national coalition for dialogue and deliberation

National Issues Forums Public Voice 2006 Program Now Available Online

The National Issues Forums (NIF) website (www.nifi.org) now has information (including a video clip to watch) about this year?’s ?“A Public Voice 2006?”?—an annually produced one-hour public affairs television program that examines how well the United States public is tackling an important public issue. The program for 2006 is titled: ?“People and Politics: Facing Democracy?’s Challenge?” and includes glimpses inside some of the National Issues Forums around the country where people have held deliberative discussions using the NIF issue book ?“Democracy?’s Challenge: Reclaiming the Public?’s Role.?” The television program also features a panel of office holders, experts, and members of the media as they view and discuss excerpts from forums held earlier this year. You can watch a clip from this new program and find more information about the ?“A Public Voice?” series, including a current listing of public television stations around the country that have made commitments to air this year?’s ?“A Public Voice 2006.?” Links to all this information and to a page that will let you watch a clip from this year?’s program (or from last year?’s program) can be found in the lower left hand side of the NIF homepage. To order a copy of this video, contact Ruffolo at , call 800-600-4060, or FAX: 937-435-7367.

Added by Amy Lang on July 29, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Open Society Institute Announces New Guidelines for Unsolicited Grants

The Open Society Institute's Information Program (www.soros.org/initiatives/information/about/) has announced application instructions for grantseeking organizations that aim to enhance the ability to access, exchange, and produce knowledge and information; and to use new tools and techniques to empower civil society. Projects supported by the program are intended to benefit developing and transition countries. As a general rule, the Information Program prefers to receive grant applications made on behalf of an organization rather than an individual. The program also prefers to fund project proposals rather than core funding requests. Funded activities in the past have included information and knowledge capacity-building events; technology and policy analysis; advocacy campaigns; and innovative projects that test new ground. The Information Program funds projects within three main focus areas: Access to Knowledge; Civil Society Communication; and Open Information Policy. The Information Program will review unsolicited proposals four times during 2006: the remaining deadlines for submission are September 30 and December 31, 2006. Proposals must be submitted in English. The program requests that applicants submit proposal outlines, rather than sending fully developed proposals. Visit the OSI Web site for complete program information and submission requirements.

Added by Amy Lang on July 10, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Liberty Hill Foundation Accepting Applications for Seed Fund

The Liberty Hill Foundation (www.libertyhill.org) Seed Fund provides grants of $7,500 to $20,000 to emerging and developing community-based organizations that work for social, racial, and economic justice through constituency building, leadership development, education, and outreach. The Seed Fund helps groups establish themselves as effective organizers and advocates in their communities. Groups can apply for general support or project-specific funding. Applicants must have proof of their IRS tax status or comply with Liberty Hill's policy on fiscal sponsorship. Visit the Liberty Hill Foundation Web site for complete program information and application procedures. Deadline: August 1, 2006.

Added by Amy Lang on July 02, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Fund for Southern Communities Accepting Grant Applications for Social Change Work

The Fund for Southern Communities (www.fundforsouth.org) is a public foundation that seeks to foster social change initiated by community-based groups in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The fund provides grants and technical assistance to progressive grassroots social change organizations that work against discrimination based on race, sex, age, religion, economic status, sexual orientation, ethnic background, or physical and mental disabilities; stand for workers' rights; promote self-determination in low-income and disenfranchised areas; protect the environment; promote and create non-traditional arts and media; promote peace; are located in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina; are working for equitable distribution of economic and/or political power; and are unlikely to be funded by more traditional funding sources, including those whose geographic location limits funding opportunities. Applicants receiving funds from more traditional funding sources may be given a lower priority for funding from FSC. Complete program information and application materials are available at the FSC Web site. The deadline for applications is September 1, 2006.

Added by Amy Lang on July 02, 2006??-??Link to this entry

James Irvine Foundation Seeking Applications for Community Dialogue Grants

The James Irvine Foundation's (www.irvine.org) New Connections Fund provides grants of up to $50,000 over one or two years to eligible organizations with projects that fit within the foundation's core program priorities. One of the core priorities, called "California Perspectives," aims to promote dialogues between under-represented communities and public officials. The program supports projects that foster dialogues between people in underrepresented communities and public officials for the dual purpose of improving public officials' understanding of the interests and concerns of their constituents and facilitating opportunities for people in underrepresented communities to participate in public decision-making. To be considered for a grant from the New Connections Fund, an organization must meet all of the following requirements: have 501(c)(3) status or an established relationship with an approved fiscal sponsor; have a California focus; generate no more than 50 percent of its revenue from government sources; have annual revenue of at least $100,000; request a grant amount totaling no more than $50,000 or 10 percent of its annual organizational budget; and have no active grant or outstanding reports due to the foundation. Visit the Irvine Foundation's Web site for complete program guidelines, application procedures, and an FAQ. The deadline for applications is August 9, 2006.

Added by Amy Lang on June 25, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Youth Service America Offers Youth Venture Funding

Through partial funding from the US Department of Justice, Youth Service America (www.ysa.org) and Youth Venture, Inc. (www.youthventure.org) are teaming up again to make every day National & Global Youth Service Day (www.ysa.org/nysd). The program is giving young people the opportunity to create sustainable National Youth Service Day projects for N&GYSD 2007,April 20-22. YSA and Youth Venture are offering funding to enable young people to engage in community service and make a difference in their world. Thirty awards of up to $1,000 in start-up funds will be available to young people (ages 12-20) who want to create new, sustainable, and civic-minded organizations, clubs, or businesses ("ventures"). These ventures must be youth-led and designed to be a lasting asset to the community. YSA Youth Venture teams are required to plan a N&GYSD project every year that their venture is operational. For complete program information, visit the YSA Web site. Deadline: July 24, 2006.

Added by Amy Lang on June 24, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Perspectives Group to Offer IAP2 Certificate Course in Virginia

The Perspectives Group (www.theperspectivesgroup.com) has just announced they only have three remaining training dates for their IAP2 Certificate Program in Public Participation. Spaces in the five-day course are still available for all the training dates in Alexandria, VA on July 10 ?– 14, September 18 ?– 22, and December 4 ?– 8. The full week of training is $1,475, or $295 per day. The Course is broken up into 3 sections: Planning for Effective Public Participation (two days), Effective Communication for Public Participation (one day), and Techniques for Public Participation (two days). Please note that the Planning course is a prerequisite to the Communications and Techniques courses. For additional information, go to www.theperspectivesgroup.com/resource/trainingpro.html to download the brochure. If you have any questions, contact Crystal Sarno or Kristie Bergeron-Hale at The Perspectives Group at 703-837-1197 or email .

Added by Amy Lang on June 22, 2006??-??Link to this entry

IAP2 Seeks Editorial Board and Advisory Panel Members

The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) is re-launching its online journal later this year, and they just put a call out for volunteers interested in serving on the hands-on Editorial Board and the Advisory Board for the journal. Click below for the full announcement.

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Added by Sandy on June 08, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Rich Harwood Announces Fall Public Innovators Lab

With the Spring 2006 Harwood Public Innovators Lab only a week away, now is the time to register for the Fall Lab, scheduled for Sept. 11-15 at the Pier 5 Hotel in Baltimore, MD. By signing up and paying your tuition, you will secure your seat - or your team's seats - in the space. The folks at the Harwood Institute anticipate that the Lab will fill up fast, so securing your slot as early as possible is important. Register at www.regonline.com/Checkin.asp?EventId=83146

Added by Amy Lang on May 17, 2006??-??Link to this entry

American Library Association Focusing on Civic Engagement

The American Library Association (ALA) has recently developed a focus on civic engagement. Invigorated by questions like "What has gone wrong with our democracy, and what should we do about it?" and "what is the public's role in democracy?" the ALA Fostering Civic Engagement Membership Initiative Group (MIG) will sponsor a Forum on Democracy's Challenge, Saturday, June 24, 2006, 1:30-3:30, at the upcoming ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans. This forum is particularly important because it is critical to the success of a democracy that citizens learn how to deal with complex issues in company with people of diverse opinions. Anyone attending the conference is welcome to the workskhop. For more information on the Civic Engagement Membership Initiative Group, contact the MIG Co-Conveners: Nancy Kranich, ; Taylor Willingham, or Mary Ghikas, .

Added by Amy Lang on May 14, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Demos and NVRI Cement Collaboration

Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action (www.demos.org) and the National Voting Rights Institute (NVRI) (www.nvri.org) have just signed a formal collaboration agreement. NVRI and Demos have partnered on many important activities in recent years?—spotlighting problems with provisional balloting before the 2004 election, launching the Buck Buckley coalition to support campaign spending limits, working together to seek compliance with voter registration laws, and others. The new collaboration will allow them to combine staff resources and program strategies to maximize the effect of the campaigns they currently share, bring these strengths to bear in all of our current election-related work, and launch new joint initiatives to improve American democracy. In particular, the Demos / NVRI collaboration will expand efforts to restore voting rights to citizens with felony convictions, achieve full and proper implementation of the National Voter Registration Act, combat burdensome voter identification requirements and archaic barriers to voting, and promote Election Day registration. For more information, visit Demos' website.

Added by Amy Lang on May 14, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Fielding Graduate University Announces the Third Graduate level certificate program in Dialogue, Deliberation, and Public Engagement

Fielding Graduate University (www.fielding.edu) is offering its third innovative certificate course and has expanded the program to University of Sydney, Australia. This year's program dates are August 21, 2006 ?– January 15, 2007. This distinctive program focuses on recent innovations in dialogue, deliberation, and public engagement featuring faculty who have played key roles in developing these approaches. It strives for the development of "virtuosity" in our practice of dialogue and deliberation. Designed and delivered in collaboration with The International Institute for Sustained Dialogue and the Kettering Foundation, it features an outstanding core faculty of scholar-practitioners, (Hal Saunders, Barnett Pearce, Phil Stewart, Keith Melville, Jan Elliott, Lyn Carson), it also features guests in Phone Dialogues who are widely recognized scholars and innovative practitioners. Participants from at least two continents will learn together online, on the phone and will participate in face to face workshops in either the US or Australia. For a course outline and to check out testimonials see www.fielding.edu/hod/ce/dialog/index.html. To find out more, you can also join a Teleconference Thursday May 11 at 8 pm EDT (New York time) with Core Faculty. If you are unable to participate there will be an autopodium of the call available. To register for the call or the autopodium, email . For directions on how call the audioconference directly, click on the link below.

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Added by Amy Lang on May 10, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Green Communities Announces Charrette Grants Program

Created by Enterprise Community Partners in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council, Green Communities (http://enterprisefoundation.org/resources/green/) is a five-year, $555 million initiative to build more than 8,500 environmentally healthy homes for low-income families in the United States. Green Communities is now offering charrette grants of up to $5,000 each for green affordable housing developers who want to convene intense working sessions with the development team and others who share an interest in promoting health and livability. A Green Communities charrette will involve an intense working session that brings together a diverse group of housing development professionals as well as funders, policy makers, and community stakeholders (where possible) to integrate sustainable green design principles into affordable housing developments. Enterprise will award grants to cover the cost of facilitating a charrette during pre-development and to cover the cost of facilitating a post-construction sustainability training session. The charrette grant program is open to 501(c)(3) nonprofits, public housing authorities, and tribally designated housing entities; for-profit entities; and for-profit entities participating through joint ventures with qualified organizations. Visit the Enterprise Web site for complete program information and application materials. The deadline for applications is open.

Added by Amy Lang on May 07, 2006??-??Link to this entry

PCI Publishes Report on Changing Role of Legislators

Policy Consensus Initiative?’s newest report paints a picture of the changing roles legislators are playing to enable them to work more effectively in the current polarized political environment. Legislators at a Crossroads: Making Choice to Work Differently, describes how some legislators have learned to use the power of their elected office to act as conveners, bringing all sectors to the table to find solutions to public problems that go beyond what any one sector could achieve on its own. In the course of working with state leaders over the past few years, PCI has gleaned their insights and ideas about what legislators need to know in order to play this convening role. An elected leader?’s authority to convene is based on the office, not the person. Generally, when an elected official or a respected leader convenes a meeting, people from across the spectrum are willing to come. But to keep them there, and keep them participating, people must believe that the leader is not predisposed to one side or another and is trying to find a solution that all sides can embrace. Convening does require a different way of interacting with the public. It is different from telling citizens what the solution is or talking to them about what needs to be done. It is different from chairing a committee or leading a meeting to gather "input." Rather than making decisions for people, legislators who act as conveners get people involved in finding effective solutions together and taking action themselves. Often this requires leaders to hone new skills.To download the report, go to www.policyconsensus.org/publications/reports/docs/Crossroads.pdf.

Added by Amy Lang on May 02, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Denver's Mayor Organizes Citizen Engagement and Civic Action

[via policyconsensus.org]

Public engagement is a priority for Denver?’s Mayor John Hickenlooper. Two years ago his office organized Denver Listens, an outreach campaign through which over 600 residents prioritized services in preparation for the budget process. Last month the Mayor launched Partnership Denver: Neighbors Building Solutions, an effort seeking to connect public discussion with citizen action. The Mayor?’s team decided to use the Oregon Solutions model to engage citizens in actually working toward solutions they first identify through discussion. As with Oregon Solutions, Partnership Denver is founded on the premise that partnership among citizens and government creates better and more lasting solutions than any one sector could achieve by itself. In March and April six community meetings were held throughout Denver. The meetings were centered around the question, ?“How can I work in partnership to make Denver neighborhoods better places to live, work and play??” Over 400 community members attended the meetings along with the Mayor, City Council members, and City staff. Using keypad voting tools, they identified their most important topics and issues. To read about further civic action in Denver, click on the link below.

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Added by Amy Lang on April 29, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Meeting on Using Public Dialogue for Health Care Reform Coming Up in Californa

The Center for Healthcare Reform at St. Joseph Health System is planning to convene folks from around the country who are actively engaged in healthcare reform issues using a public dialogue model. The meeting is set for 12-4 p.m. Oct. 16, 2006, preceding the third American Health Care Congress at the Ontario (California) Convention Center on Oct. 17. The gathering will give participants an opportunity to consider the basis of social change, share their strategic directions and plans to build this foundation, and look at specific materials/processes used to affect such change. An example of this approach is www.ourhealthcarefuture.org. For more information contact .

Added by Amy Lang on April 25, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Laura Jane Musser Fund to Support Collaborative Process in Environmental Decision Making

Through its Initiative to Promote Collaborative Process in Environmental Decision Making, the Laura Jane Musser Fund (www.musserfund.org) will support projects by public or not-for-profit entities that undertake consensus-based activities in environmental stewardship or dispute resolution in rural areas. Applications are accepted in following two funding areas: 1) The Environmental Stewardship Program will support programs that work to manage resources (whether of ecological, economic, or aesthetic values) where a broad range of community members and stakeholders are involved in both planning and implementation. 2) The Environmental Dispute Resolution Program will support programs that engage in a collaborative process that works to build consensus instead of confrontation, particularly where both the environmental health and
economic livelihood of a community are at stake. The fund provides support for programs in their first three years, as well as projects in the planning or implementation phase. The program does not support capital expenses, general operating support for organizations, or ongoing program support. Nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations, start-up organizations with a tax-exempt fiscal sponsor, and units of government at the local level are eligible to apply. Organizations must be located in and serve the population of the United States. Up to six grants of up to $35,000 each will be made through the Environmental Initiative this year. Visit the Laura Jane Musser Fund Web site for complete program information and application procedures. The deadline for applications is September 5, 2006.

Added by Amy Lang on April 15, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Alaska Conservation Foundation Announces Conservation for the Majority Grant Docket

The Alaska Conservation Foundation's (www.akcf.org) Conservation for the Majority Grant Docket is designed to fund projects that foster among the majority of Alaskans respectful, open discourse and action toward an Alaska where integration of economic development, environmental stewardship, and the well-being of all Alaskans is assured. Possible areas of interest include developing opportunities that enhance the economy and protect the environment; renewable energy and energy efficiency; climate change; incorporating green planning principles in Alaskan communities; and environmental health. ACF accepts requests for funding from incorporated, tax-exempt organizations and non-incorporated organizations. In some instances, individuals may be considered for project funding. The maximum funding request is $25,000. Complete program guidelines and application procedures are available at the foundation's Web site. The deadline for Letters of Inquiry is May 15, 2006.

Added by Amy Lang on April 13, 2006??-??Link to this entry

National Issues Forums Celebrates 25 Years With New Discussion Guide on Democracy

National Issues Forums is celebrating 25 years of convening forums to help put people's voices back into politics. As part of their celebrations they have extended an open invitation to become part of the National Issues Forums network and to use their newest issue book on "Democracy's Challenge: Reclaiming the Public's Role." This book tackles head-on the obstacles and issues people face in a democracy that appears to have nudged its citizens onto the sidelines. Democracy's Challenge forums encourage citizens to think about what they can do to strengthen the relationship that a democracy demands between the government and its people. The issue book presents three perspectives on the problem, each of which suggests a somewhat different course of action. Right now NIF has a limited time offer for free materials to use for convening a Democracy's Challenge forum. For information on how to order, and how to become part of the National Issues Forums networks, click on the link below.

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Added by Amy Lang on April 11, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Public Involvement Officers Sought by Health Canada

The Office of Consumer and Public Involvement at Health Canada is looking to hire two Public Involvement Officers. These are temporary assignments while the competition process for a permanent employment is finalized. They are seeking applicants with knowledge and experience in planning, implementing and reporting on public involvement activities and in dealing with a variety of stakeholders. For more information, contact Sylvie Cantin, Director of Public Involvement at or (613) 952-1887. To see a list of qualifications and responsibilities, click on the link below.

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Added by Amy Lang on April 08, 2006??-??Link to this entry

CIVICUS Seeks Project Coordinator for Participatory Governance Program

CIVICUS (www.civicus.org) is a global alliance of civil society organisations with members in over one hundred countries all over the world. CIVICUS works with its members and a rapidly growing network of partners at both national and global levels to promote and strengthen civil society globally. As one of CIVICUS?’ key programmatic efforts, the Participatory Governance Programme seeks to enhance the capacity of civil society actors in developing and transitioning countries to participate in, and influence governance processes at the local and national levels. CIVICUS is recruiting a Project Coordinator to coordinate the programme activities, involving a large range of partners, particularly in the Global South. Besides coordinating the programme network activities, the incumbent will be responsible for managing an extensive and interactive website, organizing workshops and conferences and developing educational and other resources on the topic. The tasks involved under this job are managerial, conceptual as well as administrative. Applications are due by April 28, 2006. For information on responsibilities, expected qualifications and how to apply, click on the link below.

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Added by Amy Lang on April 06, 2006??-??Link to this entry

New Discussion Guide On Poverty Available Onlinne

The Study Circles Resource Center and the Northwest Area Foundation have produced a new discussion guide called Thriving Communities?—Working together to move from poverty to prosperity for all. The guide is designed to help communities involve people in conversations that lead to community change. Field tested in 16 communities by more than 500 participants, the five-session discussion guide helps people look at poverty in their community and discuss what it looks like, why it exists, and what can and should be done about it. Jackson, Minn., a field-test site, already is seeing results. The community has acted on seven of the 15 ideas for change identified by participants in the study circles, including forming a new community foundation that already has contributions, and establishing a resource room where people can drop off items and pick up basic necessities such as dishes, pots, and pans. Thriving Communities is available for purchase from SCRC in English and Spanish. The publications can be downloaded for free at www.studycircles.org. SCRC is offering assistance to communities across the country that are using this guide.

