegal immigration as captured at America’s current flashpoint – the Arizona border.

With heightened U.S. security along the California, Texas, and New Mexico borders, each day thousands of migrants attempting to enter the United States are being diverted into the treacherous terrain of Arizona’s brutal desert. The perilous journey, which can take up to four days, has caused a dramatic rise in the number of migrant deaths. Those who make it through – the undocumented immigrants who live and work in the U.S. – invoke a wide range of impassioned responses over human rights, culture, race, class, and national security.

Seen through the eyes of frustrated ranchers, border patrol agents, local politicians, farmers dependent on an illegal work force, seasoned humanitarian activists, desperate migrants preparing for their journey north, and the Minutemen who have become darlings of the national media, this powerful documentary unveils the complicated dilemmas presented by the border crisis and the surprising political stances people take when immigration and border policy fails everyone, on all fronts.

* Selected for the 2007 Best Documentaries list by Video Librarian

“This documentary masterfully portrays the humanitarian, ethical, and legal concerns surrounding Latin American immigrants who illegally enter the United States.. Extraordinarily riveting! Crossing Arizona is highly recommended to all colleges and universities, as it is both timely and possesses wide utility. Those teaching political science, human rights, ethics, or sociology will find the film of particular interest.” – Educational Media Reviews Online

“A winner! An intelligent and perceptive examination of immigration… The film wisely remains objective and very informative while being totally engaging.. It is essential for public libraries in the Southwest and highly recommended for public and academic libraries with collections supporting immigration issues.” – Library Journal

Learn more.
Nominations sought for Bertelsmann Prize in “Vitalizing Democracy”

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 2:00pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

I heard about this through NCDD member Hans Peter-Meister the other day, and then was reminded of it in the DDC’s newsletter…

The search for next Bertelsmann Prize has begun! As one of Europe’s largest charitable foundations, the German Bertelsmann Foundation awards a significant monetary prize every year. In 2011, the prize will celebrate and recognize governmental institutions (departments, administrations, towns, etc.) that have shown innovative democratic leadership by making a strong and lasting contribution to “Vitalizing Democracy through Participation.”

Any participation project begun in the last five years is eligible for the prize. The strongest candidates will be projects that have made a demonstrable impact on a public problem, influenced policy-makers, and succeeded in engaging previously marginalized and disadvantaged members of the community.

Please take this opportunity to nominate a project, and help the Bertelsmann Foundation highlight the responsibility and capacity of governments to support democratic innovation. The nomination form is brief; contact Christina Hanley () for nomination information.
Welcoming March’s new NCDD members

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 2:48pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
13 fabulous new members joined NCDD last month (4 organizational members and 9 individual members), and 11 of our dues-paying members renewed their memberships (2 orgs and 9 individuals).

We post these monthly summaries not only to welcome our new members and to thank those who re-upped, but also to help members connect with one another. Click on anyone’s name below to learn more about them and connect with them.

Our 4 new organizational members are:
1. E-Democracy.org (Contact: Steven Clift)
2. Harrison Associates (Roger Harrison)
3. University of Wisconsin Colleges and University of Wisconsin-Extension (Stephan Gilchrist)
4. California State University at Chico (Michael Briand)
Our 6 new dues-paying individual members are:
1. Paul LeVasseur, Professor at the SIT Graduate Institute
2. Steven Kull, Director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland
3. Anne Dosher, Board Chair at The World Cafe Community Foundation
4. Bonnie Beard, Founder and Executive Trustee of BRAC  (Building Relationships Across Cultures)
5. Amanda Roman, Executive Director of the Citizens in Charge Foundation
6. Vanessa Stevens of Massachusetts
Our 3 new individual NCDD members (non-dues) are:
1. John Cavanaugh at the Cross Cultural Communications, LLC
2. Ben Simon at the University of Maryland
3. Susan Schmidt of the Dallas Peace Center and The Global Peace Project
Last month, 9 NCDDers renewed their memberships – two organizations and 9 individuals.

The 2 organizational members who renewed are:
1. Amherst College Center for Community Engagement (Molly Mead)
2. Center for Voter Deliberation of Northern Virginia (Bill Corbett, Beth Offenbacker and Cindy Brookshire)
And 9 people renewed as dues-paying individual members:
1. Philip Thomas at the Generative Change Community
2. Noam Shore at Idealogue, Inc.
3. Gilda Povolo at Grand Valley State University
4. Julianna Padgett at Southern University’s New Orleans School of Social Work
5. Douglas Crocker of California
6. James Dubinsky at Virginia Tech
7. Wendy Foxmyn, Consultant
8. Linda Mather at Beacon Consulting Associates 9
9. Phil Neisser at the SUNY Potsdam’s Department of Politics
To learn about other NCDD members (there are over 1,240 of us now!), find members in your state or city, etc., visit the NCDD members network at www.thataway.org/ncddnet/.

And to see if your membership is in good standing, search for yourself in the members network and look at what’s in the Member Type field in your profile. If it says “lapsed” or “non-dues-paying,” please consider becoming a current dues-paying member (see payment details here). You can also email office manager Joy Garman at if you have questions about your status, need payment instructions, or want to change the info on your profile page.
Bridging Cultures: An NEH grant opportunity

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 9:06am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) recently launched a new grant initiative called Bridging Cultures. The initiative encourages projects that explore the ways in which cultures from around the globe, as well as the myriad subcultures within America’s borders, have influenced American society. With the aim of revitalizing intellectual and civic life through the humanities, NEH welcomes projects that expand both scholarly and public discussion of diverse countries, peoples, and cultural and intellectual traditions worldwide.

As part of its Bridging Cultures initiative, NEH welcomes proposals to plan and implement a program consisting of a forum and a workshop on one of two humanities themes: “Civility and Democracy” or “The Muslim World and the Humanities.”

Proposals are due June 1, 2010, and projects begin in August 2010. Each successful applicant for a Bridging Cultures Forum and Workshop program will be awarded a grant ranging from $100,000 to $250,000 in outright or matching funds, depending on the applicant’s preference and the availability of NEH funds. The grant period may last as long as eighteen months.

Following completion of the forums and workshops, NEH plans to offer implementation grants, through a subsequent competition, to produce regional or nationwide public programs on Bridging Cultures themes. NEH anticipates funding one or more of these implementation grants for sums commensurate with the needs of a regional or national project. Awardees in the current competition, as well as other 501(c)(3) organizations or state and local governmental agencies will be eligible to enter the subsequent competition for implementation support.

More details can be found at www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/BridgingCultures.html.
NCDD’s 2010 Events…

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 7:15am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

As many of you know, since 2002 NCDD has been holding biennial national conferences on the even years. We wanted to formally announce that in 2010, rather than holding a single National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation, we are in the process of mobilizing our members to organize a number of smaller one-day NCDD events.

We are looking into holding events in fall 2010 in the locations we feel best equipped to mobilize our members: Austin, San Francisco, Washington DC and Denver, where we’ve held past NCDD conferences, as well as cities like Boston and Portland where dialogue and deliberation are thriving.

We feel that holding regional, largely self-organized events in 2010 has the potential to move NCDD and the field forward in vital ways. We hope the events will position members of the D&D community to successfully navigate new opportunities that are emerging in open government and online engagement so they can make a greater impact in their communities. (Learn more about our concept for the 2010 events.)

At this point, we are looking for dedicated people to help move things forward in most of the locations mentioned above. Our first priorities are (1) to find and secure affordable venues so we can set the dates and (2) to start identifying partners and co-sponsors who share our goals. Please contact me (Sandy Heierbacher, NCDD’s Director) at if you are interested in getting involved.
Identifying experts in keypad technology

Posted: April 11th, 2010, 5:06pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

On Friday, I emailed NCDD’s main listserv to see who in the community has expertise in keypad technology. Keypads are audience response devices that look like little calculators (learn more here), and once in a while I get requests from people looking for keypad facilitators or trainers. David Campt and Chris Bui are two skilled keypad experts I know personally, but I wanted to have a longer list at the ready.

I received a variety of great responses and recommendations for experts in keypad technology – and in using cell phones as an alternative to keypads. I thought I’d share the responses here so we all have access to this list for future reference.
Some Experts in Audience Response Technology…
David Campt, www.davidcampt.com

Chris Bui, 5TH Medium I.C. (Interactive Communications)

John D. Godec, Godec, Randall & Associates Inc.

John wrote: “I have a partner, Theresa Gunn, with whom I do a lot of this kind of technology supported decision-support work – we’ve been using this technology for about 15 years and it’s exceptionally effective when sessions are facilitated well. Thanks.”

Matthew Freeman

David Campt wrote:”One person who I know has a lot of skills with keypads is Matthew Freeman.” Matthew then wrote: “Audience response keypads are indeed a wonderful tool, if used well, for dialogue facilitation, deliberation, and group decision-making. David Campt and I have written an IJP2 article about their use in dialogue: Talk Through the Hand: Using audience response keypads to augment the facilitation of small group dialogue. Thanks to David for mentioning me- I live & work in Richmond, VA and use keypads almost every week in my facilitation! Happy to talk to anyone who’s interested!

Padgett Communications

Bill McGowan wrote: “We’ve had great success with Padgett Communications. Contact would be Tim Alcott unless Tim can give you someone else.” Padgett Communications can be found online at www.pcipro.com.

Ron Thomas

Ron shared this about his work: “I have been using the technology since the early 90s as the planner, manager and facilitator for keypad supported technology and bring in the most appropriate hardware provider for the venue. Attached is our case study of the community based process using keypad in Kentucky where this historic corridor was planned, design, and constructed in 6 years with the community and state DOT that had been in court on the subject for 25 years. (Email Ron for a copy of this excellent report!) We also had an in-house system at NIPC during my directorship there. It’s a part of my current consulting practice including planning and directing three AmericaSpeaks scale forums in the last two years.”

AmericaSpeaks

Janet Fiero wrote: Please consider AmericaSpeaks when you are planning events where you want to use keypads. A number of our staff and associates are trained on conducting keypad polling sessions. In fact, I have 10 keypads on my desk and am determined to learn how to run them personally. WE can also rent you the keypads if you can operate the system yourself. Please add us to your list as a source of keypad experts. Susanna Haas Lyons also mentioned that she runs keypads as part of the AmericaSpeaks team. AmericaSpeaks website is americaspeaks.org.

Turning Point

Recommended by Janet Fiero. Turning Technologies offers the TurningPoint audience response system.

Mike Smith at One Counts

Recommended by Janet Fiero. Add a comment if you have a link for One Counts! I couldn’t find it online.

In addition, Janet wrote: “There are a number of wonderful experiments and new methods being developed every day with everyday polling on the web and cell phone. My only caveat about polling is that without meaningful deliberation the results of the polling are not as credible. See Yankelovich’s classic: Coming to Public Judgment: Making Democracy Work in a Complex World.”

–

Additional suggestions? Please add a comment to this post!
New Blog by Miki Kashtan

Posted: April 10th, 2010, 7:05pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

As Einstein famously asserted, today’s toughest issues cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them. Since 1996, NCDD member Miki Kashtan has dedicated her formidable experience, skill, insight and passion into honing and sharing the use of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as a guiding compass to be able to fully live and look at life through a different lens than the one which created our world as it is. A different thinking, consciousness, paradigm to think about and reflect on our inner life, relationships, and the larger issues of our society and the world at large.

Now you can have access to Miki’s unique wisdom on her new blog, The Fearless Heart. On the blog, Miki is already sharing her inspiring thinking, astute self-inquiry, and real life examples of applying a consciousness of collaboration and dialogue based on compassion for our shared humanity. Miki hopes that reading it will richly contribute to a sense of meaning, purpose, and power in your own lives, and provide inspiration for bringing this consciousness to projects for social change. Visit Miki’s blog at [baynvc.blogspot.com].

Miki leads workshops and intensive retreats in Nonviolent Communication and offers mediation, meeting facilitation, coaching, and training for organizations throughout the U.S. and in Japan, Europe, Brazil, and Africa. She supports the US Department of Peace campaign; Facilitated the 3rd Summit of the Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace in Japan (2007), and the 1st Summit of the African Alliance for Peace, a regional segment of the global group (2008). Miki also hosts a TV show – the Conflict Hotline, avilable at www.youtube.com/baynvc. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from UC Berkeley and her articles have appeared in Tikkun magazine, Communities magazine, and Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice.
Federal Agencies and Depts Release Open Gov Plans

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 1:45pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

I wanted to share an important press release I received today from Chelsea Kammerer of the White House Office of Public Engagement. Many U.S. departments and agencies released their Open Government Plans today. Here’s how Norm Eisen, Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform, describes this milestone on the White House blog:

For too many years, Washington has resisted the oversight of the American public, resulting in difficulties in finding information, taxpayer dollars disappearing without a trace, and lobbyists wielding undue influence. For Americans, business as usual in Washington has reinforced the belief that the government benefits the special interests and the well connected at the expense of the American people.

No more. Since coming to office, the President has launched a series of initiatives to let the sunshine in, including posting White House visitor records, disclosing lobbyist contacts regarding stimulus funds, and launching data.gov and recovery.gov. That’s why independent groups recently gave the Administration an A grade for transparency.

Please help spread the word about this development on your blogs, websites, facebook groups, etc. This is big news for our country, but since this story doesn’t “bleed” it may not get the press coverage it deserves!

Here is the press release…

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7, 2010
Obama Administration Marks Major Open Government Milestone
All Cabinet agencies release open government plans and highlight
flagship initiatives on transparency, participation, collaboration

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, President Obama hailed the release of open government plans by all Cabinet agencies – the latest milestone in his Administration’s unprecedented efforts to erase the long-standing barriers between the American people and the government. These plans are the agencies’ strategic roadmap for making transparency, citizen participation, and collaboration part of the way they work.

“For too long, Washington has closed itself off from the oversight of the American public, resulting in information that’s difficult to find, taxpayer dollars that disappear without a trace, and lobbyists that wield undue influence,” said President Obama. “That’s why my Administration is taking concrete steps to build a government that’s more transparent, open and accountable. And now that these plans are published online, we hope the American people will play their part and collaborate with us to provide oversight and improve upon this information. Together, we won’t just build a more efficient and effective government, but a stronger democracy as well.”

The plans released Wednesday make agency operations and data more transparent, while creating new ways for citizens to have an active voice in their government. In addition, each agency has identified at least one “flagship initiative” – a signature open government innovation in the agency. Examples include:

·         Department of Health and Human Services’ Community Health Data Initiative: This initiative will publish online a large-scale Community Health Data Set — a wealth of easily accessible, downloadable information data on community health care costs, quality, access, and public health. HHS will work with outside experts and citizens to take advantage of the new data to raise awareness of community health performance and spark improvements.

·         Department of Energy’s Open Energy Information Initiative: DOE has launched Open Energy Information (OpenEI.org), a new open-source web platform that opens DOE resources and data to the public. The free, editable, and evolving wiki-platform will help to deploy clean energy technologies across the country and the world. OpenEI.org also will provide technical resources, including U.S. lab tools, which can be used by developing countries as they move toward clean energy deployment.

·         Department of Veterans Affairs Innovation Initiative: The VA Innovation Initiative (VAi2) will invite VA employees, private sector entrepreneurs, and academic leaders to contribute the best ideas for innovations to increase Veteran access to VA services, reduce or control costs of delivering those services, enhance the performance of VA operations, and improve the quality of service Veterans and their families receive. The VA Innovation Initiative will identify, prioritize, fund, test, and deploy the most promising solutions to the VA’s most important challenges.

·         Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Homelessness Prevention Resources Initiative: Many agencies and organizations struggle with the task of capturing information about the homeless. Even more difficult is the task of predicting when and where homelessness will strike. HUD believes that homelessness can be averted by combining information from multiple agencies and using the data to identify communities that may be at a tipping point towards increased homelessness. HUD will work to develop a set of tools and processes to help predict at-risk communities, allowing the Department to take proactive steps to combat it.

The White House website tracks the progress of those agencies required to meet the open government milestones. Independent agencies are not mandated to participate, though many, like the Peace Corps and the Corporation for National and Community Service, have taken on the challenge to open their practices to greater transparency and public participation.

In addition to the Open Government Plans, the Administration is releasing new policy guidance involving the use of social media and the Paperwork Reduction Act, improving transparency in the rulemaking process, and setting the process by which the government will collect and publish, for the first time ever, subaward data for all federal grants and contracts. This last piece is in line with the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, which then-Senator Obama coauthored in 2006 with Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.

Background on the White House Open Government Initiative

The Administration’s open-government efforts began on the President’s first full day in office, when he signed a presidential memorandum that established transparency, participation, and collaboration as the hallmarks of a more efficient, accountable government. That same memorandum directed the Federal Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to issue recommendations for creating a more transparent, participatory, and collaborative government.

To that end, the White House Open Government Initiative and the CTO partnered with the American people to solicit expertise from outside of Washington. The three-phase public consultation involved thousands of Americans commenting on and shaping policy approaches that were incorporated in the December 2009 Open Government Directive. The Administration released an Open Government Progress Report to coincide with the Directive, outlining the steps that the federal government has implemented to break down those barriers to public participation and agency transparency.

###

Agency plans can be found here: [www.whitehouse.gov].

Chelsea Kammerer
The White House
Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Office of Public Engagement
Developing a Pattern Language of Group Process

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 5:58pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

I asked NCDD member Tree Bressen to write a post for the blog about an exciting project you may want to know about: the Pattern Language of Group Process project….

“For more than a year now a small group of folks have been hard at work developing a Pattern Language of Group Process. The people involved come from a variety of backgrounds including theory and practice, the academy and the street, and bring experiences from diverse sectors including technology, political activism, education, communal living, financial services and other private corporations, nonprofits, and more.

A Pattern Language is an attempt to express the deeper wisdom of what brings aliveness within a particular field of human endeavor, through a set of interconnected expressions arising from that wisdom. Aliveness is one placeholder term for “the quality that has no name”: a sense of wholeness, spirit, or grace, that while of varying form, is precise and empirically verifiable. The term was originally coined by architect Christopher Alexander, who, together with five colleagues, published A Pattern Language for building in 1977. Others have since applied the term to economics, software design, liberatory communication, and other fields.