Added by Amy Lang on April 06, 2006??-??Link to this entry

CIVICUS Seeking Administrative Officer

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation (www.civicus.org) is an international alliance dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world, especially in areas where participatory democracy and citizens' freedom of association are threatened. Established in 1993 and originally based in Washington, DC, CIVICUS is now based in Johannesburg, South Africa. CIVICUS is recruiting an MDG Administrative Officer who will report directly to the MDG Campaign Manager, and liaising closely with other Campaign staff. The MDG Administrative Officer is responsible for providing high-quality overall administrative and logistical support to the work of the MDG Department. Duration of contract: Four months with the possibility of extension. Applications are Due April 7, 2006. For information on responsibilities of the position, expected qualifications, and where to apply, click on the link below.

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Added by Amy Lang on April 03, 2006??-??Link to this entry

New Article on Maine Tough Choices Focuses on Citizen Engagement

[via AmericaSpeaks Network News] AmericaSpeaks partnered in May 2005 with Maine Governor Baldacci to convene Maine Tough Choices, a 21st Century Town Meeting on health care policy that took place at two sites in Maine linked by teleconference technology. A new article about this process titled ?“Using Public Engagement to Inform the Future of Health Care in Maine: Talking About ?‘Tough Choices?’?” recently appeared in the Winter 2005 issue of the Maine Policy Review. The article was written by Ronald E. Beard and Tish Tanski, Mainers who were key members of the Tough Choices project team. To read the article visit the Maine Policy Review?’s website at: www.umaine.edu/mcsc/MPR/V14N1.htm.

Added by Amy Lang on March 28, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Perspectives Group Announces IAP2 Certificate Training Dates for 2006

The Perspectives Group (www.theperspectivesgroup.com) will be offering four more opportunities to take the IAP2 5-day Public Participation Certificate training this year. This training is designed for professionals working in the fields of community development, nonprofit and government public services, and public understanding and outreach. It is also designed for industry communications and public affairs or public relations, advocacy and lobbying organizations, private and government groups, and any individual/organization required to deal with the public about complex or potentially contentious issues. Upon completion of the full week of training, participants will receive a certificate from IAP2. Upcoming dates and locations are: Alexandria, VA on April 3 ?– 7; July 10 ?– 14; September 18 ?– 22 and December 4 ?– 8. The full week of training is $1,475, or $295 per day. The Course is broken up into 3 sections: Planning for Effective Public Participation (two days), Effective Communication for Public Participation (one day), and Techniques for Public Participation (two days). Please note that the Planning course is a prerequisite to the Communications and Techniques courses. For additional information go to www.theperspectivesgroup.com/resource/trainingpro.html to download the brochure, or contact Crystal Sarno or Kristie Bergeron-Hale at The Perspectives Group at 703-837-1197 or email .

Added by Amy Lang on March 27, 2006??-??Link to this entry

AmericaSpeaks Hosts Health Care Meetings in Los Angeles and Albuquerque

AmericaSpeaks convened two meetings on national health care policy in March on behalf of the Citizens?’ Health Care Working Group. On Saturday, March 4, we brought together more than 500 participants in Los Angeles for the day-long meeting. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa welcomed participants and shared his perspective on health care in America. Throughout the day participants identified the values they associate with health care and weighed in on suggested improvements to our health care system. Topics included preferred models of health care coverage and components of a benefits plan, difficulties in accessing care, methods of financing coverage, and the tradeoffs participants are willing to make. USA Today covered and wrote about the LA meeting. For a limited time you can view the article at www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2006-03-14-health-debate-usat_x.htm. On Monday, March 20, more than 150 residents of Albuquerque, New Mexico met for a very successful three hour meeting on the same topic. The diverse participants included several local decision makers, including State Senator Dede Feldman, four New Mexico State Cabinet Secretaries, representatives from the Governor and Lieutenant Governor?’s offices as well as staff from the offices of Senator Dominici, Senator Bingaman, and Congresswoman Wilson. Once again participants identified shared values and participated in small group discussions on benefits, access, financing, and tradeoffs in health care. The suggestions gathered during these meetings will be used to create recommendations to improve our health care system that will be sent to Congress and President Bush.

AmericaSpeaks is still seeking facilitators for all of the health care meetings (Hartford, CT on April 6; Las Vegas, NV on April 11; San Antonio, TX on April 19; Fargo, ND on April 22; Lexington, KY on April 25; Cincinnati, OH on April 29; Little Rock, AR on April 29; Sioux Falls, SD on May 6). If you?’re interested in serving as a volunteer table facilitator for the Cincinnati meeting on April 29, please sign up online by selecting the Cincinnati registration link at the Working Group?’s community meeting site www.citizenshealthcare.gov/register. Any questions should be directed to Diane Altman Dautoff at or by phone at (206) 320-1169. If you are interested in serving as a facilitator for any of AmericaSpeaks?’ other health care meetings, please contact Mike Ravvin at , or (202) 775-3939 x1007.

Added by Amy Lang on March 26, 2006??-??Link to this entry

National Online Discussion about Health Care from March 22-April 5

Go national with your opinions about health care in America by visiting www.AmericansDiscussHealth.org from March 22 to April 5. Join citizens from around the country and post your opinions in a personal blog, explore your ideas in the discussion forums and get vocal about health care. This web-based public forum is a part of more than thirty meetings of varying sizes being convened across the United States by the Citizens?’ Health Care Working Group (www.citizenshealthcare.gov). The purpose of the meetings and the online dialogue is to discuss health care benefits and services, getting health care, financing, and tradeoffs and options. This feedback from these meetings will help develop recommendations which, bylaw, the President is required to respond to and upon which Congress will hold hearings. The two-week national online discussion about health care will begin with a March 22 webcast meeting: "What?’s Your Health Worth?" held from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at http://mc.umich.edu/clients/vpcomm/healthmeeting/. Visit this site after the meeting to view an archived version of the event.

The Citizens Health Care Working Group has also lined up a series of small and large-scale public meetings aimed at engaging the American public in establishing the values and priorities that must drive health care reform in 2008 and beyond. The first large-scale forum, designed and facilitated by AmericaSpeaks, was held March 4 in Los Angeles and engaged more than 500 residents from the across the city. Between January and May of 2006, more than 30 public have been scheduled across the country. To learn more about this initiative, please visit www.citizenshealthcare.gov.

Added by Amy Lang on March 22, 2006??-??Link to this entry

AmericaSpeaks Seeking Agency Managers for Dialogue on Public Participation

AmericaSpeaks is looking to bring together agency managers who have been working to improve the level and quality of public participation within federal government. They are looking to put together a list of agency managers who can contribute their experiences and insights during a working "retreat" style meeting headed by Carolyn Lukensmeyer sometime in late May or early June. The goal of the meeting is to develop a compelling set of instructive stories from participants' experiences, develop a set of recommendations for embedding high-quality citizen engagement in administrative process, and build a lasting knowledge-sharing network and community of practice at the federal level. Some of the background for this conference will be drawn from AmericaSpeaks' recent report, "Public Deliberation: A Manager's Guide to Citizen Engagement," commissioned by the IBM Center for the Business of Government (www.businessofgovernment.org/pdfs/LukensmeyerReport.pdf). We feel there is substantial work to be done to deepen this work in understanding how participation "maps" across key policy processes such as agenda setting, policy analysis and design, and monitoring and evaluation. If you have any suggestions, please contact Lars Torres at AmericaSpeaks at or 802 223 4288.

Added by Amy Lang on March 17, 2006??-??Link to this entry

PhD Position Available in Urban Planning

The Program in Urban Affairs and Planning, School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech has an open position in "Improving Collaborative Decision-making Through Learning Networks." Faculty in the Program in Urban Affairs and Planning and in the College of Natural Resources at Virginia Tech are seeking qualified doctoral applicants for the PhD in Environmental Design and Planning program who are interested in pursuing research on learning networks, an innovative collaborative approach to restoring ecological health at the landscape scale. Specifically, we are partnering with The Nature Conservancy to examine social learning, organizational design, and diffusion of innovation within TNC?’s national Fire Learning Network (http://tncfire.org/training_usfln.htm). They currently have multi-year funding to support a new candidate to join a faculty ?– graduate student team pursuing this research. In addition to receiving financial support, successful candidates will co-author journal articles with project PI?’s, receive training in grant-writing, have the opportunity to teach at the undergraduate level and attend at least one academic conference each year. Criteria for Selection include a background in interpretive social science research, including interviewing and discourse analysis, as well as environment and natural resources are strongly desired. Candidates with master?’s degrees in planning, environmental studies, public policy, public administration, sociology, as well as the human dimensions of natural resources or related fields are strongly encouraged to apply. Successful applicants must have strong academic credentials and be accepted into the doctoral program. Research will begin as early as summer 2006. Contact Bruce Goldstein via email () to discuss the position.

Added by Amy Lang on March 14, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Vermont Public Radio Features Documentary on Town Meeting

[From vpr.net via Deliberative-Democracy.net] More than a century ago, lawmakers designated the first Tuesday in March as a day for a town meeting. However, changing times are threatening the health of this democratic institution. On March 1, 2006, Vermont Public Radio presented an hour-long documentary exploring the tradition of Town Meeting Day, its importance to Vermont life, and the challenges to grassroots democracy during changing times. With stories and comments from voters, moderators, clerks, the governor, the secretary of state, the legislature, and the political scientists, the show also includes ideas that are being put forward to strengthen town meetings in the future. To listen to the audio documentary, visit: www.vpr.net/vt_news/commentaries/town.shtml

Added by Amy Lang on March 11, 2006??-??Link to this entry

CDC Wraps Up Delibarative Consultation on Pandemic Flu

[From keystone.org via Deliberative-Democracy.net] In one of the most exemplary recent US government efforts to engage the public around an urgent issue, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) convened a series of public consultations on pandemic flu in the last quarter of 2005. According to one of the project's sponsors, "To conduct this public consultation, the sponsors engaged stakeholders from various organizations with an interest in pandemic influenza (the National Stakeholder Group), and individual citizens-at-large from the four principal regions of the United States, including Georgia (South), Massachusetts (North East), Nebraska (Midwest), and Oregon (West)...The purpose of the Public Engagement Pilot Project on Pandemic Influenza (PEPPPI) was to inform decision-makers about the public's priorities for the use of pandemic influenza vaccine during a period of anticipated shortage. This information is intended to lead to a sounder, more supportable decision and to demonstrate that citizens can be productively engaged in informing vaccine related policy decisions thereby leading to more public engagement in the future." According to Patty Dineen of the National Issues Forums Institute, "This is the best public engagement project and report that I have seen. I really think that what you've done is groundbreaking and should be required reading for all of us who are involved in - or care about?—public engagement." To view a report of the consultation, please visit the Study Circles Resource Center, which carries an excellent article and links: www.studycircles.org/en/Article.393.aspx. The official PEPPI Report is available for viewing on The Keystone Center?’s website at www.keystone.org/spp/health-pandemic.html. The section of the Department of Health and Human Services?’ pandemic flu plan mentioning the work of PEPPPI can be found at www.hhs.gov/pandemicflu/plan/appendixd.html/.

Added by Amy Lang on March 11, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Food For Dialogue Coming Up on HBO

On March 18, HBO will feature the movie "Walkout". The movie is about the East Los Angeles Chicano student demonstrations in 1968. A young Mexican American high school teacher, Sal Castro, mentored a group of students in East Los Angeles and supported them when the students decided to stage a peaceful walkout to protest the injustices of the public school system. Tired of being treated unequally, students at five East Los Angeles high schools staged a walkout to protest educational conditions and anti-Mexican educational bias. This video should be great fuel for discussion on intergroup relations.

Added by Amy Lang on March 11, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Herb Block Foundation Invites Letters of Inquiry for Encouraging Citizen Involvement Grant Program

The Herb Block Foundation (www.herbblockfoundation.org)is committed to defending the basic freedoms guaranteed all Americans, combating all forms of discrimination and prejudice, and improving the conditions of the poor and underprivileged through the creation or support of charitable and educational programs with the same goals. Through its Encouraging Citizen Involvement grant program, the foundation seeks to help ensure a responsible, responsive democratic government through citizen involvement. Proposals for this program may focus on citizen education, greater voter participation in the electoral process, or citizen oversight of governmental agencies. All projects must be nonpartisan and may not involve lobbying for specific legislation or candidates. To be eligible for the program, applicants must be non-profit organizations with tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; be located in and/or provide services in the greater Washington, D.C., region (defined as the District of Columbia, the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, and the city of Alexandria in Virginia, and Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland). Grants will not be made for capital or endowment programs, or for sectarian religious purposes. Grants in the range of $5,000 to $25,000 will be considered. At this time, grants will be considered for one year's funding. Grants cannot be used for lobbying or other partisan purposes. Visit the Herb Block Foundation Web site for complete program information and application procedures. The deadline for Letters of Inquiry is June 9, 2006.

Added by Amy Lang on March 10, 2006??-??Link to this entry

HAVIDS Niger Delta News Center Seeks Collaborators for International Day for Peace

The HAVIDS Niger Delta News Centre for Environment & Development, a Nigeria-based organizational member of NCDD, has just sent out an important communique on the organization of the 2006 International Day for Peace in Niger Delta. The Day for Peace is being organized for November 2006. They are seeking feedback and collaborators as they organize this event. If you are interested in being involved in the 2006 International Day for Peace in the Niger Delta, or if you have feedback or ideas for HAVIDS, email Harry Awolayeofori Macmorrison at . To see the full text of the Communique, click on the link below.

Read the rest of "HAVIDS Niger Delta News Center Seeks Collaborators for International Day for Peace"

Added by Amy Lang on March 08, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Paid Internship Opportunity with Direct Action Research and Training Center

The Direct Action and Research Training Center (DART) is currently offering a paid community organizing training program for anyone interested in launching a career organizing around common issues affecting low-moderate income communities like affordable housing, quality public education, living wage, youth services, crime, etc. The DART Center has been conducting a paid community organizer training program for the last four years, and has enabled dozens of people to launch permanent salaried positions in the field. It's an excellent opportunity for people interested in grassroots, community organizing to gain paid training and then continue on in the field. The DART Organizers Institute will start on June 18, 2006 with a seven day classroom orientation and continue with fifteen weeks of infield training at one of DART's twenty-one grassroots, community organizations located in cities in Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana. Applications are due March 20, 2006. For more information visit the DART Cener website: www.thedartcenter.org. Please direct inquiries and applications to Recruitment Director Ben MacConnell at or call 785-841-2680.

Added by Amy Lang on March 04, 2006??-??Link to this entry

New Article on Participatory Budgeting In Canada Available Online

The Transnational Institute just published online a paper by Estair Van Wagner and Josh Lerner: "Participatory Budgeting in Canada: Democratic Innovations in Strategic Spaces." (www.tni.org/newpol-docs/pbcanada.htm) The paper assesses the initial participatory budgeting experiences in Canada - the only ones in North America. In Canada, PB has been used with budgets in public housing, neighborhood groups, a municipality, and a school.

Added by Amy Lang on March 02, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Proposals Sought for Pilot Public Consultation on Genes and Environment

The National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health has just issued a Request for Applications (RFA), "Public Consultation to Inform the Design of Possible Large Scale Studies of Genes and Environment in Common Disease." (See http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HG-06-008.html). The purpose of this RFA is to provide support for a specialized center to conduct a pilot public consultation study to obtain wide societal input to inform the design of a possible large U.S.-based longitudinal cohort study of the role of genes and environment in health and disease. Letters of intent for the RFA are due April 10, 2006. The application receipt deadline is May 10, 2006. If you are interested in applying or would like more information, please contact Dr. Jean McEwen at or (301) 402-4997.

Added by Amy Lang on March 01, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Particpatory Budgeting Event Coming Up in NY

Participatory budgeting (PB) is a year-long process of democratic deliberation and decision-making, in which ordinary city residents decide how to allocate part of a municipal or public budget. PB first emerged in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre where it has over the last two decades increased political participation, decreased economic inequality and corruption and developed citizen capacities that have spurred further organizing and activism. Since then PB has spread to hundreds of cities in Latin America and other continents. A panel will discuss Participatory Budgeting in North America and NYC Saturday, March 11th, 2:00-4:00 pm. Topics include How can PB be applied in North America, and New York more specifically? The workshop will discuss the potential for PB in North America, existing PB processes in Canada, and what PB might mean for New York. Visit www.leftforum.org for more information.
The moderator for the event will be Mike Menser, Brooklyn College and NYC Social Forum and panelists include Josh Lerner, New School; Jennifer Flynn, NYC AIDS Housing Network and Still We Rise; and Gianpaolo Baoicchi, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Added by Amy Lang on February 28, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Perspectives Group to Offer IAP2 Certified Training

The Perspectives Group will offer a five-day IAP2 Certificate Program in Public Participation six times in 2006. This training is designed for professionals working in the fields of community development, nonprofit and government public services, and public understanding and outreach. It is also designed for industry communications and public affairs or public relations, advocacy and lobbying organizations, private and government groups, and any individual/organization required to deal with the public about complex or potentially contentious issues. Upon completion of the full week of training, participants will receive a certificate from IAP2, the world?’s leading association for public participation. Dates and locations are: Alexandria, VA April 3 ?– 7; July 10 ?– 14; September 18 ?– 22; December 4 ?– 8 and East Lansing, MI March 20-21 (Planning only). The full week of training is $1,475, or $295 per day. The Course is broken up into 3 sections: Planning for Effective Public Participation (two days), Effective Communication for Public Participation (one day), and Techniques for Public Participation (two days). Please note that the Planning course is a prerequisite to the Communications and Techniques courses. For additional information go to www.theperspectivesgroup.com/resource/trainingpro.html or feel free to contact Crystal Sarno or Kristie Bergeron-Hale at The Perspectives Group 703-837-1197 or .

Added by Amy Lang on February 25, 2006??-??Link to this entry

IAP2 Seeks Editor for Online Journal

The International Association for Public Participation is re-launching its journal in 2006. The journal will be an online, partially-peer reviewed, multi-disciplinary forum for the exchange of information among researchers, practitioners, decision-makers, and citizens about the impact and practice of public participation around the world. They are currently seeking an Editor-n-Chief who will be responsible for the management, production, and editing of this online journal. A statement of wor (including pay) is posted at www.iap2.org/associations/4748/files/JournalEditorSOW.pdf.

Added by Amy Lang on February 23, 2006??-??Link to this entry

AmericaSpeaks Seeking Facilitators and Participants for California Dialogues

NCDD member Lars Torres sent the following message to the NCDD listserv asking for volunteers. AmericaSpeaks is organizing and facilitating a series of meetings this spring on health care policy for the Citizens' Health Care Working Group (www.citizenshealthcare.gov). The recommendations that result from the citizen engagement process will be presented to Congress and the President, whose response is required by law. For more information on this initiative and AmericaSpeaks' role, please visit www.americaspeaks.org/spotlight/?p=28

The first community meeting will take place in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, March 4. With less than 2 weeks to go, AmericaSpeaks are in urgent need of more facilitators and participants. If you can, please take a few minutes to encourage anyone you know in the Los Angeles area who may be interested in participating or facilitating to register as facilitators or participants for this meeting. Registering for the meeting is pretty easy and can be done on-line at
www.citizenshealthcare.gov/register or by phone at 1-800-679-3684. If you have questions, would like more information, or would like to sign up, please contact Surjeet Ahluwalia at AmericaSpeaks: (t) 202-775-3939, x1006 (f)202-775-0404; email or visit the AmericaSpeaks website above.

Added by Amy Lang on February 22, 2006??-??Link to this entry

IAP2 Calls for Conference Session Proposals

The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) has just sent out the call for session proposals for its 2006 Conference, to be held this November in Montreal, Quebec. The IAP2 welcomes a variety of approaches to conference sessions, but place particular emphasis on sessions that include PARTICIPATION.