This particular pattern language focuses on face-to-face group sessions with a dialogic or deliberative intent. While there are already a few existing resources that address general theory or values underlying facilitation, and many resources available that teach particular methods or techniques, the pattern language homes in on a level between those, the level of design principles. If the project is successful, it will be helping people to think well about design, to recognize the common patterns underlying many successful methods, and to act improvisationally to evolve (in advance or in the moment!) group sessions that both fulfill the purpose for which they were convened and leave participants feeling more alive than when they walked in.

While some of the people involved with this make a living as paid facilitators, we believe that facilitation and hosting are too important to be left to professionals. We aim at a democratization and sharing of the depth of these skills, so that people are empowered to become co-creators of their own process rather than passive consumers of expert process.

The project is being developed primarily online at [grouppatternlanguage.org], supplemented by occasional conference calls and in-person meetings (on the U.S. west coast so far). There are live meetings coming up in Bowen Island (BC), Seattle, and Berkeley, and newcomers are invited to get involved!

–

Tree Bressen has been a community-based facilitator for more than a decade, working on a gift economy basis with groups she can reach in one day’s train travel from Eugene, Oregon.
Four job openings at Kearns & West firm (Portland and D.C.)

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 5:11pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
NCDD organizational member Kearns & West, a strategic collaboration and communications firm specializing in water, energy, natural resources and environmental facilitation/mediation, collaboration and public involvement, seeks additional facilitators, mediators, and public involvement specialists in their Portland, Oregon and Washington, DC offices. They may also be looking to hire in their San Francisco office in the near term. Resumes from interested senior mediators and public involvement specialists should be submitted to (no faxes or phone calls please). Resumes will be accepted until the positions are filled.

The four positions are:
1. Project Coordinator Opportunity in Washington DC
2. Public Involvement Specialist Opportunity in Portland, Oregon
3. Senior Associate/Facilitator Opportunity in Washington DC
4. Senior Mediator/Facilitator Opportunity in Portland, Oregon
Project Coordinator Opportunity in Washington DC
Kearns & West’s Washington DC Office seeks a Project Coordinator for immediate hire. Kearns & West is a strategic collaboration and communications firm with offices in Sacramento, CA, San Francisco, CA, Portland, OR and Washington DC. The Project Coordinator will serve as part of a team and assist with management of collaborative and public involvement processes involving stakeholders from state and federal agencies, tribes, environmental organizations, industry, and local interests.

Job duties include meeting coordination and logistics, meeting attendance and note taking, database management, client and stakeholder relations, administrative duties, and more. This position requires initiative, excellent organizational skills and attention to detail, strong written and oral communication skills, and the ability to work in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment. Applicant must demonstrate strong computer skills with proficiency in Microsoft Office.

Successful candidate will have a bachelor’s degree and a background/interest in natural resource management, renewable energy/transmission, environmental/public policy issues, public involvement, collaboration and mediation. One – two years of experience is preferred. We are looking for a self-starter who can work well independently and as part of a team. Ability to successfully manage multiple projects simultaneously is a must. Some travel is required.

Public Involvement Specialist Opportunity in Portland, Oregon
Kearns & West, a strategic collaboration and communications firm specializing in water, energy, natural resources and environmental facilitation/mediation, collaboration and public involvement, seeks a seasoned public involvement expert to join our firm’s Portland, Oregon office. Kearns & West also has offices in San Francisco, CA, Sacramento, CA and Washington, DC.

The Public Involvement Specialist will serve as part of a team and will bring a complementary client base and experience in public involvement programs.

Criteria for Successful Candidate
·         Experienced, effective public involvement expert with a reputation for integrity, fairness, and achieving results.
·         Minimum five to eight years of relevant experience in public involvement, public outreach, collaborative processes, and facilitation.
·         Client base that complements and expands K&W’s existing practice areas in natural resources, water resource management, and energy projects, and that would benefit from joining the K&W team.
·         A proven ability to develop business.
·         Portland, Oregon location/Western U.S. practice areas.
·         Proven ability to design and manage public involvement projects.
·         Proven ability to provide clients with strategic counsel on public involvement/collaboration and environmental/natural resource regulatory processes (NEPA, ESA, FPA/ECPA, Wild and Scenic Rivers, etc.)
·         A style that fits with the Kearns & West positive team culture, both within the firm and with the stakeholder teams we work with.

Sr. Associate/Facilitator Opportunity in Washington DC
Kearns & West’s Washington DC office seeks a Senior Associate/Facilitator for immediate hire. Kearns & West is a strategic collaboration and communications firm with offices also in Sacramento, CA, San Francisco, CA and Portland, OR.

The Senior Associate/Facilitator will serve as part of a team and will assist with managing and facilitating collaborative processes involving stakeholders from state and federal natural resource and regulatory agencies, tribes, environmental organizations, industry, and local interests. The individual will assist with client relations and development of status reports to clients, will conduct short- and long-term strategic planning to anticipate client issues and address them via current or potential new programs, and will provide status reports to the project lead or principal on progress towards client goals. The individual will also support the firm’s business development for these types of projects.

Criteria for Successful Candidate
·         Demonstrated subject matter knowledge in areas related to projects (collaborative processes, renewable energy, water, natural resources, etc.)
·         Demonstrated communications skills including clear, effective writing/editing and speaking capabilities.
·         Experience developing and executing client programs according to project scope; implementing project work as appropriate (facilitating, training, materials development, reporting, strategy memos, etc.)
·         Experience in researching, developing, and writing new idea proposals including project budgets.
·         Experience supporting business development, including indentifying, setting up and participating in business development meetings and presentations.

Senior Mediator/Facilitator Opportunity in Portland, Oregon
Kearns & West, a strategic collaboration and communications firm specializing in water, energy, natural resources and environmental facilitation/mediation, collaboration and public involvement, seeks a seasoned mediator/facilitator with complementary clients to join our firm’s Portland, Oregon office. Kearns & West also has offices in San Francisco, CA, Sacramento, CA and Washington, DC.

The Senior Mediator/Facilitator will serve as part of a team and will have an existing and complementary client base and experience managing and facilitating collaborative processes involving stakeholders from state and federal natural resource and regulatory agencies, tribes, environmental organizations, industry and local interests.

Criteria for Successful Candidate
·         Experienced, effective mediator/facilitator with a reputation for integrity, fairness, and achieving results.
·         Minimum 10 years of relevant experience in facilitation, mediation, dispute resolution and collaborative processes.
·         Proven ability to design and lead collaborative processes with senior-level stakeholders.
·         Client base that complements and expands K&W’s existing practice areas in natural resources, water resource management and energy projects.
·         A proven ability to develop business and an interest in proactively developing new business.
·         Ability to practice in Portland, Oregon location/Western U.S. practice area.
·         Proven ability to manage a team of professionals assigned to collaboration/mediation projects.
·         Proven ability to analyze and explain complex environmental issues and regulations.
·         A style that fits with the Kearns & West positive team culture, both within the Firm and with the stakeholder teams we work with. Is confident, pro-active, energetic, flexible, and a team player.
·         Professional experience in some of the following areas: natural resources, environment, water or energy and public policy. A master’s degree or legal background would be a plus.
·         Interested in the professional development of others on staff and in building the firm’s capabilities.

About Kearns & West
·         Kearns & West, established in 1984, is a strategic collaboration and communications firm specializing in water, energy, natural resources, and environmental mediation, collaboration and public involvement, and communications.
·         Subject matter experts in a number of areas including energy/renewable energy, water, marine resources, and other natural resources/land management areas.
·         Collaborative process experts with demonstrated results in large, multi-party, multi-year decision making and dispute resolution, including national policy negotiations, rulemakings, and on-the-ground negotiations.
·         Experienced professionals with a team of more than 30 mediators/facilitators, public involvement and communications specialists with backgrounds in government, engineering, law, communications and environmental sciences.
·         Collegial, energetic, team-spirited culture – supporting mediators/facilitators with teams experienced in meeting management, process management and consensus management.
·         Superior support systems: process management, marketing, billing, training, HR and benefits managements.
·         Excellent benefits: profit-sharing, 401K, bonuses, health, dental, short- and long-term disability insurance, vacation, and more.
Three Great OpenGov/Participation Events in DC

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 8:55am PDT by Lucas Cioffi

As federal agencies near the April 7th deadline to release their implementation plans, there’s no shortage of energy surrounding the Open Government Directive.

There are two great events in DC that you won’t want to miss if you’re within driving distance: ParticipationCamp on April 17th and 18, and the half-day April Open Government Directive Workshop on April 28th. Both events are using the Open Space method. You’ll also see information below about a significant discount to the Politics Online Conference on April 19-20th.

ParticipationCamp and a Discount to the Politics Online Conference

The purpose of ParticipationCamp is to advance the conversation about open government so that it begins to evolve past data transparency and dive deeper into the various forms of in-person and online participation. It’s critical for our field to be a part of the conversation about open government; there is time to shape the foundation while the concrete is still drying.

No one makes money from ParticipationCamp– the registration fee of $20 merely covers expenses. It’s amazing that unconferences such as these self-organize in the first place. Wayne Burke of the Open Forum Foundation has taken the lead this year in putting it together. ParticipationCamp was renamed from eDemocracyCamp which NCDD member Tim Bonnemann started in 2007.

If you sign up by April 5th, you’ll be able to purchase a ticket for the Politics Online Conference at the significantly discounted rate of $150 (regular price is $595; discount details are automatically emailed to you after you register by the 5th; with those instructions, you’ll need to register for Politics Online by 5pm on April 6th with that discount code). I’ve attended the Politics Online Conference for the last three years and I’m always impressed at pace of innovation in politics. This conference is tech-heavy, so if you’re not into tech and want to be, this is a great way to jump in.

April Open Government Directive Workshop

I am one of the co-organizers of the monthly Open Government Directive Workshop Series. The November workshop and January workshop with the Department of Transportation were facilitated by NCDD member Kaliya Hamlin and the February workshop with the General Services Administration was facilitated by NCDD member Alexander Moll.

For April through November, we are transitioning to half-day workshops to make it easier for higher ranking officials to attend without missing too much work. This senior-level buy-in is critical to achieving the cultural shift that is required to change business processes.

We are using a hybrid online/offline model to make the best use of everyone’s time. The main event is the open space dialogues on April 28th. We’ll use discussion forums prior to the in-person workshop to get a head start on the conversation. We’ll use the wiki at the OpenGov Playbook to publish and refine the notes after the workshop.

Of course it’s critical to start with a blank agenda wall for open space, so discussions that were already started online do not necessarily have to be chosen as sessions during the workshop. To encourage federal employees to take the lead vis a vis contractors, we’re giving them the responsibility of choosing all sessions and creating the agenda. Topping out at about 135 participants, the workshop will have an equal number of participants from the public and private sectors.

Of course, it’s ideal to devote far more than a half-day to open space, but we can compensate for this weak point in the design with increased frequency and continuing to hold these workshops on a monthly basis. If you have any suggestions for improving the process, please let us know in the comments section.

Here is a link to register for the April workshop. We hope to see you there!

Parking Lot

From the feed

Posted: April 2nd, 2010, 9:49am PDT by Chris Corrigan
Good Friday.
- Geoff Brown on doing great things by working with authentic story and having a ball too.

NCDD News & Perspectives

Kellogg Foundation job opening for Program Officer for Civic Engagement

Posted: April 1st, 2010, 1:43pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

The Kellogg Foundation has a great job opening right now, for Program Officer for its Civic Engagement team (download the full job description here), and I was asked to share the job announcement with the dialogue & deliberation community…

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, one of the nation’s largest philanthropic organizations, is seeking a Program Officer for its Civic Engagement (CE) team, based in Battle Creek, Michigan. This is an opportunity to join the W.K. Kellogg Foundation at a time of renewed strength and recommitment to its core mission: improving the lives of vulnerable children. To fulfill this critical mission, a focus on Civic Engagement is essential, and this approach, along with Racial Equity, lies at the heart of Foundation’s historical value system and defines its unique contribution to the future of vulnerable children in American communities. The Program Officer for Civic Engagement will report directly to the Vice President for Programs and will participate fully in the team’s objective to use CE to strengthen and create conditions that propel children to achieve success.

The Program Officer will provide leadership and oversight for on-the-ground execution of programmatic efforts that build public will; invest in new pipelines of leadership; foster public philanthropy and new models; and leverage new collaborations and partnerships for increased impact. S/he will screen and recommend grants for funding; conduct site visits; and manage and monitor a portfolio of grant programs aligned with the Foundation’s new Strategic framework, and collaborate with the other Foundation programs to develop a more interdisciplinary approach to grant-making. The Program Officer will maintain strong, authentic relationships with grant seekers and grantees, and act as a spokesperson for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, effectively communicating the Foundation’s goal of working with communities to improve the lives of their children.

The ideal candidate for this position will possess a master’s degree in a field relevant to the Civic Engagement approach and will have significant work experience in related fields, with strong networks and contacts, as well as a broad, generalist background with a deep and comprehensive understanding of program design and development, systems, networking, model development, and community change. S/he will have experience in public engagement dialogue and leadership development background, across all sectors, and a deep understanding of the community engagement field, organizations and systems. The ideal candidate needs to be an analytical thinker and possess an ability to assume leadership and management of a large body of work. In addition, s/he must excel in building teams internally and externally and motivating diverse players and partners.
Previewing Agencies’ Open Government Plans (by Lucas Cioffi)

Posted: March 30th, 2010, 6:42pm PDT by Lucas Cioffi

In accordance with the White House’s Open Government Directive, top-level agencies will post their open government plans on April 7th. Several agencies gave a public preview of their plans on Monday at the White House Conference Center, and I had the opportunity to represent NCDD at this meeting.

The bottom line is that I was highly impressed with how much effort has been put into these plans behind the scenes; there is a tremendous amount of buy-in from senior officials at these agencies. The biggest challenge– and a significant concern of mine– is that agencies will have to find ways to implement their plans without additional funding or resources. It won’t be easy, but it can be done.

Other organizations in attendance included the Sunlight Foundation, OMB Watch, the Project on Government Oversight, AmericaSpeaks, TechAmerica, and the MIT Media Lab.

I’ll focus this blog post on process more than content, because that may be most useful to fellow NCDD members. The day was set up with 30 minutes per agency in the following order: Office of Management and Budget, Department of the Treasury, Department of Transportation, Council on Environmental Quality, Corporation for National and Community Service, National Archives and Records Administration, Department of Labor, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

One critique of the process was that 30 minutes was too short a window for agencies to present their entire plans. Posting the draft plans online prior to the meeting would have saved much more time for discussion.

It was also fascinating to see some agencies take a more broadcast approach to blasting out as much information as possible while HUD took a much more participatory approach and used almost their entire 30 minutes for discussion.

Commonalities among Agencies

Everyone emphasized that their open government plan is version 1.0, that they “won’t get it absolutely right the first time,” and that they will continually be improving their plans. Some agencies will be briefing the heads of their agencies on a quarterly basis with updates.

It’s truly wonderful that they are taking an iterative approach to developing these plans. Perhaps it’s because the Open Government Directive places a heavy emphasis on technology, that they are borrowing this concept from the software development world. I don’t know, but it seems to me that this iterative mentality is the exception rather than the rule in government.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

OMB describes themselves as one of the main engines behind open government implementation. They convene 40+ senior officials from many agencies for the bi-weekly Administration Open Government Working Group Meeting.

OMB has the equivalent of less than 400 full-time employees. They are focused on inter-agency collaboration, especially from September-February when they draft the President’s budget. They emphasized that they use deliberation to draft the budget and that the details of their deliberative methods will be disclosed in their plan. This will be of particular interest to NCDD.

There was a great deal of information in OMB’s 30-minute brief. They are looking for better feedback mechanisms. ”Absorbing the nation’s views on the budget” is too difficult. One member of the audience mentioned that they could convene in-person meetings with representative samples of the public and OMB seemed receptive.

All agencies are completing an inventory of their high-value databases so they know what information they have on hand and then can consider making it public. OMB’s flagship initiative will be it’s dashboard for the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs which displays the status of regulatory actions under review from other agencies. There will be an increased focus on e-rulemaking (receiving comments from the public on proposed rules) and “following the arc of a regulation’s progress” through as it progresses from a draft to a final version.

I am particularly excited to see the outline of their internal process for budget deliberations. Process determines product, so NCDD might be able to advise improvements to the deliberative process and thereby creating a better product. Yes, but budgets are often more important than policies, because budgets reveal priorities and directly influence what work gets done in government.

Department of the Treasury

Treasury gave a solid presentation. The key take-away for me is that they are reframing discussion about “culture change” within their organization to a discussion about just “culture”. Because many people resist change, they might find much more success focusing on their objective of a collaborative culture than their method of culture change. I look forward to seeing how it goes.

Department of Transportation (DOT)

The DOT had the best models for explaining open government implementation. Their slides were impressive, very concise, and extremely clear. These visualizations of how to align open gov implementation with strategic plans should be seen by all agencies; aligning with the strategic plan will ensure success and DOT definitely drove that point home.

In particular, they had a model for how “foundational activity, low numbers of dependencies, DOT employee demand, public demand, and capability and readiness” are the filters which reveal what is possible within their agency with respect to open government. I’m hoping that their models will also be released to the public– many other agencies need to see what they’ve built.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

HUD will be taking the smart approach that any documents the public requests more than once should be made public immediately. This can dramatically reduce the backlog of requests for information in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

The HHS team finished the day, and saying that I was significantly impressed is an understatement. Their team was so enthusiastic that they didn’t even realize they took 60 minutes when only 30 was allocated. Their brief was already starting 45 minutes late because all the other presentations ran late. Even though they started their presentation after 5pm, they were motivated and inspired, and listening to them was like listening to an open government highlight reel of best practices. I kept thinking to myself that there’s no way that anyone could have predicted how dramatic a change open government could be when the Directive was first issued in January 2009. HHS took the ball and ran it all the way down the field.