In particular, IAP2 is looking for conference session proposals that reflect the
following approaches:
* Can you showcase a new methodology or technique for attendees to learn or practice?
* Can you share a case study or project that brings hands-on experience, including ways to involve marginalized or hard to reach communities, and/or embraces diversity or differences?
* Do you have a good organizational example or project?
* Have you been part of a creative or new experiment - that worked well or maybe not so well?
* Can you provide a look at the roles and perspectives of practitioners, decision-makers, active citizens, and elected officials?
* How does grassroots activism and protest affect the process or decision?
* How do the media impact public involvement?
* What is our role in making the world a better, more participatory place?
* What is the role of advocacy in the practice?
* How can we overcome barriers to good decision making?
* How can we use creativity, graphic facilitation, visual participation or the arts to showcase projects or experiences, or involve people?

To read the Call for Session Proposals, find information on submission details and timelines, and to download the proposal form, visit www.iap2.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=110

Submit your application by Friday, March 31, 2006 via email, fax, postal service, or the web. Email: . Include subject line "IAP2 - 2006 Conference Session Proposal". Fax: 1-303-458-0002. Mail: IAP2 - 2006 Conference Session Proposals; 11166 Huron Street, Suite 27;
Denver, Colorado 80234; USA.

Added by Amy Lang on February 16, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Cleveland Foundation Announces Fellowship for Civic Leaders

Dedicated to improving the quality of life in Northeast Ohio, the Cleveland Foundation (www.clevelandfoundation.org) has partnered with Coro to ensure that the local community has talented, diverse, well-prepared civic leaders. The Cleveland Executive Fellowship is an experiential, immersion program designed to accelerate the professional development of civic leaders in Greater Cleveland. Its goal is to prepare individuals for effective and ethical leadership in the public affairs arena. During the yearlong fellowship, participants will gain hands-on experience through executive-level placements in the business, nonprofit, and public sectors, as well as through weekly professional development. Ideal candidates will have a master's degree and/or professional work equivalent; demonstrated interest in, and a strong commitment to, civic engagement and/or a career in the public affairs arena of Greater Cleveland; ability to provide immediate, tangible, and effective assistance within placements and other fellowship activities; and excellent written and verbal communication skills and computer competency. Fellows will reflect Greater Cleveland's diverse nature and will have varied academic and professional backgrounds. The program annually awards eight fellowships. The fellowships provide an annual stipend of $40,000. For complete program and application information, see the Cleveland Foundation Web site. The deadline to apply is March 20, 2006.

Added by Amy Lang on February 12, 2006??-??Link to this entry

New Manager's Guide to Public Deliberation Released by IBM

Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer and Lars Hasselblad Torres of AmericaSpeaks just completed an exciting report for IBM called "Public Deliberation: A Manager?’s Guide to Citizen Engagement.?” The report documents a spectrum of tools and techniques developed largely in the nonprofit world in recent years to increase citizens?’ involvement in their communities and government. It also highlights ways in which public managers can develop an active approach to increasing citizens?’ involvement in government at all levels. This report will be useful and informative to managers across the nation seeking new, innovative ways to engage citizens. Click here to download the report for free.

Added by Sandy on February 11, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Baltimore Community Foundation Invites Applications for Neighborhood Grants Program

The Baltimore Community Foundation's (http://bcf.org/) Neighborhood Grants Program offers funding for resident-driven and -led community-based organizations in Baltimore City and Baltimore County neighborhoods. The primary purposes of the NGP are to support and increase residents' involvement and investment in their communities; to increase the effectiveness of community organizations by providing financial resources and other support to enable them to initiate and complete priority neighborhood projects; to help neighborhoods become supportive environments for families and businesses; and to strengthen neighborhoods so that current and potential residents and businesses are more willing to invest time, effort, and money in the community. The NGP offers the following types of funding: Mobilization Grants -- Grants of up to $5,000 for small projects with total budgets of no more than $5,000. Grants are to assist resident-driven and -led community groups in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods with an active, engaged resident base to design, develop, and carry out projects. The applicant organization's board must be at least 51 percent neighborhood residents. The applicant organization does not need to be a 501(c)(3) organization, but must prove that the grant will be used for "charitable purposes" as defined by Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Leadership Grants -- Grants of up to $10,000 for projects with total budgets of no more than $10,000 (less match). Grants are to assist resident-driven and -led community groups in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods, with a demonstrated track record of neighborhood leadership, a history of resident involvement, and an active, engaged resident base to design, develop, and carry out projects. The applicant organization must have a 501(c)(3) designation from the IRS and must provide a minimum match of 25 percent of the grant request. This match may be met through in-kind donation, volunteer labor, or cash. Please note: All grantseekers must attend an application workshop before applying for a grant from the Neighborhood Grants Program. Application workshops will be held on February 15 and February 17 at BCF. Visit the BCF Web site for workshop details and to download grant guidelines. The deadline for application is March 15, 2006.

Added by Amy Lang on February 05, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Public Agenda Writers Address Importance of Public Involvement in School Reform

Public Agenda's Jean Johnson and Will Freidman have an article out in the new issue of The School Administrator. "Dear Public: Can We Talk?" is at:
www.aasa.org/publications/saarticledetail.cfm?ItemNumber=5211&snItemNumber=950. In the article, Jean Johnson, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of Education Insights, and Will Freidman, Senior Vice President for Public Engagement, discuss the increasing importance of public engagement in school reform. While parents, educators, employers and the public may agree that education reform is important, research shows that different groups see things through very different lenses and often operate on surprisingly different wavelengths. And a lack of communication in a community can be serious enough to stall or derail progress. For example, they note:

--Parents may not be ready for change.
--Communication within schools and districts may be more wish than reality
--Districts and communities may not agree about where to put their money and what to do first

Jean Johnson and Will Friedman then outline an approach of authentic public engagement that can succeed in getting differing groups talking to each other and on the same page. Also featured in this article is an interview with Nebraska State Commissioner of Education Doug Christensen, who has successfully employed Public Agenda's engagement strategies state-wide. Education Insights is a new Public Agenda initiative designed to partner with foundations, reform groups, education associations, and communities nationwide to address the problems of poor communication and lack of consensus hampering. For more information on Public Agenda's work, visit www.publicagenda.org.

Added by Amy Lang on January 31, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Kellogg Foundation Accepting Applications for Rural People, Rural Policy Initiative

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation's (www.wkkf.org) Rural People, Rural Policy (www.wkkf.org/rprp/) is a new multi-year national initiative designed to energize and equip rural organizations and networks to shape policy that will improve the lives of rural people and the vitality of rural communities. Complete program information, an FAQ, and application instructions are available from the WKKF Rural People, Rural Policy Web site. The deadline for applications is February 20, 2006. Or to read more about this grant, click on the link below.

Read the rest of "Kellogg Foundation Accepting Applications for Rural People, Rural Policy Initiative"

Added by Amy Lang on January 21, 2006??-??Link to this entry

IAP2 Wild Rose Chapter Event and Training Coming Up

The IAP2 Wild Rose (Alberta) Chapter will be holding a signature event this Feb, 2-3, 2006 in Calgary, Alberta. The event's theme is "Keeping Ahead of the Curve: Innovation and Diversity in Public Participation" It will be a day and a half of engaging and thought provoking participatory presentations and sessions, and a World Café on the topic of the Wild Rose Centennial Project. In addition, Wild Rose will be offering two of the IAP2 training modules, Planning for Public Participation and Communication for Effective Public Participation, January 30 - February 1, 2006. For information on the upcoming event or trainings, or to register, download the registration form: www.iap2.org/associations/4748/files/WildRoseEventReg_02.05.pdf

Added by Amy Lang on January 21, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Proceedings on "Learning from the Citizens Assembly" Available Online

At a November 21, 2005 public dialogue, Jack Blaney, SFU President Emeritus and Chair of the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform, discussed the workings of the Assembly and the applicability of this model to future public initiatives. "Nowhere else in the world, ever, have voters themselves designed the voting system," noted Blaney. He highlighted two major causes for the Assembly's success: focus and ownership. View the proceedings from this event here: www.sfu.ca/dialogue/Learning_CitizensAssembly_proceedings.pdf

Added by Amy Lang on January 17, 2006??-??Link to this entry

IAP2 Spring Training Schedule Released

IAP2 has realeased its Spring Training calendar with plenty of opportunities to learn public participation skills in trainings across North America and Australia. Courses include "Communications for Effective Public Participation," "Techniques for Effective Public Participation," and "Planning for Effective Public Participation. To see a full list of courses, dates and locations, click on the link below. Or visit IAP2's website: www. iap2.org.

Read the rest of "IAP2 Spring Training Schedule Released"

Added by Amy Lang on January 17, 2006??-??Link to this entry

D-Code Publishes New Report on Youth Engagement

D-Code, a company specializing in "decoding" the Information Age generation, has just released a research report that discusses how politically engaged Canadian youth are. According to the report, over 3/4 of youth surveyed plan to vote in the upcoming federal election, but youth are also finding non-traditional ways to engage in political life. To download the study, visit www.d-code.com/pdfs/YouthVoterDNA.pdf.

Added by Amy Lang on January 16, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Harwood Public Innovators Labs Announced for May and September

The Harwood Public Innovators Lab is designed for people who do public work and are interested in deepening their understanding of how to make an impact in that work. This is not a "skills-building" program but rather a chance to reflect on and assess your work through a unique set of frameworks. The Harwood Institute will be offering two Labs this year: a Spring Lab from May 21 - 25, 2006 and a Fall Lab from September 11 - September 15, 2006. Both will be held in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. IAP2 members will receive a 10% discount on their registration. For more information please visit the Harwood Institute site at www.theharwoodinstitute.org/join/events/publiclab.html.

Added by Amy Lang on January 16, 2006??-??Link to this entry

IAP2 Calls for Authors

IAP2 is accepting article submissions for Participation Quarterly, its magazine devoted to issues in the field. Upcoming topics are May 2006: Deliberative Dialogue (Deadline: March 1, 2006) and August 2006: Public Participation for Environmental Projects (Deadline: June 1, 2006). Although each issue of PQ tries to reflect the chosen theme, other topics will always be considered. Please email your article submission to the IAP2 office, at .

Added by Amy Lang on January 16, 2006??-??Link to this entry

Coming Soon: Changemakers Award Competition on "How to Improve Health for All"

Beginning March 1, the Ashoka Changemakers program (www.changemakers.net) will host a global competition for the best solutions on "How to Improve Health for All" that emphasize collaborative partnerships between citizen-sector, business, and government organizations. Participants will be encouraged to submit the most innovative and cost-effective solutions that can be widely replicated and are financially sustainable. The Changemakers Innovation Awards series is based on a unique "open source" format where participants compete by entering the best solutions to pressing social issues while collaborating to advance current initiatives. For 25 years Ashoka (www.ashoka.org) has invested in some 1,700 leading social entrepreneurs with systems-changing ideas from 62 countries on five continents. These Ashoka Fellows are selected for their innovative and practical ideas to address social needs in fields such as economic development, health, environment, learning, human rights, and civic participation. For details on the Changemakers award, visit the Changemakers website.

Added by Amy Lang on January 12, 2006??-??Link to this entry

News and Resources on Participatory Budgeting

Participatory Budgeting, or the process by which citizens deliberate and negotiate over the allocation of public resources, is growing into a world-wide movement. PB programs are implemented at the behest of governments, citizens, NGOs, and civil society, organizations to give citizens a direct role in deciding how and where public resources should be spent. Most citizens who participate in PB are low-income and have low levels of formal education. Historically, these groups have been excluded from budget decisions, but PB programs enable them to make choices that affect how their government acts. Participatory Budgeting was initially implemented in twelve Brazilian cities in 1989/1990. By 2005 it had spread to well over 300 municipalities in more than 40 countries, including China, Dominican Republic (see article below), Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, and Uruguay. To share information and resources on participatory budgeting projects around the world, the International Bugeting Project (www.internationalbudget.org) has put together a website full of resources on participatory budgeting and a monthly newsletter. This month's newsletter includes stories about new trends in budgeting, the impact of participatory budgeting on health outcomes and the relation of budgeting to the Paris riots, among other stories. To read this newsletter (and past issues), visit www.internationalbudget.org/resources/newsletter30.htm

Added by Amy Lang on December 29, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Town Hall Forum on Divorce, Parental Rights, Shared Parenting, and Domestic Violence Coming Up in Chicago

Dialogue on Sustainable Community (www.sustainable-community.org), a nonpartisan public interest think-tank, in cooperation with DePaul University, will be hosting a Community Town Hall Forum on Saturday, January 14, 2006, from 1:00-5:00pm to discuss public policy issues related to divorce, parental rights, shared parenting, domestic violence, and the societal impact on communities. Topics of discussion include: divorce, child custody, domestic violence, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the PBS series ?“Breaking the Silence,?” the ?“Best Interests of the Child?” standard and the impact on 14th amendment rights, and shared parental responsibility to help minimize conflict. Moderating the discussion will be Dr. Mark Rogers, a clinical psychotherapist and child custody expert. Dr. Rogers is an instructor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and is known for his involvement in the Elian Gonzales case. To register, go to www.sustainable-community.org/event_RSVP.html

Added by Amy Lang on December 16, 2005??-??Link to this entry

OrangeBand Initiative to Launch Anti-Apathy Campaign

The OrangeBand Initiative (www.orangeband.org) is poised to launch The Anti Apathy Campaign on March 15. They are inviting anyone who is interested to help shape, share, and support it. An innovative planning workshop for the campaign will be held at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA on Saturday January 28th from 12-7pm. Anyone interested in being part of an effort to promote civic engagement is invited to attend ?– and asked to invite others who might want to attend. The time will be designed in such a manner that everyone in attendance will be able to share and focus specifically on their interests. The first 75 registrants get free lunch and dinner. The official invitation is available at www.OrangeBand.org/antiapathy/antiapathy_jan28_invite_v2.pdf - register at OrangeBand's website listed above. To develop the online infrastructure to manage this campaign, OrangeBand is offering student internships for the winter break. If you have technical resources at your disposal to help add functionality to website, please be in touch. Details are available at www.orangeband.org/orangeband_internships_winter2005.pdf

Added by Amy Lang on December 13, 2005??-??Link to this entry

EPA Announces Air Innovations Grant

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has just posted a series of Air Innovations Grant announcements on their website at epa.gov/air/grants_funding.html. In particular, the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) is seeking applications from states, territories, Indian Tribes, and possessions of the U.S., including the District of Columbia, international organizations, public and private universities and colleges, hospitals, laboratories, other public or private nonprofit institutions, which propose projects with significant technical merit and relevance to EPA's Office of Air and Radiation's mission. For certain competitive funding opportunities, the Agency may limit eligibility to a particular subset of eligible applicants consistent with the Agency?’s competition policy. Applicants have until 5:00pm January 6, 2006 to submit applications/proposals. Visit the weblink above for details.

Added by Amy Lang on December 10, 2005??-??Link to this entry

EPA Calls for Proposals for Community Involvement Conference

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) currently is soliciting presentation proposals for its 2006 Community Involvement Conference and Training. This annual conference offers a unique opportunity to network with, and learn from, public participation and community involvement professionals from EPA and its federal, state, tribal, and community partners. The conference will offer participants original, engaging, and interactive presentations focusing on ways government can effectively interact with communities to achieve environmental results. The theme for the 2006 Conference is "Something Good is Brewing: Achieving Environmental Results Through Community Involvement." The conference will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from June 27 - 30, 2006. If you are interested in submitting a proposal, visit the conference web site at www.epa.gov/ciconference. All presentation proposals are due close-of-business January 18, 2006. Questions about the conference can be directed to Pat Carey, Chair of the EPA Conference Planning Committee, at or 703-603-8772, or to Lisa Gebler, Conference Coordinator at [email protected] or 301-589-5318.

Added by Amy Lang on December 07, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Perspectives Group Announces 2006 IAP2 Certificate Training Schedule

The Perspectives Group has just announced its International Association for Public Participation Certificate training in 2006. This course provides beginner through advanced practitioners with a broad-based learning experience covering all of the foundations of public participation. The Perspectives Group is one of the nation?’s foremost experts in public participation and works throughout the world to establish and run advisory boards, communicate risk and technical information, develop cooperative decision-making programs, and enhance organizational effectiveness through team-building, visioning, and effective communications. Douglas Sarno, an IAP2 Master Trainer, was part of the team of developers that designed the IAP2 Certificate Training Program. He has over 20 years of experience in planning and implementing public participation programs and has written and spoken widely on public participation issues. Doug has delivered the IAP2 training dozens of times, to over 1,000 students worldwide. The courses will be held on the following dates: Alexandria, Virginia - Douglas J. Sarno, trainer: January 30 - February 3; April 3 - 7; July 10 - 14; September 18 - 22; December 4 - 8. In East Lansing, Michigan - David Bidwell, trainer: February 23 ?– 24 (Planning) & March 20-22 (Communications & Techniques). For additional information, or to register for the training, please visit www.theperspectivesgroup.com/resource/trainingpro.html

Added by Amy Lang on December 02, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Southern Growth Policies Board Seeks Help Exploring Issue of Innovation

Each year, Southern Growth Policies Board (www.southern.org) starts a conversation in the South on a particular issue related to economic development. They do this by holding community forums or moderated discussions, in communities large and small across the region. This year, Southern Growth is seeking public help in exploring the issue of innovation. All participating communities' input will be used in presentations at the Southern Innovation Summit on June 4-6, 2006 in New Orleans and in developing Southern Growth's 2006 Report on the Future of the South. These forums can also be used as a tool to galvanize action in your own community. Southern Growth provides all groups with all the materials for a two-hour discussion. Civic clubs, workforce boards, and leadership classes can provide the audience, or create your own. A typical forum audience is between 10 to 30 citizens. Once you have sent the invitations, just let Southern know the date and location and they will send you supplies and instructions ?– or you can simply download and copy the materials yourself at www.southern.org/forums.shtml. Materials include a Moderator's Guide and a Discussion Guide as well as Pre-Forum and Post-Forum Questionnaires. Forums must be held by March 2006 in order to include your community?’s perspective in the 2006 Report on the Future of the South. Forum hosts who complete and return the moderator?’s report and questionnaires by March 10, 2006 are eligible for a reduced conference registration rate to the Southern Innovation Summit. For more information on how to plan or moderate a community forum, contact Linda Hoke at (919) 941-5145 or . To view materials ?– and findings ?– from past forums and reports, visit Southern Growth?’s Web site above.

Added by Amy Lang on December 01, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Conducting Complex Meetings Course Offered by Common Ground

As part of University of California, Davis Extension, Common Ground helps government entities, agencies and private- and public-sector organizations come together to find unique solutions to challenging and complex issues. This winter Common Ground will be offering two, one-day courses in Managing Complex Meetings for public- and private-sector professionals who wish to build their capacity for collaboration and conflict resolution. Controversial issues, public settings and large groups of people can quickly turn a simple meeting into a complex and challenging situation. These courses will provide a broad repertoire of tools for organizing and running potentially-troublesome meetings. In the first session, participants will gain the skills to engage stakeholders in the design of meeting agendas and to match the format of meetings to its goals. The second session will look at productive intervention and how to productively engage diverse and sometimes difficult stakeholders. Mediator Susan Carpenter will be conducting both sessions. Carpenter has spent the past 25 years developing and managing programs to reach consensus on public issues, resolve public controversies and develop common goals and visions. For the convenience of program participants, these courses are offered at the Sutter Square Galleria, 2901 K St., midtown Sacramento. Managing Complex Meetings: The Fundamentals, will be offered on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 9 am - 4pm. Managing Complex Meetings: Taking on the Challenges, will be offered on Wednesday, March 1, 9 am - 4 pm. To enroll or to request more information, please call (800) 752-0881 or visit UC Davis Extension's Web site at extension.ucdavis.edu/commonground/.