Not only did they incorporate a great deal of suggestions that the audience gave the other agencies (note: they weren’t even present when the other agencies received feedback), they surpassed those suggestions. Most importantly, they understand that they must balance privacy with openness, especially given the current political climate surrounding health care. They acknowledge that if they make a mistake and do not successfully anonymize health data when they release it in the name of transparency, it would set the open government movement back “10-20 years”. They are right to be extremely cautious and their plan to err on the side of caution is sound. They demonstrated how opening up anonymous health data has the potential to significantly increase competition and transform the health care industry. This will take months and years, but it will be remarkable and certainly needs to happen.

I’m confident that if anyone can move the needle of an agency’s culture toward smart openness, it’s the HHS and DOT open government teams. Leadership from OMB and OSTP is very solid. Five stars out of five. I’m excited to see their final plans on April 7th.
GlobalPulse 2010 starts Sunday

Posted: March 26th, 2010, 9:07am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

On Sunday, March 29th the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is launching a 3-day online brainstorming discussion – GlobalPulse 2010 – to bring together socially-engaged participants and organizations throughout the world to discuss critical global issues. I hope to see some NCDDers participating!

USAID has partnered with the U.S. Departments of State, Commerce, Education, and Health and Human Services to design and implement the event

Global Pulse 2010 is part of President Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world as a result of his speech in Cairo last year.

You can participate and collaborate on 10 critical issues facing the global community in the fields such as science, technology, entrepreneurship and human development.

The goal is to connect, engage and enable collaboration among thousands of participants across the globe on today’s critical global issues. The results will be used to help inform US foreign assistance and diplomatic strategies based on the key themes that emerge.

How will the event work? Each of the 10 designated issues will be led by moderators — recognized thought leaders and subject matter experts in the related field of interest — who will guide the conversation by posting comments and replies in their assigned forums. These moderators will encourage participation, help to develop deeper thinking, and offer insight into the topic at hand.

To register, visit [https:]

To learn more, please visit the Global Pulse 2010 homepage at www.GlobalPulse2010.gov

If you are having any issues registering or would like additional information, please email the Global Pulse 2010 Team at

Stay up to date on key event activities by joining GlobalPulse 2010 on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.

–

Note: John Kamensky, Senior Fellow and Associate Partner at the IBM Center for The Business of Government, thought some NCDDers might be interested in an opportunity to participate in a unique global dialogue that is part of Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world as a result of his Cairo speech last year. Feel free to share this announcement with your own networks!
Featured Member: John Spady and the Countywide Community Forums

Posted: March 24th, 2010, 6:10am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
Today is our first in a series of NCDD “Featured Member Days.” All day, we will be using our social media tools (our blog, our listservs, our facebook group, our twitter feed, our linkedin group, etc.) to introduce as many people as possible to an extraordinary NCDD member. Today we’re featuring John Spady and the Countywide Community Forums.

Feel free to add a comment here or respond to a post you see on the listserv or in our social media groups! John will be responding to any questions or comments you ask him today.

John is the Executive Vice-President and Director of Research for the Forum Foundation in Seattle, and he’s been an active and supportive member of NCDD since the beginning. John’s story intersects considerably with that of his father’s. John’s father, Dick Spady, is the owner of 5 iconic Dick’s Drive-In restaurants in Seattle, and he has been a strong proponent of quality dialogue and citizen engagement for decades.

Last year, at the age of 83, John’s father submitted Initiative 24 — not to the voters of the State of Washington, but instead to King County, home to the largest city in the state: Seattle. After over 80,000 valid signatures were collected, King County (Seattle area) Councilmembers decided to directly enact Initiative 24, which created the Citizen Councilor Network. The Citizen Councilor Network’s first project is called the Countywide Community Forums, which are designed “to enhance citizen participation, civic engagement, and citizenship education in government through a network of periodic public forums….”

With the backing of his family, Dick Spady pledged that his private business, Dick’s Drive-In Restaurants, would underwrite the cost for the first two years of the Countywide Community Forums. This included the cost of the county employee in the Auditor’s Office, and all the costs associated with production, distribution, and website creation: a stated commitment of $350,000. Now in its third year, Dick’s Drive-In has recommitted itself through the end of 2010. This was critically important for the project, as King County Councilmembers stipulated that no tax dollars would be used to establish and maintain the new Citizen Councilor Network.

Our featured member, John Spady, is one of three coordinators appointed by the King County Auditor. His official title is “Deputy Citizen Councilor Coordinator.”
What are Citizen Councilors?
Anyone who lives or works in King County and registers to participate in Countywide Community Forums can serve as a Citizen Councilor. Councilors don’t have to be “citizens” in the legal sense, and there is no age restriction on who can register as a Citizen Councilor. Over 1900 people have registered as Citizen Councilors since 2008.
What are the Countywide Community Forums and how do they work?
The newly enacted ordinance gave responsibility to the King County Auditor’s Office (KCAO) for its oversight. The Countywide Community Forums were developed to implement the goals of the Citizen Councilor Network. It has three primary components:
- Registration of Citizen Councilors;
- Meeting management tools to connect hosts and guests; and
- Opinionnaire® survey tabulation and reporting tools
The KCAO uses its website for official information and to post results from each round of the forums. However, the three components listed above are managed by a parallel non-government controlled (i.e. public) website.

The public website connects Citizen Councilors who agree to help to physically facilitate meetings in homes, libraries, or other public places (hosts) with Citizen Councilors who are not hosts (guests). The site uses a “mashup” that combines a Google Map with meeting information from each scheduled host forum. Citizen Councilors who cannot attend face-to-face meetings during the six weeks allowed for each round of forums can still participate by filling out an online Opinionnaire® survey.

To make the Countywide Community Forums both independent from government while at the same time effective and accessible for participants inside government, the organizational design effects a de facto “double veto” arrangement between the government Auditor (through the program manager) and the public’s Citizen Councilor Coordinator. Both have to work well together in order to keep the program moving along.
What purpose do the forums serve?
1. Strengthening social capital
In the Preamble ordinance adopted by the King County council it states, “One key to a sustainable community is an informed and sustainable dialogue among leaders and people. Citizens need new, more convenient and effective ways to share their opinions with other citizens and the leaders of their organizations, institutions and governments. This is a process of building social capital through both bonding and bridging dialogue and improving community mental health and happiness….”

Countywide Community Forums help strengthen social capital throughout the broadest dimensions of our communities, creating opportunities for extended interactions among willing people — both face-to-face and in supportive online environments.

With this insight we are now ready to re-imagine the concept of a typical face-to-face public or town hall meeting and extend its traditional forms of interaction into larger, and distributed, network structures while, at the same time, strengthening the social skills of individual participants.

2. Extending the paradigm of the public meeting
Large public meetings can be difficult. Do these problems sound familiar?
- So many people attend a public meeting that it drags on for hours.
- People are sometimes disrespectful of others during the meeting – they might talk too long, they might shout other people down, they might even try to change the focus of the meeting altogether.
- A lot of people just listen – they don’t seem to want to risk speaking up in front of others.
- A lot of good ideas get presented but most of the time no one asks how you feel about what is being said – no one measures the opinions of the people there.
- The loudest voices seem to get all the attention but ideas from the quiet voices should have attention paid to them as well.
In contrast, here are some of the experiences people have during a community forum:
- Each forum is small – typically from 4 to 12 people.
- Because there are fewer people attending any particular forum, it is completed relatively quickly.
- Forums are hosted by ordinary people – other registered Citizen Councilors – who agree to arrange a physical space for people to meet: perhaps in their home, an office, a library, a place of worship, or any other convenient location.
- Because forums are distributed throughout the community and hosted by just plain folks, there is no opportunity for outside groups to dominate the dialogue. There is no shouting, no Robert’s Rules of Order, no filters between participants.
- Hosts are not considered facilitators – they don’t have to be trained in the issues or in the techniques of conversation. Hosts receive everything necessary to conduct their meeting in a box mailed to them as soon as they confirm a date and time.
- Every person in a forum is listened to respectfully and is heard by others.
- All opinions are treated equally and the anonymous collective responses from all participants are gathered, tabulated, reported, and made public. Public officials analyze these opinions and acknowledge the contributions of the participating Citizen Councilors.
This is a new idea for public meetings; a way to increase the participation of people in the organizations of governance; and a way to strengthen the important social skills of a society through its individual citizens.
What are the results so far?
Extracted from the Executive Summary of the CCF Program Evaluation, February 4, 2010, by Chantal Stevens, Program Manager, King County Auditor’s Office:

At the conclusion of the fourth round of forums, the Countywide Community Forums program has collected the views of 1412 participants on King County-specific, policy topics. Overall, participants are satisfied with this engaging, non-partisan effort and report that they learn from it about the topic and King County policies. The program has received some media attention and was a recipient of the International Association of Public Participation Core Value Award.

The goals of the programs are to:
1. Enhance citizen participation, civic engagement and citizenship education.
2. Inform policy makers.
3. Improve on the traditional public hearing process.
4. Build social capital and help strengthen the community.
The program has been particularly successful in meeting its first and third goal and offers the right formula to address the fourth. The second goal is more difficult to assess and is likely to have been less successfully met in the initial stages of the program. Implementation of this report’s recommendations would support an environment that is more likely to see all four goals being met.

–

For a more detailed description of the Countywide Community Forums, download the great document (pdf) John put together for his feature day.

Planblog

Ein Hoch der Liebe (Wencke Myhre, 1968)

Posted: March 24th, 2010, 3:31am PDT by Tim

Wencke Myhre. Herzallerliebst.

NCDD News & Perspectives

NYC Job Opening: National Organizing Director

Posted: March 22nd, 2010, 6:38pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

John Cavanaugh alerted me to this interesting New York City job opening today…

A national organization seeks a full-time national organizing director to lead a non-partisan citizen engagement movement that focuses on addressing America’s large and growing fiscal deficits and debt burdens.

Organizational Setting
The organization is dedicated to increasing public awareness of the nature and urgency of key fiscal challenges threatening America’s future, and to accelerating action on them. As a non-partisan group, they neither lobby nor represent special interest groups.

Tackling such key nationwide fiscal responsibility issues and fostering meaningful action require a broad reach and a high impact public profile. Building a national engagement effort to educate and activate Americans across the country represents an important component of the organization’s overall strategy. The organization has significant intellectual capital, abundant resources, and the demonstrated passion to successfully pursue its aims. It is proactive and transparent regarding its mission and aspirations — in fact, it’s important to note that the organization views itself as an ‘Action Tank’, not a just a research, policy development organization, or think tank.

For more information, please contact < >.

The Position
Located in New York City, the National Organizing Director will be responsible for the development and execution of a plan to recruit and activate a citizen engagement organization focused on addressing America’s large and growing fiscal imbalances. This position represents the first role in this new department, giving such person the ability to design and implement a significant new campaign from the beginning. The organization’s goal is to recruit and activate more than one million citizens at the grassroots level, and the group intends to take advantage of all organizing strategies and tools that are available to make this effort succeed, including traditional offline and newer online approaches. In order to achieve the desired results, this individual will need to build a team, including both internal staff and outside contractors. In addition, the team will develop partnerships with established membership organizations to support the growth of this citizens movement. This role will report to the Chief Operating Officer, but the individual will also work closely with the organization’s Chief Executive Officer as well as its Director of Communications and Public Affairs.

Experience
The National Organizing Director must have significant organizing experience, including experience at the national level with an advocacy organization or political campaign. This person arrives with the knowledge and insight that comes from having successfully managed and administered a significant prior grassroots campaigns. This individual will be hard-working, assertive and goal oriented, and will work with a high degree of purpose and focus. The successful candidate should have strong communications skills and the demonstrated ability to work effectively and productively with a variety of very bright and capable people (both internally and outside the organization). This person should have the stature and maturity to successfully represent this high profile organization. This person should have a background of working with organizations that are well-respected in their fields of endeavor, and will exude the confidence and bearing necessary to be successful in this fast-moving, high expectation and results oriented environment.

Other qualifications:
•   A minimum of five years of relevant experience is required, while more experience is preferred
•   Varied experiences in different regions of the country or with diverse citizen groups
•   Strong understanding of offline and online mobilization and coalition building
•   Demonstrated ability to work constructively with those who do not always share your cultural, political, or ideological views
•   Strong strategic thinker with flawless execution skills and attention to detail
•   Excellent communications abilities and project management skills
•   An interest and passion to address the fiscal matters that represent the mission of the organization

The position is based in New York City and will pay a competitive salary, with consideration for New York’s higher cost of living, plus health care and other employee benefits.
Audio from NCDD Confab with Guest Martin Carcasson

Posted: March 22nd, 2010, 6:09pm PDT by Andy Fluke

Enclosure: [download]

Here is the audio recording from last Thursday’s (March 18) NCDD Confab call with Martin Carcasson, director of the Center for Public Deliberation at Colorado State University. We talked to Martin about his must-read Public Agenda occasional paper titled Beginning with the End in Mind: A Call for Goal-Driven Deliberative Practice (Summer 2009). We had a great group of leaders on the call, and Martin was asked some quite challenging questions.

Martin’s article, which can be downloaded for free from www.publicagenda.org/cape, outlines three broad categories of goals for deliberation. The essay explores how a clearer understanding of the goals and purposes we are trying to achieve through public engagement can sharpen our methods and increase our impacts. It offers a practical framework to help practitioners systematically consider both their short-term and long-term goals and the strategies that will set them up for success. Please also check out the July NCDD blog post titled New Framework for Understanding the Goals of Public Engagement, which reflects on Martin’s article and introduces a graphic I created that expands on the article’s three orders of goals slightly.

Press the play button or download the mp3 file to listen to the audio.

Or download: NCDD Confab – March 18, 2010: Goals of Deliberation (~50 MB)

Note: “NCDD Confabs” are conference calls for NCDD members where we explore dialogue & deliberation’s role in current issues, learn about exciting projects and interesting methods from fellow NCDD members, and encourage new connections among members.
Opening for Change Consultant in Toronto

Posted: March 22nd, 2010, 3:33pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Just spotted this temporary (up to 1 year) position opening for a Change Consultant based in Toronto. Though it looks like the job was just posted on March 11, the closing date is this Thursday, March 25…

Change Consultant

Ministry: Ministry of the Attorney General
Division: Justice on Target
Position Title: CHANGE CONSULTANT
Duration: 1 Temporary (Up to 12 Months)
Location: 700 Bay Street, 12th floor, Toronto, M5G 1Z6, Toronto Region

Compensation Group: AMAPCEO
Salary: $66,589.00 – $85,006.00 per annum
Position Status: Open
Job Code: 19AGA – General Admin Ama Unit AGA19
Schedule: 6
Category: Consulting and Planning
Job ID: 25197

Come make your mark with Justice on Target – Ontario`s high-priority strategy to reduce delay in Ontario`s criminal courts! As a member of the Justice on Target team you will support the goal of achieving faster, more focused justice by targeting 30 percent reductions in the overall provincial average. This role will support the ministry`s strategy by leading an exciting multi-faceted change agenda that will utilize the knowledge and skills of a seasoned change management professional.

You will: act as an expert resource on change management techniques and practices; conduct and facilitate stakeholder consultations and presentations; develop and modify implementation plans and projects to support the change management process; develop and evaluate change- related performance measures, methodologies and tools; lead and participate on networks and committees to ensure change management considerations and the JOT mandate are incorporated into business decision-making; and, liaise with and establish productive relationships with justice partners.

Please note some travel will be required.

Qualifications:expert consulting and relationship management skills to maintain partnerships, gather organizational information and coordinate multidisciplinary initiatives; knowledge of change management, transition planning and related theories, practices and techniques such as group dynamics, team development, competency-based performance models, leadership development, employee motivation and/or adult education; leadership, facilitation and oral/written communication skills with sound judgement and discretion; project management and coordination skills to plan and coordinate workload in a project-driven environment; general knowledge of Ontario`s criminal justice system and criminal court operations, stakeholders and issues; and, proficiency in using computer software including word processing, email and internet/intranet applications.

Posting Date:Thursday, March 11, 2010
Closing Date:Thursday, March 25, 2010

Applications must be received by the end of the closing date with the Job ID number quoted.

Apply online
or send application to:
Applications are accepted online only. As an equal opportunity employer, the OPS will provide employment accommodation if required. Contact the Western Recruitment Centre at:
1-866-734-8986, Ontario, CANADA
Fax: Faxes are not being accepted at this time

Only applicants selected for interview will be contacted.
OPS employees are required to quote their WIN EMPLOYEE ID number when applying to positions.

The Ontario Public Service is an equal opportunity employer.
Accommodation will be provided in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code.

More details at [www.gojobs.gov.on.ca]
CDS/IACD International Conference registration is open

Posted: March 22nd, 2010, 3:23pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

The Community Development Society (CDS) and the International Association for Community Development (IACD) have come together for the first ever joint conference in New Orleans, LA, USA on July 24-28, 2010. The conference will focus on the theme The Role of Community Development in Economic and Disaster Recovery.

The conference will offer opportunities for students, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers to share experiences, expertise, and research findings on innovative strategies to improve the process and practice of community development. Participants will witness how exciting and innovative a role community and economic development has played in rebuilding and reconnecting the community. New Orleans has tested new approaches in CD/ED and has successfully rebuilt businesses and homes using innovative practices that community developers can learn from and apply elsewhere.

The schedule for the joint conference includes over 100 presenters, 48 concurrent sessions, and enough time for attendees to get a taste of New Orleans’ flavor! Starting on July 24, attendees can also volunteer their time to build a house for Habitat for Humanity. Conference attendees are encouraged to come a day early and volunteer your time to help give something back to New Orleans families in need.

Click here to register. The early bird rate for members is $300 until June 25, 2010. After June 25, the rate will be $350. The early bird rate for non-members is $410 until June 25. After June 25, the rate will be $460.00.