Added by Amy Lang on November 30, 2005??-??Link to this entry

New Opportunity to Particpate in the Citizens Health Care Working Group

The Citizens' Health Care Working Group recently announced the start of a
nationwide discussion on health care to find solutions that will lead to health care that works for all Americans. This exciting endeavor is a direct result of the Health Care that Works for All Americans law (Public Law 108-173, section 1014) proposed by Senators Orrin Hatch and Ron Wyden and passed by the U.S. Congress. The law mandates the creation of the Working Group and tasks it with organizing a national public debate on ways to improve the health care system so every American has the ability to obtain quality and affordable health care coverage. The feedback generated from this process will be used to develop a citizens' road map of recommendations which the President is required to respond to and upon which Congress will hold hearings.

The Working Group invites all organizations to participate in this incredible citizen engagement effort by helping to extend its reach to as many Americans as possible. Potential ways to help include hosting community meetings, driving traffic to the website; and highlighting this opportunity in your newsletters and networks. If your organization is interested in helping to spread the word about this unprecedented effort, and especially if you are interested in hosting a community meeting, the Working Group wants to hear from you! Please contact Jessica Federer at 301-443-1521 or

AmericaSpeaks (www.americaspeaks.org) will be partnering with the Working Group to engage thousands of Americans through small and large scale face-to-face meetings, self-initiated community meetings, and web-casts. For more information on this exciting initiative and to download the recently released Health Report to the American People, which provides a
basic set of information to help start a national discussion on health care, visit the Health Care That Works for All Americans website: www.citizenshealthcare.gov

Added by Amy Lang on November 20, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Report on the First Annual American Democracy Conference

Margaret Holt, Georgia-based D&D practitioner, covered last week's First Annual American Democracy Conference in Atlanta for the Kettering Foundation's Friday Letter. Click on the link below to read the full report.

Read the rest of "Report on the First Annual American Democracy Conference"

Added by Amy Lang on November 18, 2005??-??Link to this entry

World Citizens To Debate Urban Sustainability Online, Dec. 1-3, 2005

Habitat JAM, an unprecedented online global dialogue on urban sustainability, will be held for 72 hours from 1-3 December, 2005. Sponsored by the Government of Canada, in partnership with UN-HABITAT and IBM, the Habitat JAM promises to engage, empower and stimulate tens of thousands of global citizens, rich and less fortunate alike, with the ultimate goal of turning ideas into action on critical issues related to urban sustainability. The Habitat JAM is a preparatory event to the third session of the World Urban Forum being held in Vancouver in June 2006. The World Urban Forum is an initiative of the United Nations Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT) held every two years to debate ideas and issues about sustainable development in today's context of rapid urbanization. Topics for discussion will include improving the lives of people living in slums, access to water, environmental sustainability, safety and security, finance and governance, and the future of our cities. The Habitat JAM will bring together academics and students, planners and builders, politicians, governments, the private sector and ordinary citizens from across the globe in real time, all contributing ideas and expertise during the 72-hour global problem-solving session. Moderators will include government leaders, renowned experts, and key thinkers. To ensure the most inclusive event possible, grass root organizations, institutions, women, youth groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are helping to bring people to the technology who might otherwise not have access or opportunity to share their experiences and ideas with others around the world. To name just a few examples, the Habitat JAM is teaming with the:

* World Bank Institute to offer access to many of their satellite-based Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) to enable people living in regions with inadequate or no Internet access to participate in the Habitat JAM.
* Huairou Commission and GROOTS Canada to bring the voice of non-English speaking women into the Habitat JAM.
* World Urban Forum and Youth Organizing Committee (WUFY) who will hold over a dozen World Urban Cafe JAM Sessions to engage communities in slums and impoverished human settlements in Asia, Africa, India and Latin America.

For additional information on Habitat JAM and to register for the event, visit www.habitatjam.com.

Added by Amy Lang on November 16, 2005??-??Link to this entry

National Council for the Social Studies Invites Applications for CiviConnections Program

CiviConnections is a three-year teacher grant program funded by the federal Corporation for National and Community Service (www.nationalservice.org) and National Council for the Social Studies (www.socialstudies.org). From 2003-2006, CiviConnections will involve more than 297 teachers and 7,425 3rd-12th grade students nationwide in linking local history inquiry with community service-learning activities. A team of three teachers can apply for a $7,500 grant to cover their costs for attending a summer workshop, implementing the program during the fall of 2006, and attending the 2006 NCSS Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. CiviConnections will engage selected teachers and their students in the following sequence of activities: 1) Students and teachers choose a current issue of concern or need in the local community, 2) Students become inquiring historians as they investigate the issue through their community's history, 3) Students compare their local findings with learning about the selected issue in our nation's history, 4) Students look at how the issue is impacted by one or more government documents, such as the Bill of Rights, 5) Students design and conduct quality service-learning activities to work on the issue and strengthen their community, and 6) Students create a public display to educate the community and celebrate their collaborative service projects. Teachers will develop and adapt these activities based on their students' interests and abilities, the needs or problems in the local community, and their local social studies curriculum requirements. Applicants must be members of the National Council for the Social Studies (or agree to join if application is accepted) and must partner with at least one local community agency. See the program's Web site (www.civiconnections.org) for complete program guidelines, frequently asked questions, and application procedures. The deadline for applications is February 24, 2006.

Added by Amy Lang on November 16, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Two Upcoming Workshops at the Simon Fraser University Dialogue Program

The Simon Fraser University Dialogue Program has two exciting workshops coming up. First, a workshop entitled Learning from the Citizens' Assembly: A conversation with Jack Blaney will be held Monday, November 21, 2005, from 8-9:30am at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, Asia Pacific Hall. For Registration or information call 604.291.5100. In 2003, an independent, non-partisan assembly of 160 randomly selected citizens from across British Columbia gathered together to understand and redesign the province's electoral system. Led by Jack Blaney, Simon Fraser University president emeritus, this Citizen's Assembly produced a novel system called BC-STV, which was narrowly defeated in a provincial referendum. Despite this setback, critics and admirers alike acknowledge that the work of the Assembly has set the province on the path to electoral reform and demonstrated the power of public engagement in creating and evaluating new policies. Jack Blaney will reflect in conversation on the workings of the assembly and the applicability of this model to future public initiatives.

Second, join instructor Peter Noteboom, the managing director of Global Learning Partners, for Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach: An introduction to dialogue education. The workshop takes place from Monday, November 28 to Thursday, December 1, 2005, 9-5 pm. Cost is $1400, and discounts are available. For registration or information email [email protected], call 604.268.7925 or visit www.sfu.ca/dialogue/dialoguemakers_web.pdf. Based upon the field research and teaching of Dr. Jane Vella, this four-day workshop provides the building blocks of the dialogue education approach to curriculum design and facilitation skills. By switching the focus from 'what the instructor says about a topic' to 'what the participants will do with the content to demonstrate their learning,' adult learners are invited to take new ideas, apply them and reflect on their significance for their own lives and context.

Added by Amy Lang on November 14, 2005??-??Link to this entry

CIRCLE Announces Grant Opportunity for Research on Civic Education

The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), with funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, has announced a grant opportunity for research on Civic Education at the high school level. Applicants are invited to submit letters of inquiry no later than December 15, 2005. Full details are available at www.civicyouth.org/whats_new/RFP.htm

Added by Amy Lang on November 08, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Applications for the 2006 All-America City Award Now Available

The All-America City Award is the nation's original and most prestigious community recognition award. Since 1949, the Award has honored communities of all sizes (cities, towns, counties, neighborhoods and regions) where community members, government, businesses and nonprofit organizations work together to address critical local issues. More than 500 communities have earned this distinguished title and many have earned it more than once. If your community works collaboratively to overcome local challenges, it could become an All-America City and serve as a national model for other communities. The application process alone represents a valuable opportunity to evaluate the way your community manages opportunities and challenges, which can make your community stronger. Communities that earn the All-America City title realize numerous benefits, including local, state, and national recognition, greater civic pride and greater civic collaboration and economic stimulus. "This prestigious award recognizes America's heroes who have taken responsibility for their communities, who form partnerships among citizens, local government and private businesses to ensure that we meet the urgent needs of our people and open new opportunities to our neighbors," said former president Bill Clinton, in a Rose Garden Ceremony for All-America Cities. The deadline for applications is March 9, 2006. To obtain an application, or for additional information visit www.ncl.org/aac/index.

Added by Amy Lang on November 08, 2005??-??Link to this entry

News from the Hope Unraveled Book Tour

Many Happenings readers know of the success of Rich Harwood's recent book, Hope Unraveled. The book tour continues on to Minnesota this month from Nov. 8-10 to continue sharing the message of Hope Unraveled and how citizens can step forward to reverse the people?’s retreat and forge an alternate path for politics and public life. Check out an account of the book tour on Rich's blog at www.theharwoodinstitute.org/rcharwood/weblog. Here are some ways people are using Hope Unraveled:
* In Portland, the Oregon Community Foundation convened a forum of community leaders and foundation executives for an afternoon session to hear Rich speak about what his book says about the context of today?’s politics and public life, and what that means for the work they?’re doing. Rich has already met on the same topic with individuals from the Peninsula Community Foundation in San Mateo, California; the East Bay Community Foundation in Oakland; and the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation. Later on this year, he?’ll be speaking with funders in Atlanta, Flint, Newark, and Minneapolis.
* Wisconsin Public Television recently purchased copies of Hope Unraveled to give as gifts to people who pledged $150 or more during their fundraising drive. Public broadcasting stations across the country are seeing the value of this tool as a way to re-engage citizens. For example, Minnesota Public Television is hosting Rich next week for a community forum around the book.
* The Maryland Nonprofits Association is providing copies of the book to attendees of their 2006 state legislative preview session. Rich will also be the keynote speaker at the session, discussing how his findings impact the nonprofit sector.

Added by Amy Lang on November 07, 2005??-??Link to this entry

IAP2 Launches Online Knowledge Network

The Public Participation (P2) Knowledge Network at www.iap2.civicore.com, has been launched by the International Association for Public Participation in partnership with Portland State University's Center for Public Participation. The P2 Knowledge Network is an interactive resource for academics and practitioners alike who are interested in sharing knowledge and research on public participation. The Network contains a database of over 300 books, articles and websites drawn from IAP2's original bibliographies, which were refined and updated in 2005. Records include papers, abstracts, web links, and other information, all in a searchable and exportable format. Visitors are encouraged to recommend and add new material to the database. The Knowledge Network also contains an Online Discussion forum. The Forum is a place to engage in discussion on your choice of topic, for example: opinions on current papers, new research initiatives, teaching materials, debating the "big questions", etc. The P2 Knowledge Network was created in response to requests from IAP2's members for a way to share new ideas about public participation, enhance the research field and improve the practice. It is free and accessible to all.

Added by Amy Lang on November 06, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Watch PBS Deliberation Week On Thursday Nov. 10

PBS will broadcast nationally on Thursday November 10 at 9:00 pm EST (check local listings) By the People: PBS Deliberation Week. By the People is a special project organized by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions to bring the views of informed, "ordinary" citizens to a national discussion on the important issues of the day. The broadcast highlights citizen deliberations organized by By the People, sixteen PBS affiliates and local partners during Deliberation Week, October 22-29, 2005. These events focused on healthcare or education, two issues prominent on the national agenda.

As part of Deliberation Week, the Stanford Center for Deliberative Democracy (cdd.stanford.edu) conducted an online Deliberative Poll on health care and education. For five weeks, participants engaged in weekly small group dialogues with trained moderators, discussed balanced briefing materials and posed questions to experts representing different points of view. The participants?’ views changed significantly about policy options, about public officials and about each other. The project was conducted online with a nationally representative sample that discussed the issues using voice rather than text (employing microphones for interaction) and software designed to facilitate group discussion. Online Deliberative Polls offer lower costs than face-to-face deliberation when bringing together representative sample groups of large or national populations. CitizenSovereignty.org is a new, nonprofit and nonpartisan organization whose purpose is to educate people about the importance of participating in political life, through efforts such as the use of Deliberative Polls in public policy development. For more information about CitizenSovereignty, contact Bill Corbett at .

Added by Amy Lang on November 06, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Search For Common Ground Partnership Recognized at Clinton Global Initiative

Last month in New York City, 40 heads of state and almost 1,000 religious, business and nonprofit leaders came together at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) for three days of in-depth discussions in an effort to address and seek solutions for the world's critical issues: extreme poverty, climate change, problems in governance, and religion as a source of conflict. The talks concluded with the announcement of "commitments" totaling $1.25 billion in pledges for specific initiatives that address these global problems. Clinton singled out the commitment from Nestle to fund Search for Common Ground's TV drama series in Nigeria, and invited Search For Common Ground (SFCG) President John Marks and Klaus Wachsmuth, Managing Director of Nestle Nigeria PLC, to the stage to recognize this model of corporate and NGO partnership for effecting positive social change. SFCG is currently producing two TV series in Nigeria. Their aim is to promote inter-ethnic tolerance and respect, and to encourage non-violent resolution of conflict. The Station is a 26-part drama about the adventures of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious group of Nigerian TV reporters - Yorubas, Hausas, Ibos, and others - working together as a news team to cover Nigeria's most pressing problems, such as AIDS and corruption, through the prism of finding common ground. The series focuses on socially relevant themes through entertaining soap opera drama that will appeal to large audiences. The initial production is a 20-part reality series called The Academy, which is intended to build an audience for The Station. The Academy is centered on a nationwide talent search leading to the final selection of the cast for The Station. Over 50,000 applicants answered the open casting call. Both series will be aired on Nigerian national TV, with the direct support of President Obasanjo. To read more about SFCG and the Clinton Global Initiative, visit www.sfcg.org.

Added by Amy Lang on October 27, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Nominations Invited for Civic Change Award

The Pew Partnership for Civic Change (www.pew-partnership.org/) is a civic research organization that provides consulting and program support to communities, governments, foundations, and nonprofit agencies working to make communities stronger. Since 1997, the Pew Partnership has given its Civic Change Award to an individual, organization, or community that has demonstrated extraordinary commitment to improving civic life. The award carries with it a cash prize to a nonprofit organization of the awardee's choice, a crystal memento, and attendance at an award event. Former winners include John Gardner, Paul Aicher, Alma Powell, William Winter, and the League of Women Voters of the United States. For complete program information, an application form, and details on past recipients, visit the Pew Partnership Website. Applications are due December 31, 2005.

Added by Amy Lang on October 23, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Ten Days To C2D2!

With ten days to go until the Canadian Conference on Dialogue and Deliberation in Ottawa, organizers have sent out answers to their top three most frequently asked questions. First, people are asking,"Can I still register for a pre-Conference training session?". The answer is yes ?– and up to October 26, as long as space permits. The website has been adjusted to reflect the two sessions that will be on offer, at extremely low prices - one on Best Practices in Public Consultation and the other on Intermodal Engagement: How to Marry Online and Traditional Consultation and Dialogue. A second FAQ is "How much longer will registration for the Conference remain open?" The Conference registration is already high?…and people can register right up to opening on the evening of October 27. A full description of the Conference program ?– including over 60 interactive breakout sessions, 6 community conversations, 4 plenaries and 2 deliberative dialogues ?– and online registration and payment, are available at www.c2d2.ca. One final question being asked is "Will there be an opportunity to meet and network with other participants and presenters?" The answer is that the Conference has been designed with this purpose in mind. In fact, World Café, the opening session on the evening of October 27, will set the stage for ongoing opportunities to connect ?– that is what C2D2 is all about! In addition, there are no speakers or learning sessions during mealtimes and breaks to ensure that participants are free to follow up on ideas with other participants and presenters. Plans are already underway for post-Conference communication, as well. To find out more about pre-conference training, the program for the conference or answers to your other FAQs, visit the Conference website at www.c2d2.ca.

Added by Amy Lang on October 18, 2005??-??Link to this entry

White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation Focuses on "Shared Governance"

Federal officials working for environmental, land-management, and wildlife agencies gathered in August with state, local, and tribal officials; nonprofit conservation organizations; and private landowners and businesses for the fourth-ever White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation. The first such conference was convened by Teddy Roosevelt in 1908 and set a 40-year course for conservation in the United States. This year?’s theme, ?“Strengthening shared governance and citizen stewardship,?” sought to celebrate what Interior Secretary Gail Norton called a new chapter built on "communication, consultation, and cooperation, in the name of conservation." The three-day conference was organized by the Council on Environmental Quality, and co-hosted by the Departments of Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, and the Environmental Protection Agency. A number of facilitators, including PolicyConsensus Director Chris Carlson and NPCC Director Greg Wolf, led discussions around nine key topic areas such as expanding the roles of states, tribes, and local governments in cooperative conservation. In her opening remarks, Interior Secretary Norton described an initiative to develop cooperative conservation legislation to submit to Congress, though few details were offered about what the legislation would contain. Two days later, at the concluding plenary session ?– after Norton and other cabinet members had been summoned to Washington, D.C., to coordinate the emergency response to Hurricane Katrina ?– federal officials issued an invitation to conference participants to provide input on the proposed legislation. For updates and more information on the conference, visit PolicyConsensus.org.

Added by Amy Lang on October 13, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Box Tops for Education Launches Kids' Caucus on Education

Box Tops for Education (boxtops4education.com) has just announced the Box Tops for Education Kids' Caucus, an assembly of children, parents, education officials, and members of Congress who will meet to discuss solutions to improving parental involvement in education in the United States. The Kids' Caucus, to be held on Capitol Hill in April 2006, will provide an opportunity for those who deal with parental involvement in education every day -- parents, teachers and children -- to offer practical insight to education officials into how parental involvement in education can be improved. As part of the program, fifth- through eighth-grade students are invited to enter the Kids' Caucus Essay Contest. Box Tops for Education is asking students to tell them in 250-500 words, "If you and your parent or guardian were made principals for the day, how would you improve parental involvement at your school?" Box Tops for Education will select 52 finalists -- one from each state, one from the District of Columbia, and one from either a U.S. territory or U.S. military-based school located outside the U.S. -- to receive a $1,000 Parental Involvement in Education Grant to be used by their school to enhance and/or improve parental involvement in education efforts. Ten Grand Prize winners to go to Washington, D.C., where each student and his/her parent or guardian will have the opportunity to share their creative ideas for new parental involvement in education programs with members of Congress on Capitol Hill. Entries are due December 1, 2005. Visit the Box Tops for Education Web site for complete program information and essay contest entry procedures.

Added by Amy Lang on October 11, 2005??-??Link to this entry

PCI and NPCC Launching a "Public Solutions System"

For the past several years, the Policy Consensus Initiative (PCI) and the National Policy Consensus Center (NPCC) have been developing an approach to collaborative governance for states that can be adapted and applied to complex policy issues in which multiple sectors have a stake in the outcomes, and no single entity can produce a solution on its own. The model is based on lessons from the past 30 years about what makes collaborative processes legitimate and effective. This ?“Public Solutions System?” is not intended to replace existing, traditional systems of state decision making. Rather, it serves as an option for state leaders to use on a more routine basis when difficult public issues ?– issues that cannot be resolved by government alone ?– need to be approached collaboratively. A fundamental component of the Public Solutions System is the new role it offers leaders ?– that of convener. Unlike a policymaker, the role of convener involves bringing together all the key sectors ?– public, private and civic ?– to develop effective, lasting solutions to public problems that go beyond what any sector could achieve on its own. Rather than deciding for people, leaders in the convener role make decisions with people, giving all impacted stakeholders a key role in problem solving and strategy implementation. The Public Solutions System involves a set of core principles that ensure democratic practices are followed; an ?“Operating System?” that ensures best practices are employed; and a network of leaders as conveners, along with sponsors, practitioners, and neutral forums to carry out the collaborative processes. More information about the Public Solutions System should be available on PCI's updated website, which will be launched in the coming month (www.PolicyConsensus.org).

Added by Amy Lang on October 06, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Public Conversations Project Seeks Executive Director

The Public Conversations Project (PCP), a well-respected and highly effective national nonprofit, is seeking an energetic, collaborative Executive Director to succeed the organization's founder. Specializing in highly polarizing conflicts about deeply held beliefs, PCP helps people who are fundamentally divided over contentious issues develop the mutual understanding and trust essential for strong communities and positive action. The Executive Director serves as PCP's chief executive officer, and is responsible to a small Board of Directors. S/he has overall responsibility for the organization's strategic, programmatic, financial, and management operations. Working within the framework of a soon to be completed business plan, the Executive Director will build upon PCP's successes by both visualizing and capitalizing on opportunities that lie ahead. The core challenges facing the next Executive Director include 1) increasing PCP's programmatic impact without sacrificing quality, 2) expanding and diversifying the funding base, and 3) collaboratively leading a talented team through a period of significant change. For a more detailed position description visit www.NonprofitProfessionals.com/searches/pcp-ed.htm . To learn more about the Public Conversations Project, visit www.PublicConversations.org.

Applications are due by November 11, 2005, and will be reviewed as received. Please send a cover letter describing your interest and qualifications, yourresume (in Word format), and salary history. Applications should be sent to: ; to assist in their internal sorting and reviewing process, please write your name (Last, First) as the only contents in the subject line of your e-mail. PCP is an equal opportunity employer that seeks staff diversity that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve.

Added by Amy Lang on September 25, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Environmental and Land Use Planning Job at University of Oregon

The Department of Planning, Public Policy & Management (PPPM) at the University of Oregon is seeking a tenure track Assistant Professor to begin in fall 2006, with teaching responsibilities in our master's program in Community & Regional Planning (CRP) and our undergraduate program. They are seeking an individual with primary research and teaching interests in environmental and land use planning. The ideal candidate would also have complementary interests in one or more of the following areas: growth management, transportation, planning law, international planning, nonprofit management, and race, ethnicity and diversity. The successful applicant is expected to have a demonstrated record or show clear promise of research excellence and teaching excellence. Preference will be given to applicants who are comfortable with a wide array of analytical methods, and who have some professional experience. Minimum qualifications are a Ph.D. in a planning-relevant field. (ABDs will be considered, but Ph.D. must be completed for appointment as assistant professor.) They seek candidates with demonstrated effectiveness in working with students, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds. Applicants should submit a letter describing their teaching and research interests, curriculum vitae, and the names, postal and e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers of three references. We especially encourage applications from minorities and women. Inquiries and applications should be directed to: CRP Search Committee, Richard Margerum, Chair; Department of Planning, Public Policy & Management; 1209 University of Oregon; Eugene, OR 97403-1209. Telephone: 541-346-2526; Fax: 541-346-2040; E-mail: . Review of applications will begin October 10, 2005, and continue until the position is filled. For more information please visit their website at pppm.uoregon.edu/

Added by Amy Lang on September 23, 2005??-??Link to this entry

C2D2 Conference Registration Deadline Extended to Sept. 23

The first ever Canadian Conference on Dialogue and Deliberation (Oct. 27-30) has just extended its deadline for early registration until Sept. 23. Cost is $475 plus GST. The program for C2D2 is now up and running on the website (www.c2d2.ca) and includes three days of varied presentations, interactive sessions and activities, as well as a pre-Conference training day (October 27), with a wide range of half-day and full-day training opportunities. All C2D2 trainers are generously offering sessions at very low rates ?— $150.00 (plus GST) for half-day and $250.00 (plus GST) for full-day sessions. Registration for training must be completed separately. To register for C2D2 or the pre-conference training, visit the website today! If you have any questions, contact Sandra Zagon at or (613) 565-1500 or Miriam Wyman
or (416) 413-0347.

Added by Amy Lang on September 18, 2005??-??Link to this entry

New Book by Rich Harwood Now Available

In his new book Hope Unraveled, Richard C. Harwood argues that many Americans have retreated from the public square. In conversations spanning more than a decade in dozens of cities across the country, Harwood has found a nation struggling with growing consumerism, distorted realities and false divisions that cut across cultural, political and media landscapes. In the book, Harwood argues that to pursue an alternate path for politics and public life ?– rooted in genuine possibility and hope ?– we must get back to basics. This involves understanding why people have retreated and under what conditions they will step forward, tapping into people?’s desire to be part of something larger than themselves, and finally, affirming a commitment to hope. To pre-order your copy of Hope Unraveled, and ensure you are among the first to receive the book, call 1-800-600-4060. Rich is also embarking on a book tour this fall - to see a list of tour locations, click on the link below.

Read the rest of "New Book by Rich Harwood Now Available"

Added by Amy Lang on September 18, 2005??-??Link to this entry

E-CIVICUS Online Newsletter Now Available

CIVICUS (www.civicus.org) is an international alliance established in 1993 to nurture the foundation, growth and protection of citizen action throughout the world, particularly in areas where participatory democracy and citizen's freedom of association are threatened. They are currently offering free subscriptions to their newsletter, e-CIVICUS. This weekly publication is keeping tens of thousands of people, organisations and programmes informed of the many developments that are taking place in civil society organisations around the world, the many factors that are affecting them and the impact they are having on creating a more just world. The newsletter has recently changed in character, format and frequency and is now reaching over 35 000 people and organisations working on civil society issues. To subscribe to their e-newsletter list, please contact Eric Muragana at and inform them whether you would like to receive the newsletter in HTML, PDF, WORD or plain-text formats.

Added by Amy Lang on September 18, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Update on Call for Department of Peace

A few days ago, we blogged about the Peace Alliance campaign to establish a U.S. Department of Peace (see here). We just got an update with some great news. At a meeting with Peace Alliance youth leaders in D.C., Senator Mark Dayton from Minnesota agreed to help "move this forward" on behalf of our children. It is a huge milestone in the campaign and for the future of this legislation to have a member of the Senate to express such interest. The Peace Alliance is asking for everyone's support to help us keep up this momentum with Senator Dayton. Call Senator Dayton's office today at 202-224-3244 and thank him for his interest and support on behalf of our children. The Peace Alliance is also encouraging children to call their Senators and Representative to ask them to support a Dept of Peace. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at: (202) 224-3121. You can find your representatives at: www.vote-smart.org. The new bill number in the House of Representatives is HB 3760. On the House side, the bill already has three new co-sponsors and much interest from others. This is great news!

Added by Amy Lang on September 18, 2005??-??Link to this entry

New Weblinks to Particpatory Budgeting in Germany

We heard through Matthias Trenel of Humboldt University Berlin about an interesting e-democracy project going on in Berlin. Zebralog is currently doing the online segment (information and dialogue) of a participatory budgeting project in the Berlin borough of Lichtenberg which also has many face-to-face events. The project was inspired by the Porto Allegre model. For those of you who speak German, or know how to use google's translator and can interpret the results, here are two links: the project website at www.buergerhaushalt-lichtenberg.de; and Zebralog blog at www.zebralog.de/de/000125.html.

Added by Amy Lang on September 18, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Update on IAP2 Conference Training Opportunities

As the IAP2 Annual Conference in Portland, OR draws near, the conference organizers have sent out a reminder about the great training opportunities that will take place before the conference, from Oct. 14-16. You can register to take a number of different courses, including the foundation courses in the IAP2 Certificate program. To learn more about the trainings, visit the conference website (www.iap2.org/displayconvention.cfm) and click on "Pre-Conference Training". To register for the conference, visit the website and click on "Register". And to read a list of course offerings, click on the link below.

Read the rest of "Update on IAP2 Conference Training Opportunities"

Added by Amy Lang on September 17, 2005??-??Link to this entry

News About By The People's Upcoming Deliberation Week

By the People (www.pbs.org/newshour/btp) has just announced grant awards to the community groups and PBS stations in sixteen cities across the country that will convene Citizen Dialogues and produce companion television programming during Deliberation Week, October 22-29, 2005. Through these events, they anticipate more than 1,000 citizens nationwide will join in a common deliberation about one of two critically important issues before the nation: healthcare and education. The discussions, which will be national and local in scope, will reach an even larger audience when they are featured in a national PBS broadcast airing on November 10, 2005, at 9:00pm ET. To read a list of participating groups and stations, click on the link below.

By The People is also organizing a number of other participation venues. Five community colleges around the country will engage their students and local communities in dialogues on healthcare and education during Deliberation Week and throughout the fall. Topics for discussion include healthcare for the uninsured, hospital personnel shortages, education ethics, and teaching challenges in a diverse classroom. (To read a list of participating colleges, click on the link below). And more than 300 citizens will participate in a national online conversation about By the People?’s Deliberation Week issues-- healthcare and education-- in September and October 2005. A representative sample of citizens nationwide will participate in weekly small group discussions to become more informed. The resulting shifts of opinion will reveal what these participants think about healthcare and education as they learn more about these issues. The experiment will be conducted for By the People by the Stanford Center for Deliberative Democracy and Polimetrix. The online process will mirror face-to-face conversations taking place during Deliberation Week. The online deliberators, who will be a national representative sample, will meet online in small groups and participate in discussions conducted through voice rather than text. Results of the online Deliberative Opinion Poll® will be available on the By the People website in November.

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Added by Amy Lang on September 15, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Participants Needed in Massachusetts For Public Engagement on Sept. 17

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with 7 other participating organizations are currently conducting the Public Engagement Pilot Project on Pandemic Influenza. Their goal is to demonstrate that they can attract a large, diverse group of citizens without financial incentives to learn about a technical subject in public health, interact respectfully in gave and take discussions, and reach a productive outcome by ranking goals and populations related to the use of scarce influenza vaccine (rationing) in the early days of a worldwide outbreak of a new influenza virus. They have already held two successful public consultations with citizens-at-large in Atlanta and with stakeholders in Washington DC in the past month, and are scheduled to travel to Marlborough Massachusetts this coming Saturday September 17, 2005 to obtain citizen feedback on the preliminary report from the two previous meetings.

They are currently having difficulty recruiting at least 100 Massachusetts citizens-at-large to attend the consultation this Saturday morning. If anyone has access to Massachusetts citizens 18 and over who might be successfully recruited to attend, please let the organizers of this event know immediately know right away. Contact Jennifer Logan Coyle in Massachusetts at or call 617-620-9615. They will be repeating the feedback sessions in Omaha on Sept 24 and in Portland Oregon on October 1, 2005 and could use help in recruiting there also, but Massachusetts is the priority for now.

Added by Amy Lang on September 13, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Participants Needed in Massachusetts For Public Engagement Project

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with 7 other participating organizations are currently conducting the Public Engagement Pilot Project on Pandemic Influenza. Our goal is to demonstrate "proof of principle", i.e., that we can attract a large, diverse group of citizens without financial incentives to learn about a technical subject in public health, interact respectfully in gave and
take discussions, and reach a productive outcome by ranking goals and
populations related to the use of scarce influenza vaccine (rationing) in the early days of a worldwide outbreak of a new influenza virus.

We have held two successful public consultations with citizens-at-large in Atlanta and with stakeholders in Washington DC in the past month. We are scheduled to travel to Marlborough Massachusetts this coming Saturday September 17, 2005 to obtain citizen feedback on the
preliminary report from the two previous meetings describing who would
be first in line to receive the vaccine during a pandemic.

We are having difficulty recruiting at least 100 Massachusetts
citizens-at-large to attend the consultation this Saturday morning. Does
anyone on the list serv have access to Massachusetts citizens 18 and
over who might be successfully recruited to attend? If so, please let us
know right away how you believe you could help by contacting Jennifer
Logan Coyle in Massachusetts at [email protected]
617-620-9615

In the period after hurricane Katrina when everyone is asking why did
this failure occur and how can we do it better the next time a health
emergency arises, our Public Engagement Pilot Project on Pandemic
Influenza offers an opportunity for citizens to step up to plate and
help make planning for this widely anticipated health emergency more
successful.

We will be repeating the feedback sessions in Omaha on Sept 24 and in
Portland Oregon on October 1, 2005 and could use help in recruiting
there also, but Massachusetts is the priority for now.

Added by Amy Lang on September 13, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Join In the Call For Peace on September 14!

On September 14th, 2005, legislation to establish a U. S. Department of Peace will be re-introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The primary function of a United States Department of Peace will be to research, articulate and facilitate nonviolent solutions to domestic and international conflict. The Department of Peace will employ proven and effective strategies for reducing violence in our country and around world, including nonviolent communication skills, conflict resolution techniques and cultural relationship building. Learn more at The Peace Alliance website: www.ThePeaceAlliance.org

If you support this action, contact your member of Congress on, right before or after, Wednesday, September 14th. Contact your Representative at the U.S. capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121. To find your Representative, visit www.vote-smart.org Tell the staffer who answers your call that you want your Representative to sign on as a co-sponsor of the Department of Peace legislation. Request a written response explaining your member's position and the reasoning behind it. (You can call your local office as well.) It is most effective if you call the D.C. office first, then follow-up with a fax or email.To write your Representative, click below to get started. This will allow you to send an email or a fax to your congressperson. www.thepeacealliance.org/action

Added by Amy Lang on September 13, 2005??-??Link to this entry

NCDD to Participate in the SCRC National Conference

This Oct. 7-8, the Study Circles Resource Center conference will take place in Northbrook, IL (a suburb of Chicago). NCDD wil be there hosting a pre-conference workshop with the Deliberative Democracy Consortium about navigating and choosing among different models of dialogue and deliberation. You can sign up for pre-conference training and plan your conference workshops by visiting the conference website www.studycircles.org/scrcconference. Early registration is open until Sept. 14, and discount hotel rooms will be available until Sept. 16, so register now! This year's conference will feature open space lunches, where any participant can organize a discussion table around a challenge or issue that hasn't been covered in the workshops. The conference will also feature a performance by the unforgettable National Playback Theatre. Visit the conference website for details.

Added by Amy Lang on September 11, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Join Preview Forum to Discuss Access to Information

?“Preview Forum?” is a national media and dialogue initiative that brings together news professionals, leaders, and citizens in local forums to discuss social issues relevant to the community. This fall, Preview Forum focuses on who has access to what information? Four years after 9/11, four years after the Patriot Act, and several years into a data-industry revolution, have we found the right balance between security, privacy and freedom of information? And how can journalists help our communities better understand the tradeoffs? They invite organizations of all sizes to become local partners and host forums in their communities. Roundtable will provide FREE RESOURCES (including videos, topic guides, publicity materials, and more) to organizations that sign on as partners. Supplies are limited. For more information, contact Julia John at or 781-893-3336 x24. Visit the Web site at www.previewforum.com

Added by Amy Lang on September 11, 2005??-??Link to this entry

New Opportunity to Study Public Participation

IAP2 and the Kettering Foundation have embarked on a joint research project that will explore the question "What is the cultural context of public participation?" in four regions of the world. They are seeking interviewers for these regions. The possible regions are: Latin America, the United Kingdom/Western Europe, South Africa, Australasia or Southeast Asia.and for the one region that's already been chosen, the United States/Canada, too. The identification of interviewers will in a large part drive selection of the remaining three regions chosen for this project. Interested individuals are asked to submit an expression of interest, with a sentence or two describing their capabilities/experience based on the criteria listed below. Copies of the project overview are available upon request. To read the criteria and contact information, click on the linnk below.

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Added by Amy Lang on September 11, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Update on IAP2 Conference (Oct. 14-19)

The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Conference is coming up soon in Portland, OR and with it come extra ways to participate in this year's event. First, during pre-conference training (Oct. 14-16) all three IAP2 Certificate Program courses will be offered along with more than 10 other excellent training sessions. This is the most diverse training program ever offered at an IAP2 conference. For more information or to register, visit www.iap2.org/displayconvention.cfm. IAP2 has also opened up sponsorship opportunities - if you or your employer are interested, visit www.iap2.org or contact Roberta Bourn at . Third, all conference presenters and registrants are invited to prepare a poster that presents their new ideas in public participation. They are looking for ideas developed through practical experience or academic research. Posters will be presented at the Ideas Fair session on Monday October 17, 2005, from 3:45 PM to 5:30 PM. Posters will be displayed throughout the conference. A numbered catalog of the poster displays will also be available. Prepare a brief description of your poster idea (about 50 words) and your contact information and send it to Paul Leistner, 2350 S.E. 57th Ave., Portland, OR 97215 USA or email .

Added by Amy Lang on September 11, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Participate in the September Project

The September Project is a grassroots effort to encourage public events on freedom, democracy, and citizenship in libraries on or around September 11. Libraries around the world are organizing public and campus events, such as displays about human rights and historical documents; talks and performances about freedom and cultural difference; and film screenings about issues that matter. Although primarily organized for September 11, events will take place all throughout the month of September. A list of events is available at: www.theseptemberproject.org/events.htm. To see a map of all the countries taking part, visit www.drizzle.com/%7Eklockner/cgi-bin/tsp/2005/map.cgi. And to read about the September Project in the Chronicle of Higher Education, visit here:chronicle.com/free/2005/09/2005090801t.htm.

Added by Amy Lang on September 10, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Conference on the American Dream Coming Up in Washington, DC

On September 27, 2005 the Fetzer Institute, in partnership with The Faith & Politics Institute, The Center for the Study of the Presidency, and Jossey-Bass Publishers is holding a conference celebrating public conversation, titled "Deepening the American Dream: Reflections on the Inner Life and Spirit of Democracy" in Washington DC. Participae in this free event from 9 am to 4 pm at the National Press Club Ballroom. Join 12 leading authors as they discuss the nature and impact of the American Dream in the 21st century. Participating authors include David Abshire, Carolyn Brown, Betty Sue Flowers, Charles Gibbs, Vincent Harding, Robert Inchausti, Carolyn Lukensmeyer, Jacob Needleman, Parker Palmer, Abdul Aziz Said, Huston Smith, and Doug Tanner. The day concludes with the annual Capps-Emerson Memorial Lecture at Rayburn House Office Building, Rm B-338 from 6:30-9:00 PM. The conference is open to the public at no charge. Please RSVP by September 13, to the Fetzer Institute with contact information and lunch preference, if vegetarian. Phone 1-888-849-4889 or e-mail . Visit www.fetzer.org for the full meeting agenda.

Added by Amy Lang on September 01, 2005??-??Link to this entry

New International Listserv for Participatory Budgeting Invites Participants

The Participatory Budgeting Network Listserv is an email discussion list about participatory budgeting experiences and issues. It is being developed as a result of discussions at the 2005 World Social Forum. The purpose of the list is to facilitate information exchange, discussion, networking, and collaboration between people working with participatory budgeting in different cities and countries. The listserv is open to anyone interested in or involved with participatory budgeting. The primary language is English. The listserv is currently managed by The Transformative Learning Centre (University of Toronto) and linked to a new international network organizing around schools of citizenship, participatory democracy and participatory budgeting experiences.
To subscribe to the listserv, send a blank email to

Added by Amy Lang on September 01, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Public Participation Training Opportunities Coming Up in Alexandria, VA

The Perspectives Group has just announced that it will offer the IAP2 Certificate Program in Public Participation two more times in Alexandria, VA in 2005. The week consists of three courses covering planning, communications, and techniques. The courses can be taken all together or at separate times. The course is recommended for any organization that interacts with the public in making decisions or developing programs. Dates are September 19-23, 2005 in Alexandria, VA and December 5-9, 2005 in Alexandria, VA. Upon completion, participants will receive a certificate from IAP2, the world?’s leading association for public participation. For additional information and registration forms go to www.theperspectivesgroup.com/PG/training.html. Got any questions? Please contact Crystal Sarno or Kristie Bergeron-Hale at The Perspectives Group via telephone: 703-837-1197 or email: .

Added by Amy Lang on August 25, 2005??-??Link to this entry

EPA Adds New Engagement Resources to Website

The US Environmental Protection Agency's public involvement web pages (www.epa.gov/publicinvolvement) have recently been expanded to include new materials and links to useful information about tools and techniques in use all over the world. The site also includes a new Feedback section with ready-to-use surveys for activities such as hearings, meetings, listening sessions, FACA groups, community advisory groups, small group discussions and stakeholder negotiations. (Visit www.epa.gov/publicinvolvement/feedback). In addition, the Public Involvement Resources and Training (PIRT) database, previously on EPA's intranet, is now publicly available. Check it out at www.epa.gov/publicinvolvement/pirtdatabase. Not only can you use the information it contains, you can suggest additional resources, conferences and trainings.

Added by Amy Lang on August 22, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Public Agenda To Lead National Community College Engagement Effort

Public Agenda, the New York-based opinion research and citizen engagement organization, has received a grant to support its work in a national effort to boost achievement of community college students. The $480,000 grant, funded by Lumina Foundation for Education, will support Public Agenda's participation in ?“Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count,?” a multi-year initiative to increase the success of community college students, particularly those who face the greatest obstacles to success. The project will bring together community members, government, local schools and employers, and students themselves to talk seriously and honestly about what kinds of changes will really work to improve student outcomes. For more information on Public Agenda's work, visit www.publicagenda.org.

Added by Amy Lang on August 20, 2005??-??Link to this entry

New PBS Series Invites Study Circle Participants

The PBS series NOW is looking for participants in a pilot project that will encourage active discussion and engaged citizenship. The Twin Cities will be one of two sites (the other is San Diego) to host the pilot "Program Clubs," which will be run on the study circle model. The study circles will be organized in September and October. If you're interested in participating as a member or a facilitator of a group, please contact the Twin Cities Program Club coordinator, David McCarthy at . To read more about the program, click on the link below.

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Added by Amy Lang on August 18, 2005??-??Link to this entry

IAP2 Invites Applications for Certificate Program Trainers

The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) has just announced they are accepting applications from individuals wishing to become licensed as Certificate Program trainers. IAP2 will be offering all three certificate courses at the annual conference in Portland, Oregon, USA in October 2005. If you have not completed the courses this is an excellent opportunity to do (completion of all three certificate courses is a requirement for Candidate Trainers). In addition, IAP2 would like to offer new Candidate Trainers the opportunity to audit the certificate courses at the annual conference in Portland, Oregon, USA in October 2005. This will give new Candidate Trainers an opportunity to become more familiar with the course content before applying to attend a future IAP2 Academy. (No registration fee - participants would be responsible for actual meal costs and for replacement manuals if necessary.)

If you are interested in auditing courses in Portland, you must return a completed application to the IAP2 office by September 7, 2005. Applicants will be notified of the status of their application by September 29, 2005. If you are not interested in auditing the courses in Portland, please submit your application at your convenience. This is an open application process. Please contact Dina Alengi Storz at [email protected] or 800-644-4273 (303-451-5945 from outside of North America) to request an application packet.

Added by Amy Lang on August 18, 2005??-??Link to this entry

UN Conference Seeks Input on Declaration on Community Engagement

The inaugural United Nations International Conference on Engaging Communities will be held on 14 - 17 August 2005 in Brisbane, Australia (www.engagingcommunities2005.org). There are plans to develop a UN Declaration on Community Engagement at the conference. To assist this development the conference organizers are conducting a brief engagement process prior to, and at, the conference itself. They are seeking input on a UN Declaration or Charter for Community Engagement. Please consider filling out a very brief online questionnaire (three questions) to help in this process. To access the questionnaire, visit http://www.darzinsurveys.com/ds/index.asp?CX=ICEC&SX=IAP2. Please fill out the questionnaire before Wednesday 10 August. And feel free to let others know about this questionnaire. If you do plan on sending it to others, please send a brief e-mail to Allison Hendricks at with the following information:

* Name of group or network (if appropriate) - for example America Speaks
* Number of people you are sending it to
* Country of recepients (if the people you are sending it to are mostly in one country, then just nominate that one. If there are big groupings then just nominate a rough percentage such as 50% Australia, 50% New Zealand).

A draft version of the Declaration will be posted on the conference website on Friday 12 August, so check out the site if you wish to review the draft document prior to the conference. Some conference sessions will also be live audiocast and electronic discussion forums set up - please check the conference website for more details closer to the start of the conference.

Added by Amy Lang on August 05, 2005??-??Link to this entry

New Article Suggests a Change in the Relationship Between Citizens and Public Officials

Matt Leighninger, senior associate at the Study Circles Resource Center, published an op-ed in the July 13 Christian Science Monitor asking party leaders to take note of the changing relationship between citizens and government on key public issues, such as homeowner protection, budgeting processes, and family-driven schools. "We seem to be moving toward a different kind of system, in which working directly with citizens may be just as important as representing their interests," says Steve Burkholder, mayor of Lakewood, Colo. Leighninger continues by saying, "?…the next generation of national campaign issues may emerge from these new ways of giving people what they want." To read the article, visit www.csmonitor.com/2005/0713/p09s02-coop

Added by Amy Lang on August 05, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Civic Life International Invites Research & Collaboration

Civic Life International, a collaborative non-profit organization using journalism, dialogue and deliberative methods to promote civic education and the participation of citizens in public policy, seeks position papers, funding research and logistic partnerships in support of the Second Niger Delta Deliberative forum. The Niger Delta Forum is a collaborative project directed at creating a public space for citizens and other stakeholders in the oil rich region to engage and discover shared assumptions, shared awareness as well as shared connectedness towards working together. For more information and to receive a copy of the discussion guide, "Better Life From Oil Wealth, What Public Prescription" framed by citizens at the first forum held last year, please contact Civic Life International at or visit on the web at www.civiclifeint.org.

Added by Amy Lang on August 05, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Community Based Collaboratives Conference Coming Up in November

The Community Based Collaboratives Research Consortium's Conference, "Putting Knowledge to Work," is coming up this Nov. 17-19, 2005 in Sedona, Arizona. The conference will have a major focus on applying knowledge from both research and from field-based experience about collaboration for environmental protection. Researchers, community collaborative groups, state and federal agencies, local governments, facilitators, and environmental organizations will gather to learn about new research findings from Consortium projects and from leading researchers from across the U.S. and Canada. To learn more, view the conference agenda and download registration forms visit www.cbcrc.org. If you have questions, send an email to

Added by Amy Lang on August 05, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Memphis 21st Century Town Meeting Will Address Youth Obesity

Memphis will be the site of the nation?’s first interactive town meeting to gather grassroots community input on how to address improving the nutrition and physical activity of the nation?’s children. The Shaping America?’s Youth (SAY) 21st Century Town Meeting?™ will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 17 at FedEx Forum in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. SAY is an initiative of the new national health organization, Shaping America?’s Health: Association for Weight Management and Obesity Prevention. They will be using the very successful 21st Century Town Meeting format developed by AmericaSpeaks. For more information, visit SAY online at www.shapingamericasyouth.com.

Added by Amy Lang on August 05, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Call for Papers on Community Based Collaboratives

The Community-Based Collaboratives Research Consortium Journal has just announced a call for articles on recent research and/or direct collaborations pertaining to successes or failures of recent collaboratives, environmental outcomes gained as a result of a collaboration process, new methodology on strengthening collaboratives and other relevant issues. They also welcome photographs, submissions with book titles related to community collaboration with a brief summary and ordering information, short (three to five paragraphs) articles of new research still in progress, and information on upcoming conferences and workshops scheduled for next year. The Journal will be released in time for CBCRC's fall conference in Sedona, NM on November 17-19, 2005. Submit abstracts and articles by August 19, 2005 to . Visit the Journal's website for more information: www.cbcrc.org/journal.html.

Added by Amy Lang on August 04, 2005??-??Link to this entry

New Community Resource Management Grants Available

Sand County Foundation's Community Based Conservation Network has just announced a new grant program. Scholars, practitioners and landholder communities are invited to submit proposals to test and assess innovative ways to overcome constraints associated with land rights and resource values. SCF is offering grants in the range of $10,000 - $20,000 to demonstrate and assess Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) innovations. Awards will be available from September 2005. Individuals or organizations working in CBNRM in North America or eastern and southern Africa are invited to apply; special consideration will be given to proposals submitted by or on behalf of Lake Associations in 2005. To read the complete request for proposals visit www.sandcounty.net/programs/cbcn/search/. Send your proposal to Kevin McAleese at by 31 August 2005.

Added by Amy Lang on July 28, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Registration Deadline Approaching for Certificate Program in D & D

August 5, 2005 is the deadline to register for Fielding University's graduate Certificate Program in Dialogue, Deliberation and Public Participation. The program focuses on recent innovations in dialogue, deliberation, and public engagement featuring faculty who have played key roles in developing these approaches. It is designed and delivered in collaboration with The International Institute for Sustained Dialogue and the Kettering Foundation. The course lasts from August 29, 2005 to January 17, 2006. To find out more about the program or to register, visit www.fielding.edu/hod/ce/dialog/index.

Added by Amy Lang on July 26, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Roundtable To Focus On Using Dialogue in Neighborhood Revitalization Projects

NeighborWorks Training Institute® and the Study Circles Resource Center are offering a full-day roundtable on Aug. 24 in Washington, D.C., on ?“Issues and Problem-Solving: Community-wide Dialogue as Part of Your Revitalization Strategy.?” Matt Leighninger and Sally Campbell of the Study Circles Resource Center will lead the roundtable discussion, which will focus on the challenges and opportunities that arise when you are recruiting participants and supporting action efforts at the neighborhood level. They invite participation from anyone who has organized study circles or any other dialogue & deliberation process as part of neighborhood revitalization projects (or even in venues other than neighborhoods). Register at www.nw.org and sign up for course number NR248 ROUNDTABLE.

Added by Amy Lang on July 20, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Perspectives Group Will Offer Two IAP2 Trainings This Fall

The Perspectives Group (www.theperspectivesgroup.com) has just announced that it will be offering two additional International Association for Public Participation Certificate training sessions in 2005. The courses will be held in Alexandria, Virginia, on September 19-23, and December 5-9. The course provides beginner through advanced practitioners with a broad-based learning experience covering all of the foundations of public participation. Participants will receive a certificate of completion from IAP2. Douglas Sarno, an IAP2 Master Trainer, will be leading the trainings. He has over 20 years of experience in planning and implementing public participation programs and has written and spoken widely on public participation issues. For more information or to register, visit www.theperspectivesgroup.com/resource/trainingpro. If you have any questions, contact Crystal Sarno or Kristie Bergeron-Hale at The Perspectives Group at 703-837-1197 or .

Added by Amy Lang on July 20, 2005??-??Link to this entry

CPB Offers Grants for Student Civic Education

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (www.cpb.org) has just announced an American History and Civics Initiative to address critical shortfalls in middle and high school students' knowledge of American history, the U.S. political system, and their roles as citizens. The initiative will award grants to forge unique and sustainable partnerships between public television producers and broadcast outlets, the educational community, curriculum developers, the high tech industry, and other appropriate partners to design new, groundbreaking media projects that measurably improve the learning of American history and enhance civic participation among middle and high school students. Any public or private, nonprofit, educational, or commercial entity is eligible to apply. See the CPB Web site for the complete Request For Proposals, a list of Frequently Asked Questions, and program updates. The deadline for applications is November 1, 2005.

Added by Amy Lang on July 11, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Community Foundation Creates Website for Civic Engagement Grant Applications

The Community Foundation Silicon Valley (www.cfsv.org) has just revised its community grants program to include grants for Civic Engagement proposals, and all the information is now available online. CFSV will now provide general operating support to Silicon Valley grantees through its renamed Community Investment Grants program. The program will provide one-year general support grant awards of up to $20,000 to nonprofits working in the area of Neighbourhood and Civic Engagement. Other granting areas are: Arts and Cultural Participation; Education and Lifelong Learning; and Self-Reliant Individuals and Families. Visit the CFSV Web site and click on "Grants & Nonprofit Resources" for complete program guidelines, criteria, and application procedures, as well as information on other CFSV funding programs.

Added by Amy Lang on July 11, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Conference on Cooperative Conservation Invites Citizen Conservation Stories

The 2005 White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation (www.conservation.ceq.gov) convenes on August 29, 2005, in St. Louis, Missouri. A key part of the conference is to learn what Americans are doing within their communities and in cooperation with others to steward and conserve the nation's natural resources -and to share the lessons, information, and resources that are critical to everyone's conservation success. To that end, the Conference invites all Americans - including individual citizens, non-profit organizations, civic groups, schools, businesses, and government agencies to contribute their conservation project stories. Visit the Cooperative Conservation America website (www.cooperativeconservationamerica.org) to enter your project story into the database. Summaries of all projects entered at the web site by 5 pm EST July 22, 2005, will be part of the conference record and will be included in Faces and Places of Cooperative Conservation, a publication of the White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation.

Added by Amy Lang on July 11, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Constitutional Rights Foundation Offers Mini-Grants for K-12 Service Learning

The Constitutional Rights Foundation ( www.crf-usa.org ) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, community-based organization dedicated to educating America's young people about the importance of civic participation in a democratic society. Each year, with support from the Maurice R. Robinson Fund of New York City, the organization's Robinson Mini-Grant Program awards mini-grants of up to $500 for K-12 service-learning projects designed to address serious community issues such as poverty, hunger, the environment, mentoring children and youth, crime and safety issues, and aging. Elementary and secondary schools and community agencies that work with K-12 youth may apply. Every application must have an adult sponsor who will ensure that student planners are involved in planning, designing, and evaluating the project. Projects, which should address an important issue or need, can be completed at school or in the community. Applications are due October 14, 2005. To download a Robinson Mini-Grant application form, visit www.crf-usa.org/network/crf_robin.html

Added by Amy Lang on July 06, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Funding Opportunity for Consensus-Based Environmental Decision-Making in Rural Areas

The Laura Jane Musser Fund (www.musserfund.org/) is seeking to assist public or not-for-profit entities in initiating or implementing projects in rural areas to undertake consensus-based activities in environmental stewardship or dispute resolution. The program is most interested in new programs; they're willing to fund the planning or implementation phase; and are willing to fund projects already in progress if the proposal is compelling. Grants for this program may be made to any eligible applicants based in the United States. Most grants are made for domestic projects, but occasionally grants are made to U.S. agencies or organizations for environmental work elsewhere. The application deadline is October 1, 2005. For full details, visit www.musserfund.org/rural_initiative.

Added by Amy Lang on July 06, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center Seeking New Manager of Facilitation Programs

The Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center in San Mateo, CA is looking for a new Manager of Facilitation Programs. Working under the direct supervision of the Executive Director, the MFP is responsible for implementing PCRC?’s facilitation services in San Mateo County. PCRC provides facilitation and process design services to formal and informal groups throughout San Mateo County. Significant experience in group process design and facilitation, commitment to inclusion and full participation, as well as comfort representing PCRC in front of large groups, are key attributes for this position. As a program manager, this Manager of Facilitation Programs serves as a member of the organization?’s leadership team as well as a member of both the Facilitation and Civic Engagement Teams. Applications are due by Wednesday July 15. For full details and contact information, click on the link below.

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Added by Amy Lang on July 05, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Conflict Resolution Day Announced for October 20, 2005

The Association for Conflict Resolution has just announced it will be organizing a Conflict Resolution Day for October 20, 2005. ACR aims to raise public awareness about the benefits of conflict resolution by organizing events and activities across the nation. They invite anyone with an interest in this issue to take action by organizing a community presentation, talking to a reporter or contacting a policy maker about conflict resolution. For more ideas about how to participate, visit www.ACRnet.org/crday or email .

Added by Amy Lang on July 03, 2005??-??Link to this entry

PRAXIS Organizing International Training in Participatory Rural Appraisal

Praxis (www.praxisindia.org) has just announced the 9th edition of the Annual International Thematic Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) Training Workshop for senior and mid level development workers will be held at Hyderabad, India, from September 18-29, 2005. Praxis is a not-for-profit, autonomous, development support organization (set up by ActionAid India in 1997) seeking to facilitate the promotion of participatory practices in human development initiatives in an integral manner. The workshop will explore participatory methodologies, discuss innovative techniques, and give participants hands-on experience through field work in villages and urban slums. For more information on the workshop, visit www.praxisindia.org/intl_pra_apply.html or contact the Workshop Coordination Team (Benji John and Madhura Pandit) via Tel & Fax: (+91 11) 5164-2348/49/50/51 or email

Added by Amy Lang on July 01, 2005??-??Link to this entry

National Conference of State Legislatures Meeting Coming Up in Seattle, WA

Les Ihara, NCDD member and a Hawaii State Senator just informed us about the upcoming annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures (www.ncsl.org) that will be held in Seattle, WA from August 16-20. Over 3000 state legislators are expected to attend the conference, presenting a great opportunity for networking. Les himself will be speaking on a Hawaii collaborative project on genetically modified organisms on Wed Aug 17 at 12:00 noon. Two other conferences will be held in conjuntion with the NCSL: the National Association of Public Affairs Networks [pages.cthome.net/cpan/napan] and the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors [www.capitolbeat.org]. For more information on NCSL workshops that might be of interest to NCDD members, click the link below.

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Added by Amy Lang on July 01, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Public Voice Program Available on the Web

The National Issues Forums (NIF) website has a new feature. You can now watch a clip from the Public Voice 2005 program that has been distributed to public television stations around the country. A Public Voice is a public television series now in its second decade. Developed in cooperation with the National Issues Forums Institute, the series consists of one-hour public affairs television programs, produced annually, to examine how well we, as a nation, are tackling crucial public issues. At the center of each program are American citizens, in serious deliberation in National Issues Forums around the nation, and a distinguished panel of nationally known political leaders and commentators who reflect on what this "public voice" may mean in setting a direction for America. This year's Public Voice program focuses on the issue of Immigration. There is a link to view the clip in the Public Voice information section on the lower left side of the NIF homepage (www.nifi.org) or you can go directly to this feature at www.nifi.org/about/publicvoice.aspx.

Added by Amy Lang on June 30, 2005??-??Link to this entry

AAC&U Announces Conference on Student Learning and Civic Engagement

In conjunction with its conference this fall, the American Association of Colleges and Universities has organized a parallel working conference on "The Civic Engagement Imperative: Student Learning and the Public Good" in Providence, RI from November 10-12, 2005. The conference aims to clarify definitions and outcomes for civic engagement, explore new scholarship on coherent and effective civic engagement programs across the curriculum and co-curriculum, and consider innovative collaborations between educational and community leaders. The early registration and hotel deadline is October 17, 2005.
Visit www.aacu.org/meetings/civic_engagement/index.cfm for more details.

Added by Amy Lang on June 29, 2005??-??Link to this entry

The People Speak Launches Third Nationwide Discussion This Fall

This Fall, The People Speak convenes a third nationwide discussion on America's role in the world. From September 1- November 30, 2005, the People Speak invites everyone to connect with their communities and develop a deeper understanding of international affairs by organizing their own The People Speak discussion. The official theme of The People Speak 2005 is Building a Safer World: Defining the U.S.-U.N. Relationship for the 21st Century. Participants will address this question in the topic areas of Poverty, Hunger, and Health; War and Conflict; Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism; or the Environment. For discussion resources or to register to host a discussion visit www.thepeoplespeak.org. Email any questions to [email protected] or call (202) 887-9040.

Added by Amy Lang on June 28, 2005??-??Link to this entry

CIRCLE Seeking To Hire Youth Coordinator in MD

The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE) is looking to hire a Youth Coordinator, to be based out of the University of Maryland. Duties would include communication of research findings to various practitioners, development of research agenda and outreach strategy, support for fundraising, and frequent travel. Applications are due by July 8, 2005. For the complete job posting or to apply, visit http://www.civicyouth.org/staff_advisory/youthcoordinator.htm

Added by Amy Lang on June 26, 2005??-??Link to this entry

New Study Assesses Impact of Service Learning on Civic Engagement

We just heard about a new CIRCLE (www.civicyouth.org) Working Paper by Shelley Billig, Sue Root, and Dan Jesse of RMC Research Corporation that examines the impact of service-learning on civic engagement. The study compared more than 1,000 high school students who participated in service-learning programs with those who did not participate in schools matched for similar demographics and student achievement profiles. It found that service-learning students were significantly more likely to say they intended to vote and that they enjoyed school. Importantly, the study suggests that the way service learning is implemented matters: students who were involved for at least a semester in a program that was linked to standards, involved more direct contact with service recipients, and had cognitively challenging reflection activities were more likely to be civically engaged than those in other types of service learning. For the full report, click this link: http://www.civicyouth.org/research/areas/serv_learn.htm

Added by Amy Lang on June 24, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Canadian Policy Research Networks Seeking New President

After 10 years, Judith Maxwell is stepping down from the post of President of the Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN). CPRN works on public engagement, and is organizing the first Canadian Conference on Dialogue and Deliberation this fall, inspired by NCDD's conferences! In addition, CPRN is one of Canada's leading think tanks in social and economic policy. For the complete job posting for President, visit www.cprn.org/en/about-career.cfm. Applications are due by September 1, 2005. For more information, contact Cheri Stewart at .

Added by Amy Lang on June 23, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Follett Foundation Announces New Participatory Educational Design School

The Follett Foundation (www.follettfoundation.org) has just announced the approval of a new charter school in Idaho, whose creation is an attempt to implement the Participatory Educational Design process developed by associates of the Follett Foundation. The school, called the Garden City Community School, will open in the fall of 2006. It is founded upon democratic principles of learner engagement. The ultimate goal of Participatory Educational Design is to engage entire communities in the design or re-design of public education systems. For more information on the school, visit www.gardencityschool.org or contact Matthew Shapiro at .

Added by Amy Lang on June 21, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Civic Engagement News Announces Last Bulletin

Civic Engagement News has just sent out its last e-bulletin. CEN is an electronic newsletter that has been published since December, 2000, in association with the Council on Public Engagement (COPE) at the University of Minnesota and previously with the Task Force on Civic Engagement. Although this is the last issue of CEN, you can visit the UMN web site (see www.umn.edu/civic) to keep up to date with COPE's public engagement efforts.

Added by Amy Lang on June 14, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Roundtable on Study Circles and Neighbourhood Revitalization Coming Up in Washington, DC

NeighborWorks Training Institute® and the Study Circles Resource Center are offering a full-day roundtable on August 24 in Washington, D.C., on ?“Issues and Problem-Solving: Community-wide Dialogue as Part of Your Revitalization Strategy.?” SCRC will lead the roundtable discussion, which will focus on the challenges and opportunities that arise when recruiting participants and supporting action efforts at the neighborhood level. Anyone who has organized study circles as part of neighborhood revitalization projects or on other issues is particularly encouraged to participate. Early registration ends July 11. Register at www.nw.org.

Added by Amy Lang on June 13, 2005??-??Link to this entry

UN's Int'l Conference on Engaging Communities Coming up in August

An initiative of the United Nations and Queensland (Australia) Government, the International Conference on Engaging Communities will take place in Queensland August 14 through 17, 2005. This event will explore all issues related to community engagement and address the experiences, challenges and research which effect all citizens, governments and organizations alike. The program is designed to interest representatives from community groups, academia, government agencies, corporations, associations and the like. Go to www.engagingcommunities2005.org for more details about this important event.

Added by Sandy Heierbacher on June 07, 2005??-??Link to this entry

New Issue of Philosphy & Public Policy Quarterly Available Online

Philosophy & Public Policy Quarterly has just published its latest issue. The issue includes articles on the Civic Achievement Gap, Civic Education and Public Participation, Medical Information on the Internet and the Revitalization of Democratic Values. You can also check out back issues at www.puaf.umd.edu/IPPP/quarterly.html.

Added by Amy Lang on June 07, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Facilitators Needed for National Issues Forums in Longmont, Colorado

Michael Briand sent me an email today in hopes of recruiting some moderators for two upcoming National Issues Forums in Longmont, Colorado next month. The forums will be held on July 16th and July 30th, and Michael is especially interested in hearing from folks who attended the 2004 NCDD conference in Denver. According to Michael, NIF experience would be very helpful, but isn't a pre-requisite--training will be provided to those unfamiliar with the methodology and format. Email Michael at if you're interested.

Added by Sandy Heierbacher on June 06, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Submission Deadline Extended for IAP2's 2005 Core Values Award

Do you know of an organization that exemplifies the spirit of public participation? Did you work on a project that used new and innovative techniques to involve the public? If so, you have one last chance to have your project or organization considered for recognition in the 2005 IAP2 Core Values Awards.

The IAP2 Core Values Awards recognize excellence and innovation in the field of public participation guided by the seven IAP2 Core Values for Public Participation. Two awards are presented annually; for Project of the Year and for Organization of the Year. Preference will be given to projects that demonstrate the use of innovative techniques, solutions to problems that face the field of public participation, and the successful involvement of the public in new areas. Click below for more details.

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Added by Sandy on June 02, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Opening for a Public Involvement Specialist in Phoenix

EPG, Inc. (Environmental Planning Group) seeks a Public Involvement Specialist in its Phoenix, Arizona office. All levels of expertise will be considered. This salaried position may be filled at the entry, mid, or senior level. Experience and qualifications will determine level of placement and salary.

EPG is an interdisciplinary environmental and planning firm that places responsibility, integrity, and a balance of human, natural, and cultural resources at the forefront of project development and resource management. Their primary goal is to exceed the expectations of our clients while successfully managing projects from initial planning through construction and implementation. Additional information about EPG and the position is available at www.epgaz.com.

Added by Sandy on May 26, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Listening to the City Special Issue Now Available in Print

The special issue of IAF's Group Facilitation journal entitled "Listening to the City: Public Participation and Group Facilitation in Redeveloping the WTC" is now available in print for $14.95 at Amazon.com and virtualbookworm.com. The size and visibility of "Listening to the City," the largest face-to-face public participation event ever held, and the political, social, and emotional needs that it responded to, provide an attractive opportunity to draw attention to broader issues regarding public engagement, group facilitation, and the future of democracy. This issue provides an in-depth case study of "Listening to the City" and uses it as a departure point for broader discussions of the practice of public participation. Reflecting the diverse backgrounds and experience of the 25 contributing authors, which include both academics and practitioners, the content is descriptive, evaluative, and speculative. Click below for more details.

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Added by Sandy on May 26, 2005??-??Link to this entry

News about Fielding's Certificate Program in D&D and Public Engagement

Fielding Graduate University's graduate level Certificate Program in Dialogue, Deliberation & Public Engagement (now in its second year) starts on August 29, 2005 and runs through January 17, 2006. I received an email today about a conference call on June 8 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern for those interested in learning about the program and getting their questions answered directly from the faculty. To register for the teleconference, email Debra Arviso, Program Coordinator in Fielding's School of Human and Organization Development, at [email protected]. Click below for more details and participants' comments on the first certificate program.

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Added by Sandy on May 26, 2005??-??Link to this entry

AmericaSpeaks Organizes European Brain Science Deliberation

In June, AmericaSpeaks is partnering with IFOK, a German consulting group specializing in civic engagement and outreach, to design and deliver portions of the European Citizen's Deliberation on Brain Science. The forum is sponsored by the European Citizens Deliberation on Brain Science (ECD), a partner consortium of technology assessment bodies, science museums, academic institutions, and public foundations from nine European countries. The participants will convene to discuss brain science research and development and related ethical and sociopolitical questions, meeting first with residents of their own countries, and then with participants from other countries. The national groups will come together in a two-day European Citizens' Convention from June 3-5 in Brussels, Belgium. In this Europe-wide meeting, participants will review the outcomes from each national meeting and begin to identify culture-specific and European-wide recommendations. Over the next 9 months, participants will convene another two times in their national groups. The capstone to the process will be another European Convention in January 2006.
For more information about the "Meeting of Minds" project, visit their website at: www.meetingmindseurope.org.

Added by Amy Lang on May 20, 2005??-??Link to this entry

IAP2's International Conference to be Held in Portland this October

The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) is holding its international conference in Portland, Oregon this year. The conference will take place October 17-19, 2005, with pre-conference workshops and IAP2 certificate training October 14-16. Online conference registration will begin in June 2005. Click below for more details or go to www.iap2.org.

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Added by Sandy on May 15, 2005??-??Link to this entry

SF Listens Engages Hundreds of San Francisco Residents on Budget Priorities

We just receieved a report from AmericaSpeaks about its recent project "San Francisco Listens." In April 2005 AmericaSpeaks assisted Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco to hold three meetings around the city that engaged 500 residents in discussions on budget priorities. The meetings addressed the current San Francisco budget crisis and offered participants the opprtunity to prioritize key issues, provide feedback on strategies to address these issues, and suggest additional strategies. The prioritization of policy issues varied by community, but several emerged as issues of common concern across the meetings, including: public safety; accountable and responsive government; jobs and economic development; homelessness; and housing. Mayor Newsom, who kicked off all of the meetings, acknowledged that the longer he is in office, the more difficult it is to stay in touch with residents, and made a commitment to continue to use innovative mechanisms to connect with constituents on shaping policy decisions. Mayor Newsom plans to submit the Final Report from SF Listens along with his budget to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in June.

Added by Amy Lang on May 15, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Fielding Announces 2nd "Dialogue, Deliberation & Public Engagement" Course

Fielding Graduate University just announced its second certificate course in Dialogue, Deliberation and Public Engagement. Several NCDD members participated last year, and I heard some great things about the course. I?’m hoping to participate this year myself, since this is a non-conference year. There is an information conference call about the course scheduled for May 11, 2005 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. This 16-week primarily online course begins on August 29. Click below for the full announcement.

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Added by Sandy on May 02, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Centre for Public Scrutiny's Annual Conference Coming up in June

The Centre for Public Scrutiny's third annual conference will give non-executives and their support officers the opportunity to share learning with peers from their service area and across the public sector. Attendees will gain an insight into common principles binding their activities and innovative insights into how to make public governance work in practice. The conference will take place June 23, 2005 in London, England and will feature keynote speaker Hazel Blears, Minister of State for Crime Reduction, Policing, and Community Safety. For more info or to register online, go to www.neilstewartassociates.com/publicgovernance.

Added by Sandy on April 23, 2005??-??Link to this entry

June Conference will use Learning Circles to Explore "Building the Engaged Campus"

New England Campus Compact and Educators for Community Engagement are partnering to create an exciting three-day event, Creative Tensions in Building the Engaged Campus, on June 9-11 in Boston. This conference features a very powerful discussion method, learning circles. Learning Circles are a valuable tool for community-building, learning and social justice where participants share personal stories and leave with a plan of action. This gathering will offer a wide range of learning circles, including Service As a Political Concept, Preparing Global Citizens, Cultural Shifts and Democratic Organizations, and many others.

Click below for the conference announcement, or go to http://ase.tufts.edu/macc/events.htm#2005conference to learn more about the conference or www.e4ce.org to learn more about learning circles.

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Added by Sandy on April 05, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Upcoming IAP2 Certificate Trainings Offered by the Perspectives Group

The Perspectives Group is offering the International Association for Public Participation Certificate training in Alexandria, Virginia on June 27-July 1, and on September 19-23. The course provides beginner through advanced practitioners with a broad-based learning experience covering all of the foundations of public participation. The Perspectives Group is one of the nation?’s foremost experts in public participation and Douglas Sarno, an IAP2 Master Trainer, was part of the team of developers that designed the IAP2 Certificate Training Program. Sarno has over 20 years of experience in planning and implementing public participation programs and has written and spoken widely on public participation issues. Doug has delivered the IAP2 training dozens of times, to over 1,000 students worldwide. For additional info or to register for the training, visit www.theperspectivesgroup.com/resource/trainingpro.html

Added by Sandy on March 21, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Angus Reid Consultants Launches "Dialogue Networks" Division

I received a packet in the mail the other day from Angus Reid, who I was privileged to meet in November at the North American Summit on Citizen Engagement. Reid, a famous Canadian pollster, is launching a new division of Angus Reid Consultants called "Dialogue Networks." Headed by Dr. Alexandra Samuel, an expert on electronic engagement, Dialogue Networks will offer software and services in support of publication and dialogue. In his letter, Angus said "organizations are hungry for new tools and approaches to public dialogue, both on and offline," and Dialogue Networks will focus on internet solutions and other technology-enabled tools. Go to www.dialoguenetworks.com to learn more.

Added by Sandy on March 20, 2005??-??Link to this entry

National League of Cities' Democratic Governance Training Coming Up

The National League of Cities is holding a Leadership Training Seminar next month called "The Power of Democratic Governance: Engaging Citizens as Partners." The seminar, which will bring together local elected officials from cities and towns across country, will take place in New Orleans, Louisiana April 21 through 23, 2005. The seminar aims to strengthen the efforts of advocating and educating on the use of democratic principles in everyday local governance. For practitioners and researchers, teh seminar will provide the opportunity to get an up-close look at teh role of local government in citizen engagement processes and efforts. Click here for more details on this exciting training.

Added by Sandy on March 19, 2005??-??Link to this entry

EPA?’s First Administrator Discusses 7 Lessons for Successful Collaboration

Today's issue of Policy Consensus E-News included an inspiring excerpt from a speech by William Ruckelshaus, the first Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In February, Ruckelshaus gave this year's Chafee Memorial Lecture on Science and the Environment, which he titled ?“Choosing our Common Future: Democracy's True Test.?” In the lecture, he addresses how collaborative processes serve as important tools for democratic decision making. The full speech can be downloaded at www.policyconsensus.org/pubs/pci_pubs/Ruckelshaus_Full_Text.pdf

Added by Sandy on March 16, 2005??-??Link to this entry

IAF's Handbook of Group Facilitation is on the Shelves!

Sandy Schuman of the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) sent me a copy of the brand new "IAF Handbook of Group Facilitation" and I encourage all of you to go out and get a copy for yourselves! Edited by Schuman and sponsored by the IAF, the Handbook is not only an overview of the facilitation field but also a reliable reference for experience group facilitators. Written by 50 leading practitioners and scholars, the chapters cover such things as building trust and improving communications, developing a collaborative environment, designing and facilitating dialogue (by NCDD member Steve Pyser!), working with multicultural groups, and assessing group decision processes. You also get a CD-ROM with the complete collection of articles published in the first five issues of Group Facilitation: A Research and Applications Journal. You can buy it at Amazon.com.

Added by Sandy on March 14, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Tools of Engagement Conference to Take Place in London this Month

Jess Steele from the British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA) just emailed me about an interesting conference that's happening later this month. Tools of Engagement: Creative Techniques for Community Participation will take place on March 21st in London, England, and "is the first event for what could become a broad-based UK Participation Network." Click below to read the full annoucement about this great-sounding event.

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Added by Sandy on March 12, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Dialogue Needed to Handle Looming Economic Crisis, Atlee Says

Click below for a powerful message from Tom Atlee, Founder of the Co-Intelligence Institute. In this message, Tom points to the substance of our looming economic crisis in the context of other crises, emphasizing the need for dialogue and deliberation to generate the collective intelligence to deal with the emerging "Age of Consequences."

As Tom says, "Now is the time to invest in widespread, high quality dialogue -- and for the dialogue-promoting community (e.g., members of the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation) to plan on how to meet the demand -- now, while time and resources may still be on our side."

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Added by Sandy on March 03, 2005??-??Link to this entry

September Project to Run Again in 2005!

I just received this inspiring announcement from the September Project - the highly successful project that got hundreds of public libraries to hold events on democracy, citizenship and patriotism on and around September 11, 2004. The message announced that the September Project is going forward again in 2005, and it is my hope that the dialogue & deliberation community can make a real splash in the program this year.

This is a great opportunity for D&D activists, organizers and facilitators to build ongoing relationships with their local public libraries in order to introduce more people in their area to dialogue and deliberation. If you are interested in helping NCDD mobilize the D&D community around the 2005 September Project, please email me at [email protected] right away to let me know. Click below to read the September Project's announcement.

Read the rest of "September Project to Run Again in 2005!"

Added by Sandy on March 02, 2005??-??Link to this entry

CIRCLE to Host Conference Call/Presentation on Youth Engagement

On March 16th, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Eastern, a conference call (and simultaneous web presentation) will be held for the youth engagement community. The call, which will address the increased youth voter turnout during the 2004 election and its implications for the future of our democracy, will feature Peter Levine of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) and Ivan Frishberg of the State PIRG's New Voters project. Click below for more details and instructions for joining the call.

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Added by Sandy on March 02, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Upcoming Dialogue Events at Simon Fraser University

SFU's latest Dialogue Update announced some interesting upcoming events for those of you who aren't too far from Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada). One of the important things mentioned in the update is that Mary Robinson will be the 2005 recipient of the Jack P. Blaney Award, which recognizes significant contributions to public dialogue. Click below for the full announcement.

Read the rest of "Upcoming Dialogue Events at Simon Fraser University"

Added by Sandy on March 02, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Invitation to Host Forums on "The News We Need"

Preview Forum is in the process of recruiting partners for their Spring 2005 initiative entitled ?“THE NEWS WE NEED: Finding Balance in an Age of Spin.?” Preview Forum invites organizations of all sizes to become local partners and host forums in their communities. Roundtable will provide FREE RESOURCES (including videos, planning guides, and publicity materials) to the first 100 organizations that sign on as partners. For more information, contact Julia John by March 31, 2005 at or 781-893-3336 x24.

Preview Forum is a national media and dialogue initiative that brings together news professionals and the public in local forums to discuss social issues relevant to the community. This Spring, Preview Forum will focus on how the birth of 24-hour news stations, internet bloggers and changes in FCC regulations have launched us into a new era of news producing and consuming. What is the role of news in a democracy? Have we abandoned the goal of objectivity? How do community members get the news they need in an increasingly partisan landscape?

Added by Sandy on February 28, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Research Project to Model Citizen-to-Citizen Deliberation and Use and Impact of Online Tools

I learned about this interesting initiative on the NIFI (Nat'l Issues Forums Institute) website. Andrea Kavanaugh from the Center for Human Computer Interaction at Virginia Tech announced a new research project (September
2004-2007) supported by a grant from the NSF Digital Government program to the Center for Human Computer Interaction at Virginia Tech. The purpose of the research is to model citizen-to-citizen deliberation at the local level and the related use and impact of online tools. They are also investigating the role of information and communication technology in incorporating deliberation into local government decision making. Where necessary and appropriate, they are designing and prototyping innovations to software. Learn more on the project's website.

Added by Sandy on February 22, 2005??-??Link to this entry

League of Women Voters Launches a Public Dialogue About Civil Liberties

The League of Women Voters Education Fund (LWVEF) recently launched "Local Voices: Citizen Conversations on Civil Liberties and Secure Communities," an eight-month initiative that will foster public dialogue about the balance between civil liberties and homeland security. The League will develop materials, train local facilitators, and encourage citizen participation in large League-led conversations about this topic. Click below for the full press release for this exciting project.

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Added by Sandy on February 20, 2005??-??Link to this entry

OpEd by John Gastil and Ned Crosby Shares Lessons from Canada's Citizens' Assembly

NCDD Steering Committee member Tom Atlee sent an email to his popular e-mailing list today that I wanted to share with all of you. Tom forwarded an op-ed written by John Gastil and Ned Crosby about the remarkable Citizens' Assembly that has been breaking ground in British Columbia, Canada.

Tom considers the Citizens' Assembly to be the most empowered version of citizen deliberative councils that he has seen anywhere in the world so far, and he hopes it is only the first of many such innovations.

Tom points out that the short article below, which is targetted at residents of Washington State in the US, is a model for similar op-ed pieces that could be written for virtually any state in the US -- or for provinces, districts and nations around the world. Click below for the article.

Read the rest of "OpEd by John Gastil and Ned Crosby Shares Lessons from Canada's Citizens' Assembly"

Added by Sandy on January 26, 2005??-??Link to this entry

AmericaSpeaks Releases Blueprint for Engaging the Public in National Policy-Making

AmericaSpeaks recently released Millions of Voices: A Blueprint for Engaging the American Public in National Policy-Making, a detailed report outlining a comprehensive strategy to engage millions of Americans in solving the nation?’s most critical problems.

The report reflects the collaborative thinking of 12 leaders in the citizen engagement field, convened by AmericaSpeaks over nine months. Millions of Voices is based on the premise that if we are to reinvigorate American democratic institutions, new structures and processes are needed to engage citizens in the nation?’s policy-making process. The report offers a plan for National Discussions that will engage at least one million Americans in substantive deliberations about public issues designed to inform and influence decision-making in Washington.

The report recommends National Discussions be convened regularly to address the most pressing national issues facing the country such as health care, foreign policy, and the economy. Development and production of the report were funded by The Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Click here for a free PDF version of this excellent report.

Added by Sandy on January 25, 2005??-??Link to this entry

IAP2's Asian Pacific Conference to be Held in Sydney this March

Our friends at the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) asked us to spread the word that the IAP2 Asia Pacific Conference "Risks and Rewards in Public Participation" is open for registrations now and they are filling fast. The conference will take place in Sydney, Australia March 6 through 8, 2005.

Given the importance of conversing with communities and working with them in building and planning, the conference is particularly timely following the devastating impact of the Indian Ocean Tsunami. The conference includes an extensive line up of speakers from Australia, New Zealand and the USA addressing topics such as new futures and how to create them. Click below for more details, or just go to www.iap2.org.au.

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Added by Sandy on January 23, 2005??-??Link to this entry

IAP2 Calls for Papers for its October Annual Conference

I received an announcement today from the good folks at IAP2 (the International Association for Public Participation). They're calling for papers for their Annual Conference, which will take place October 17-19, 2005 in Portland, Oregon. You can read the Call for Papers for submission details and for descriptions of the presentation areas. IAP2 is accepting papers for presentations until March 11. Click below for the full announcement.

Read the rest of "IAP2 Calls for Papers for its October Annual Conference"

Added by Sandy on January 06, 2005??-??Link to this entry

AmericaSpeaks Seeks Input on Matrix of Approaches to Online Public Deliberation

Lars Torres (NCDD Steering Committee member and Researcher for AmericaSpeaks) sent some emails out yesterday announcing the latest iteration of AmericaSpeaks' matrix of approaches to online public deliberation. You can view a PDF of the document at www.deliberative-democracy.net/resources/library/online_matrix_041004.pdf.

Lars would love your input at this point. If you see something that is incorrect, or know of a project that is missing, email him at to let him know.

Listed, described and linked to on the chart are: Ascentum, ByDesign/eLab, CitizenScape, Community People, DELIB,
Denmark National IT and Telecom Agency, Dialogue by Design, Fraunhofer Institut Autonome Intelligente Systeme, Human Sciences, Information Renaissance, Partnership for Internet Equity and Community Engagement (PIECE), Public Voice Lab, Regulations.gov, ParTecs, Bodies Electric, Web Lab, and Wornex WorldDirector.

Added by Sandy on January 05, 2005??-??Link to this entry

Cool Facilitation Opportunity for New Yorkers

I received an email yesterday from Karly Li at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York City. The museum recently created a dialogue program called "Kitchen Conversations" for their public tour visitors. They are very excited about this program as it is the first ongoing public dialogue program ever conducted at the museum, and one of only two such programs in the country. They are currently looking to hire facilitators for the program, and wanted to reach out to the NCDD community. Click below for the full announcement.

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Added by Sandy on December 18, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Public Agenda's Issue Guide on Social Security Available for Your Use

Today's Public Agenda Alert announced that President Bush "ruled out increating Social Security payroll taxes to bail our the program and repeated his call to create private retirement accounts instead." Public Agenda reminds us about their issue guide on Social Security, stating that their 'Choicework' discussion guides lay out the different alternatives to reform.

"With Choicework, we're not claiming to have the "correct" solution to a problem. What you'll find are four different points of view about how to address the issue. The broad choices we present are designed to be discussion starters, not a political program. Each point of view comes with the arguments for and against, along with some potential costs and tradeoffs, because choosing a course of action should include honestly facing its drawbacks."

Added by Sandy on December 09, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Harwood Institute Announces Opening for an Associate Project Manager

I received an email today from Abby Smith at The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, asking me to share a job description with the NCDD network. The Harwood Institute, a leading organization in the public engagement field that works closely with the Kettering Foundation and others, has an opening for an Associate Project Manager. Click below for the full job description and info about how to apply.

Read the rest of "Harwood Institute Announces Opening for an Associate Project Manager"

Added by Sandy on December 03, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Call for Presenters for EPA's Community Involvement Conference

Proposals are due on December 17, 2004 for the Environmental Protection Agency's 2005 Community Involvement and Training Conference: "Building Bridges Through Strong Partnerships" in Buffalo, New York, July 12-15. This annual conference is a unique opportunity for a wide array of stakeholders to come together to share how EPA and its partners are involving communities in the protection of our air, water and land. U.S. EPA staff and partners who plan and implement community involvement, partnership, outreach, and educational programs are invited to attend.

See the call for proposals or go to www.epancic.org/2005/overview.cfm for more details about the event. You can also contact Lisa Gebler, the conference coordinator, at 301-589-5318 or .

Added by Sandy on November 30, 2004??-??Link to this entry

November Course on Resolving Land Use Disputes Focuses on Dialogue

Merrick Hoben of the Consensus Building Institute asked me to share an announcement with you about an upcoming course on Resolving Land Use Disputes. The course will be held November 4-5, 2004 in Ventura, California. The course emphasizes a consensus building approach to resolving land use disputes that brings all the relevant stakeholders together for face-to-face dialogue. Click below for the full announcement or register at www.lincolninst.edu.

Read the rest of "November Course on Resolving Land Use Disputes Focuses on Dialogue"

Added by Sandy on August 21, 2004??-??Link to this entry

New Study About E-Participation in German Cities

I received an email from today announcing the publication of an interesting new study about e-participation in German cities. The study is the collaborative work of the new "Initiative eParticipation", a community of German service providers, think tanks and research institutes in this field. Click below for the rest of Hans' message, or go to www.zebralog.de/en/000079.html for the complete press release.

Read the rest of "New Study About E-Participation in German Cities"

Added by Sandy on August 20, 2004??-??Link to this entry

New CPRN Papers Show that Arts and Culture are the Keys to Creative Cities

Our friends at CPRN (Canadian Policy Research Networks) just released four new papers that underline the key role of the arts and culture in the creation of "creative cities," especially in today?’s knowledge economy. According to CPRN, "Creative cities are vital to meeting our community and national economic and social goals. By happy coincidence, the conditions that foster creative cities also foster economic innovation, social inclusion, democratic engagement and environmental sustainability."...

Read the rest of "New CPRN Papers Show that Arts and Culture are the Keys to Creative Cities"

Added by Sandy on August 13, 2004??-??Link to this entry

New Report on Evaluating Collaborative Policymaking Processes

I received an email today from my friend Tonya Gonzalez, Director of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium, announcing that the Center for Collaborative Policy just released a Hewlett-funded report called "Is Devolution Democratic? Assessing Collaborative Environmental Management." The report proposes a normative framework for evaluating the democratic merits of collaborative policymaking processes in terms of six criteria: inclusiveness, representativeness, procedural fairness, lawfulness, deliberativeness, and empowerment. The framework is then applied to random sample of 76 watershed-based stakeholder partnerships in California and Washington State. You can download the report at www.csus.edu/ccp/publications.htm.

Added by Sandy on August 13, 2004??-??Link to this entry

CIVICUS Announces 6-Month Consultancy on Civil Society Engagement with the World Bank

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, the Secretariat of the World Bank-Civil Society Joint Facilitation Committee (JFC), seeks to hire a Senior Researcher to produce a set of proposals on how engagement between civil society and the World Bank could be more transparent and relevant. The Senior Researcher will be responsible for holding individual interviews and meetings, and supporting national consultations that will inform the production of the proposals and the Statement of Principles. This will be in preparation for a series of consultations with the wider groups of civil society. The final proposals and the Statement of Principles will be presented at the Global Policy Forum between civil society groups and the World Bank, to be held in late February/early March of 2005.

The Senior Researcher needs to be available to start immediately on a full time basis. The incumbent will be fully integrated into the work of the Joint Facilitation Committee. The closing date for applications is August 14th! Click below for the full announcement.

Read the rest of "CIVICUS Announces 6-Month Consultancy on Civil Society Engagement with the World Bank"

Added by Sandy on August 06, 2004??-??Link to this entry

First National Harwood Public Leadership School Set for September

The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation just announced that they will run their first "National Harwood Public Leadership School" this September. The school will take place at the (gorgeous) Airlie Conference Center in Warrenton, Virginia, September 26-29, 2004, and it will help the Harwood Institute to fulfill its mission to encourage public leaders to pursue an alternate path in public life - one of possibility and hope....

Read the rest of "First National Harwood Public Leadership School Set for September"

Added by Sandy on August 05, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Peter Levine Comments on "Deliberation When the Stakes are High"

Peter Levine of CIRCLE (the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) posted an interesting piece on his blog on Friday that I thought some of you might want to check out. Peter says "I've been thinking about the future of this movement and the challenges it will face if it really gains traction. To date, most public deliberation in the US has low stakes. In some cases, there is no serious effort to change public policy to match the results of the public conversation." And Later, he adds "Today's public deliberations are likely to be more equitable than juries or teams of college students, because moderators are trained and focused on equality. But what about tomorrow's deliberations? When the stakes go up, individuals with more status or skill will fight back against efforts to support less advantaged participants. They will depict such efforts as "politically correct" or otherwise biased, and they will use their status, confidence, and rhetorical fluency to win the point." Curious? Go directly to the post.

Interested in checking out more D&D-related blogs? Check out the list of blogs we recently added to the left column of this page.

Added by Sandy on August 01, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Funding for Community-Based Research Projects and Watershed Protection and Restoration Efforts

The Sociological Initiatives Foundation provides grants of $5,000 to $15,000 to support community-based research projects in the U.S. Areas of interest include social justice, social welfare, human rights, and others. The foundation is also interested in supporting research projects by sociologists and linguists that provide a direct benefit to communities. Grants are restricted to tax-exempt organizations, including academic institutions. More info can be found at http://grantsmanagement.com/sifguide.html. Deadline for proposals is August 16, 2004.

Grants are also available for community-based approaches to protect and restore the nation's watersheds. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Mike Leavitt announced 14 watersheds (representing 17 states) are eligible for $15 million from EPA?s Targeted Watersheds Grant Program. The selected areas represent more than 20,000 square miles of rivers, lakes and streams across the United States. More details can be found at www.lgean.org/html/whatsnew.cfm?id=783

Added by Sandy on July 30, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Message from AmericaSpeaks on the 2-Year Anniversary of Listening to the City

Carolyn Lukensmeyer, Director of AmericaSpeaks, sent a special message to the AmericaSpeaks network on July 20 - the two year anniversary of Listening to the City, the largest town meeting ever held. This edition of AmericaSpeaks Network News shares the stories, perspectives and impact of the facilitators who came from all across the country to help people deliberate about the redevelopment of the World Trade Center Site after the September 11th attacks. Click below to read this amazing message.

Read the rest of "Message from AmericaSpeaks on the 2-Year Anniversary of Listening to the City"

Added by Sandy on July 29, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Museum of Science in Boston Seeks Advice from D&D Scholars & Practitioners

I received an exciting email today from Zannah Marsh, a Researcher Assistant at the Boston's Museum of Science. Zannah and her colleagues are in the early stages of developing a project they're calling FORUM. Their goal with this program is to engage museum visitors in dialogue and deliberation about new developments in science and technology--and particularly the social implications of these developments. They aim to provide a neutral setting for visitors to fully engage and explore contested topics with others, exchange viewpoints, and deliberate on solutions or recommendations (hopefully with scientists, technologists, and other experts). They also plan to integrate these dialogues into formats that provide visitors with new information, interactive experiences, and access to artifacts from their collections.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Zanna would like to connect with people who have done academic research in the area of D&D on science and technology, and people who might be able to advise them as they design and learn how to facilitate these types of programs. Zanna can be contacted at 617-589-0202 or . I'd appreciate being cc:ed in any emails () so I can keep up with any developments.

Added by Sandy on July 15, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Project Supporting the Legislator-Citizen Connection

I'm back from my not-so-relaxing "vacation" and ready to blog. Lots of exciting things to share...

First, please look over this important message from Hawaii State Senator Les Ihara, who's a huge advocate for getting policymakers to embrace D&D. If you know a state legislator who supports involving citizens in policymaking, please let Les know (email ). You're also encouraged to let your state legislators know about the session Les is presenting at next week's Nat'l Conference of State Legislatures called "Strengthening the Legislator-Citizen Connection." Click below for Les' email to the NCDD network.

Read the rest of "Project Supporting the Legislator-Citizen Connection"

Added by Sandy on July 15, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Co-Intelligence Institute Launches Pledge Campaign for Policymakers to "Listen to the People"

I received this announcement today from my visionary colleague Tom Atlee, whose Co-Intelligence Institute is launching The "Listen to the People" Pledge Campaign for Politicians and Public Officials. This new pilot program of the Co-Intelligence Institute is designed to generate conversation with politicians and public officials about the role of citizen panels in government. Tom writes, "With your help, using this Pledge, we will also be able to identify leading edge public officials - 'early adopters' - who we can network into a community of their own. They are out there; we just don't know where they are." Read the full message and the pledge...

Read the rest of "Co-Intelligence Institute Launches Pledge Campaign for Policymakers to "Listen to the People""

Added by Sandy on July 05, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Update on British Columbia's Citizens' Assembly

The final Citizens?’ Assembly public hearing was held June 24th in Kelowna, British Columbia (Canada). During the 50 hearings that have been held across B.C., a total of 387 people made oral presentations, and many more members of the public made informal presentations, offered recommendations and comments, and asked questions at the sessions. More than 2,700 members of the public attended hearings. The 160-member Assembly is currently wrapping up six months dedicated to investigating electoral options and British Columbians' views on them, and will make its final report and disband in December. Click below to read the full announcement and press release.

Read the rest of "Update on British Columbia's Citizens' Assembly"

Added by Sandy on July 04, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Richard Harwood Launches New "Redeeming Hope" Blog

Rich Harwood, the President of the highly respected Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, launched a web log last month aimed at encouraging people to imagine and act for the public good. The blog, called "Redeeming Hope," will allow Rich to share his ideas about where we are as a nation and how to get to where we want to be. Each week, Rich will write about public life and how we can place it on an alternative path. Rich believes public life is about the relationships between and among people and how we individually and collectively can act to overcome divisions facing our society. You are invited to not only read the blog, but to post comments on the blog.

Added by Sandy on June 29, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Have You Subscribed to The Collaborative Edge Yet?

David Booher, Senior Policy Advisor at the Center for Collaborative Policy, asked me to spread the word about the Center's stellar e-newsletter, The Collaborative Edge. This free quarterly newsletter provides timely information on collaborative strategies and methods to public agencies, civic organizations, and the public. Click below for more details.

Read the rest of "Have You Subscribed to The Collaborative Edge Yet?"

Added by Sandy on June 17, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Council for Excellence in Government Issues Report on Homeland Security from Citizens' Perspective

I received a call from the Council for Excellence in Government on Thursday, asking if I could announce their new report "We the People: Homeland Security from Citizens?’ Perspective" to the NCDD network. The report includes recommended action gleaned, in part, from citizen suggestions at seven town hall meetings for all levels of government, first responders, private sector and individuals. The recommendations were presented to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and will be distributed to governors, mayors, members of Congress, industry leaders, trade and professional organizations and civic groups immediately.

Click here to read Ridge's remarks about the project. Among other things, Ridge endorses citizen engagement by saying, "...Homeland Security officials - including myself - were able to hear first hand the concerns and questions on the minds of many Americans. That dialogue has provided an important and useful resource that will help guide our continued efforts at Homeland Security to engage and empower citizens." Click below to read the announcement, read more on the Council's website, or download the report.

Read the rest of "Council for Excellence in Government Issues Report on Homeland Security from Citizens' Perspective"

Added by Sandy on June 06, 2004??-??Link to this entry

CIVICUS Produces Report on New Approaches to Global Problem-Solving

I saw this announcement in Friday's newsletter from CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation:

CIVICUS, as part of a group of civil society, research, corporate sector and various levels of international government representatives, is finalizing a report for the Helsinki Process on Globalization and Democracy on new approaches to global problem-solving. This Process, initiated by the Finnish Government in cooperation with the government of Tanzania, aims to develop innovative solutions to the dilemmas of global governance, especially where they affect the most vulnerable sections of the world?’s population. Three track groups will be addressing the areas of human security; financing development; and new approaches to global problem solving.

The latter track, of which CIVICUS is a member, is tasked with starting an international dialogue on the goals and methods of global problem-solving. In its second meeting in London in March, the group concluded that a global governance gap existed because of deficits in democracy, coherence and compliance. The group?’s final report will include proposals on new coalitions for global problem-solving, accountability of global institutions, voices of vulnerable groups in global governance and efficient implementation of global agreements. For more information on the Helsinki Process, visit www.helsinkiprocess.fi.

Added by Sandy on June 06, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Quotas, Fines and Yes-No Votes: An Update on British Columbia's Citizens' Assembly

I just received a press release from the groundbreaking Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform. The Assembly is an independent, representative, non-partisan group of 160 randomly selected British Columbians. They must decide by December 15 whether to propose a change to BC?’s electoral system. If they recommend a change, it will be the subject of a referendum for all voters in the May 2005 provincial election. Click below to read the entire press release about last week's public hearings in Port McNeill, Courtenay, Nanaimo and Vancouver.

Read the rest of "Quotas, Fines and Yes-No Votes: An Update on British Columbia's Citizens' Assembly"

Added by Sandy on June 02, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Call for Proposals to Host CIVICUS World Assembly for 2006, 2007 and 2008

CIVICUS is inviting bids to host its next three World Assemblies. These are major international meetings of civil society leaders and activists aimed at creating a space where a diversity of civil society voices can be heard exchanging experiences, challenges, successes and dreams and, most importantly, concrete ideas for a more equitable and just world. The CIVICUS World Assembly was previously organised as a biennial event in a different venue on each occasion. As a result of its success over the years, CIVICUS now wishes to organise the conference as an annual event in a fixed venue for the next three years. The tentative dates for the 6th World Assembly are 25-29 March 2006. The 7th and 8th are scheduled for the end of March 2007 and 2008. Click below for the rest of the announcement.

Read the rest of "Call for Proposals to Host CIVICUS World Assembly for 2006, 2007 and 2008"

Added by Sandy on May 29, 2004??-??Link to this entry

New Book by Harry Boyt to be Published in September

Harry Boyte recently sent me some info about his forthcoming book, "Everyday Politics: Reconnecting Citizens and Public Life." A pioneer in our field, Boyte is founder and co-director of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at the University of Minnesota (www.publicwork.org). In Everyday Politics, Boyte transcends partisan politics to offer an alternative. He demonstrates how community-rooted activities reconnect citizens to engaged, responsible public life, not just on election day but throughout the year. Boyte demonstrates that this type of activism has a rich history and strong philosophical foundations. It rests on the stubborn faith that the talents and insights of ordinary citizens?—from nursery school to nursing home?—are crucial elements in public life and everyday politics. Click below for the full announcement.

Read the rest of "New Book by Harry Boyt to be Published in September"

Added by Sandy on May 27, 2004??-??