Parking Lot

From the feed

Posted: March 19th, 2010, 9:26am PDT by Chris Corrigan
There is an omlet in this weeks batch of feed food:
- Christopher Niemann repurposes Google Map aethetics to make cleaver pictures.
- Jordon Cooper points to a beautiful tilt-pan movie of my favourite city: New York.
- Laura McGrath’s blog. A new friend and colleague.

NCDD News & Perspectives

Job opening: Alberta Climate Dialogue project lead

Posted: March 19th, 2010, 7:55am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
The newly-funded Alberta Climate Dialogue (ABCD) project is looking for a great person to serve as Project Lead. NCDD is involved in this project, as are a number of other leading organizations in our community. The position is based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The project currently has five years of funding in place, and the Project Lead’s initial term will be for two years. Starting salary of $51,000-$64,000 depending on qualifications, plus a comprehensive benefits package and yearly cost of living and merit increases. Additional details below.

Job Opening: Project Lead for Alberta Climate Dialogue

Alberta Climate Dialogue (ABCD) is a new project to engage citizens and stakeholders in climate change planning and action at the municipal and also provincial levels, using tools of deliberative democracy. The Project Lead will play a pivotal role in ensuring the successful launch and deployment of this innovative project, including project planning and strategy, fundraising, communications, operations and partnership development. Strong candidates would include academics in related areas with strong project management experience, experienced project managers familiar with research and interested in citizen engagement and climate solutions, and deliberative democracy practitioners with strong project management skills.

ABCD is premised on the conviction that well-designed citizen deliberations can play a crucial role in informing the politics of climate change in Alberta, and in shifting the climate change policies of participating cities and towns and motivating community action. The Project Lead will work with researchers and practitioners on the project team to support municipal governments and other partners in designing and convening citizen deliberations on climate policy and action; document and evaluate impacts both on policy and on the political capacities and behaviours of participants; and share this learning regionally and internationally through documentation, scholarly products, new media, conference and workshop presentations, and other venues.

The project currently has $1 million in funding from the Community-University Research Alliance program of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, as well as $3 million in matching cash and in-kind support from community organizations and partners; the Project Lead will work with partners to leverage further funding from public, private, and not-for profit sources.

Competitive candidates for the Project Lead position will have:
- Passion about the role of citizen engagement in climate change responses and the ability to be a vocal and visible champion for this.
- Superb, demonstrated project leadership and management skills.
- Superior writing, speaking, and communication skills.
- Proven fundraising ability, budget management skills, and preferably some business development experience.
- Proven ability to meet multiple deadlines and balance numerous projects while maintaining a perspective on long-term goals.
- Strong knowledge in at least one of the fields of climate change and/or dialogue and deliberation.
- An understanding of Alberta’s political climate and the realities of Canadian federalism would be a strong asset.
- A postsecondary degree in a related field (e.g. political science, environmental studies, communication, political science); an MA or PhD would be a strong asset.
The position is based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The project currently has five years of funding in place, and the Project Lead’s initial term will be for two years. Starting salary of $51,000-$64,000 depending on qualifications, plus a comprehensive benefits package and yearly cost of living and merit increases.

Please send application materials to [email protected]. We will begin considering applications on April 9, 2010 and continue until a suitable candidate is hired. Application materials should include:
- A cover letter describing why you are interested in this work and summarizing why you should be considered for this job;
- A resume;
- Two writing samples; and,
- Telephone and e-mail contact information for three employment references.
All attachments should be in pdf or Microsoft Word format and titled as follows “Lastname_Firstname_documenttitle”.

For further information on the project and the position please see www.albertaclimatedialogue.ca. If you have questions not answered on the relevant webpages, please contact the ABCD’s Principal Investigator, David Kahane at . You can also learn more about David Kahane on his NCDD member page.
NCDD Project Report for the Kettering Foundation

Posted: March 17th, 2010, 9:28am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher
I submitted a report to the Kettering Foundation last October that I wanted to finally share with the whole network. Before the 2008 conference, NCDD embarked on a research project with the Kettering Foundation to learn about how attendees at the 2008 National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation see themselves playing a role in democratic governance. Kettering was also especially interested in two of the five challenge areas we took on at the conference (the Systems Challenge and the Action & Change Challenge).

Many NCDDers are quoted in this report, and I write about a number of your innovative projects and initiatives. 88 of you were surveyed or interviewed as part of this research project, and others contributed through our graphic recording team at the conference, and during the online dialogue we held on the 5 challenge areas at CivicEvolution.org before the conference.

I think this report is worth a read. It’s 38 pages long, but it’s full of gorgeous photos and graphic recordings from the conference (so it’s shorter than it looks!).

The report represents a snapshot of a specific time in this rapidly growing, maturing field of practice. An exciting time, when process leaders and networks in our field are being brought into discussions about federal policy, and when our field is exploring how and whether it fits into a broader “democracy reform” movement. It’s also a time in which we’re seeing clear shifts in approach in the field. Practitioners, organizations and institutions are starting to think in terms of capacity building and find ways to demonstrate perceptible shifts in civic capacity. Practitioners are focusing more on developing ongoing relationships with institutions, decision-makers and other power-holders in the communities they serve. And people are becoming more and more adept at using multiple models, combining elements of different models, and designing unique processes to fit different contexts.

You can download the full report here, download a 3-page overview of the report here, or learn a bit more about the report by clicking on “more.” Feel free to share this report or the overview with others.
Summary of our Findings
Below is a quick look at the topics that are explored in the report in more depth.

What is citizens’ role in democratic governance?

When asked how they would describe “the role citizens play in democratic governance,” people responded in five distinct ways. Some took a positive stance, outlining citizens’ critically important role in governance. Others took a pragmatic stance, recognizing that the role of citizens varies depending on a variety of factors. Others responded soberly about the very limited role citizens have in government. Many expressed why they felt the role citizens currently play is far from where it should be. And several outlined what citizens’ role should ideally be in governance.

In addition to these five categories of responses, a number of people pointed out that ensuring citizens play a significant role in democratic governance is what our work in dialogue, deliberation and public engagement is all about. Much of the work of those who attended the 2008 NCDD conference focuses on broadening citizens’ role by inviting greater participation in public discussions about critical issues.

Types of goals/impacts of dialogue and deliberation

What do respondents mean when they refer to the “action and change” that results from dialogue and deliberation efforts? When asked how their work impacts citizens’ role in democratic governance, most respondents mentioned impacts that fall clearly into at least one of the categories in the Goals of Dialogue & Deliberation graphic pictured here. The graphic expands slightly on the Goals of Deliberation figure in an occasional paper published in summer 2009 by Public Agenda. The paper, written by Martin Carcasson, Director of Colorado State University’s Center for Public Deliberation (and a workshop presenter at NCDD 2008), outlines three broad categories of goals for deliberation.

In the report, I outline how our respondents feel their work falls under each of the sub-categories under the three types of goals, and include direct quotes from dozens of respondents.

Carcasson contends in his article that improved community problem solving should be the ultimate goal of deliberative practice. Rather than overly identifying with specific issues or processes (and the squabbles between them) or focusing solely on individual events and projects, Carcasson argues that dialogue and deliberation practitioners should become “known for their passionate focus on democratic problem solving and all that entails.”

Here is how Carcasson describes community problem solving:

At its best and most effective, community problem solving is a democratic activity that involves the community on multiple levels, ranging from individual action to institutional action at the extremes, but also includes all points in between that involve groups, organizations, non-profits, businesses, etc. It is also deeply linked to the work of John Dewey and his focus on democracy as ‘a way of life’ that requires particularly well-developed skills and habits connected to problem solving and communicating across differences.

Many of our 88 respondents mentioned civic capacity building when asked how their work impacts citizens’ role in democratic governance.

The action & change challenge

More and more people are coming to realize that addressing the major challenges of our time is dependent on our ability to collectively move to a new level of thinking about those challenges, and that dialogic and deliberative processes help people make this leap. Yet we continually struggle with how best to link dialogue and deliberation with action and change, and with the misperception that dialogue and deliberation are “just talk.”

For the “Action and Change Challenge,” we explored this question: “How can we strengthen the links between dialogue, deliberation, community action, and policy change?” Eight themes emerged in this challenge area at the 2008 NCDD conference and in dialogues, interviews and surveys with conference attendees:
- Defining success for ourselves and developing clear theories of change
- A broader and more systemic view of “action and change”
- Matching process with purpose
- Transparency about goals and expected outcomes
- Cautious framing of potential outcomes
- Building capacity in social change methods
- Evaluating, and learning from mistakes
Survey respondents, interviewees and conference attendees had many other suggestions for this challenge area, and some of those are listed in the report as well. Strengthening the link between public engagement and action and policy change is a challenge that every practitioner struggles with.

In this section of the report, I highlight a couple of promising frameworks that were presented at the conference. Maggie Herzig’s “Virtuous and Vicious Cycles” model is presented, which acknowledges the systemic and cyclical nature of dialogue and deliberation (as opposed to a linear progression of steps or stages). And Philip Thomas’ integral theory of dialogue seeks to reconcile the seemingly incompatible views of dialogue he came across while working on the Handbook on Dialogue published by the United Nations Program on Development and its partners. Thomas interviewed some practitioners who felt, for example, that personal transformation among dialogue participants was a critical outcome to emphasize in the Handbook, while others he interviewed wanted to de-emphasize and even eliminate such concepts from the book and focus primarily on political processes and outcomes.

The systems challenge

For the “Systems Challenge,” we explored ways we can make public engagement values and practices integral to government, schools, and other systems, so that our methods of involving people, solving problems, and making decisions are used more naturally and efficiently. At the conference, we focused most on institutionalizing public engagement in governance―an area often referred to by scholars as “embeddedness.”

Most of the themes identified as being part of the Action & Change Challenge also overlap with the Systems Challenge in critical ways. Five additional themes emerged in discussions about this challenge area at the conference:
- Cultivating and supporting public engagement practitioners
- Joint ownership of programs and structures
- Building on existing structures and resources
- Demonstrating the impact of our processes―together
- Taking advantage of new opportunities
In this section of the report, I go into detail about the outcomes of a two-part workshop at the Austin conference co-led by Adin Rogovin and DeAnna Martin. The workshop brought together method leaders and practitioners in a dynamically facilitated fishbowl conversation to explore how practitioners could weave together their work to enhance democracy. Participants in this workshop discussed how a collaborative, multi-process “demonstration project” could support, fund, advocate for and convene whole system engagement initiatives that involve government officials and demonstrate their legitimacy and value to our society.

Susan Schultz, Program Manager of the Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution at the University of Texas, summed up the Systems Challenge area well with this comment in the survey:

It is indeed a challenge to bridge the gap between the concept of having the public involved in public policy decision-making (what is already on paper) and the actuality of having the public influence public decision-making (what realistically happens). I believe that a crucial component in having a meaningful public participation system in place is to make the commitment to that participation part of the organization’s and governmental entity’s culture. Easier said than done, but it starts with clear written policies, commitment to implementing those policies from high level “champions” to field staff (through consistent education and training), and persistent expectations from the public.

About the Author
The author of this report, Sandy Heierbacher, is the Director of the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) and its conferences. She serves as the hub of a 1200-member network of organizations, practitioners, and scholars on the leading edge of the fields of intergroup relations, deliberative democracy, conflict resolution, community building and organizational development.

Note: Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Kettering Foundation, its directors, or its officers.
PCP blog post on the Coffee Party Movement

Posted: March 16th, 2010, 6:49pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

NCDD member Cynthia Gibson added an interesting post to the Public Conversations Project’s blog today, titled The Coffee Party: Long Time Brewing. (PCP is an organizational member of NCDD as well.) In her post, Cindy writes:

How heartening to see ordinary people coalescing around the notion that the government is theirs and that they have a role to play in ensuring its vitality. Rather than bash government, the Coffee Party wants to work with it.

What the Coffee Party movement may not know, however, is that there already is a powerful movement rippling across the country that’s doing likewise. It’s called deliberative democracy, through which people are coming together to identify common concerns and find ways to work together to solve them.

Cindy’s blog post is pretty brief, and I added a comment that may just be longer than her post. We’ve been discussing the Coffee Party Movement on the main NCDD listserv, and Cindy’s post suggests all those of us interested in democratic governance take advantage of the popularity of the Coffee Party Movement to “join together toward rebuilding a process that’s all but vanished in the halls of our government.”

I included some quotes from listserv subscribers in my comment (anonymously) so people can get a sense of what NCDDers think about how we should get involved in or ride the wave of this progressive response to the Tea Party Movement. Feel free to add your comments, too, and check out PCP’s other blog posts while you’re at it.
How to Hold a Public Meeting

Posted: March 16th, 2010, 5:41am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Archon Fung (professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government) sent me an email a few days ago letting me know about a short article he wrote that was published in the March/April 2010 edition of Capitol Ideas, the magazine of the Council of State Governments.

Archon’s article can be seen online at www.csg.org/pubs/capitolideas/mar_apr_2010/howto.aspx, and outlines 5 tips for holding an effective public meeting: be clear on the purpose, get help (he links to NCDD here!), avoid the usual format, go beyond the usuals, and avoid promises you can’t keep. It’s a nice, concise one-pager worth sharing with public officials and others.

Parking Lot

From the feed

Posted: March 12th, 2010, 10:53am PST by Chris Corrigan
Chewing on these:
- Performing the world is a conference in New York this fall.
- Teaching social media to environmental activists.
- Lianne Raymond gives the gift of words for International Women’s Day.
- Rob Paterson on new careers in sustainability.
- Andre Hardin posts an outstanding video of a Rube Goldberg machine from the band OK Go.
- Jordon Cooper with a nice find: a video about the photographer BlueJake of New York City.

NCDD News & Perspectives

Florida court says “open to the public” doesn’t mean citizens can speak up

Posted: March 11th, 2010, 2:52pm PST by Sandy Heierbacher

Steve Zikman brought an interesting article to my attention today, suggesting we share it with the network…

In a brief article titled “Appeals court rejects public comment time” at PNJ.com, a Florida appeals court upheld a year-old judgment that, in essence, found that government meetings required to be “open to the public” don’t necessarily have to give citizens a chance to speak at them.

View the whole article here at PNJ.com, but I’ve copied it below so we have an archive of it. Please comment on this post and share what you think about this judgment and its implications.
Appeals court rejects public comment time
Judges rule Community Maritime Park Associates violated no laws

• Paul Flemming • News Journal capital bureau • March 11, 2010 •

TALLAHASSEE — Government meetings have to be open to the public, but that doesn’t mean citizens have a right to speak at them, a Florida appeals court ruled Wednesday.

Pensacola activists had filed suit against Community Maritime Park Associates, saying the board’s decisions about a $40 million museum and waterfront park should be nullified because public-comment periods at its meetings were inadequate.

“Appellants have failed to point to any case construing the phrase ‘open to the public’ to grant the public the right to speak,” the unanimous three-judge panel wrote in its opinion released today. “We agree with the trial court that the remedy Appellants are seeking in this case is more appropriately left to the legislative process or the local public officials.”

“The statute itself is, I think, clear,” said Ed Fleming, attorney for the Community Maritime Park board. “It doesn’t convert (open, public meetings) into town hall meetings. If it were, government would grind to a halt.”

The Community Maritime Park Board initially did not offer public comment at its meetings but later did so at the direction of Pensacola City Council, which appointed some of the park board’s members.

Gregarius

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Posted: August 2nd, 2010, 4:06pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: July 27th, 2010, 9:03am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: July 26th, 2010, 7:14am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: July 23rd, 2010, 4:23pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: July 23rd, 2010, 4:32am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: July 22nd, 2010, 6:01am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: July 20th, 2010, 8:47am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: July 16th, 2010, 9:49am PDT by Chris Corrigan

Posted: July 14th, 2010, 12:29pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: July 14th, 2010, 9:44am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: July 13th, 2010, 4:00am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: July 12th, 2010, 12:21pm PDT by Chris Corrigan

Posted: July 12th, 2010, 7:44am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: July 9th, 2010, 9:05am PDT by Chris Corrigan

Posted: July 7th, 2010, 11:30pm PDT by Chris Corrigan

Posted: July 7th, 2010, 5:48pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: July 4th, 2010, 6:32pm PDT by Tim

Posted: July 2nd, 2010, 8:54am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: June 30th, 2010, 3:31pm PDT by Andy Fluke

Posted: June 29th, 2010, 7:55am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: June 28th, 2010, 11:41pm PDT by Chris Corrigan

Posted: June 28th, 2010, 7:53pm PDT by Andy Fluke

Posted: June 28th, 2010, 11:33am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: June 26th, 2010, 10:13pm PDT by Chris Corrigan

Posted: June 26th, 2010, 12:57pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: June 23rd, 2010, 5:40pm PDT by Lucas Cioffi

Posted: June 21st, 2010, 5:38pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: June 21st, 2010, 6:34am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: June 21st, 2010, 1:38am PDT by Chris Corrigan

Posted: June 20th, 2010, 1:22pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: June 17th, 2010, 3:21pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: June 16th, 2010, 4:31pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: June 15th, 2010, 6:33pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: June 13th, 2010, 9:40am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: June 9th, 2010, 12:07pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: June 8th, 2010, 6:54pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: June 8th, 2010, 1:24pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: June 4th, 2010, 12:50am PDT by Chris Corrigan

Posted: June 3rd, 2010, 7:18pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: June 2nd, 2010, 9:54am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: June 1st, 2010, 3:29pm PDT by Chris Corrigan

Posted: May 31st, 2010, 4:44pm PDT by Chris Corrigan

Posted: May 31st, 2010, 3:18pm PDT by Chris Corrigan

Posted: May 25th, 2010, 5:55pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: May 19th, 2010, 11:29am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: May 18th, 2010, 6:26am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: May 17th, 2010, 7:31pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: May 15th, 2010, 12:18am PDT by Chris Corrigan

Enclosure: [download]

Posted: May 14th, 2010, 1:02pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Posted: May 12th, 2010, 11:32am PDT by Andy Fluke

Posted: May 12th, 2010, 11:10am PDT by Andy Fluke

Posted: May 12th, 2010, 7:53am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher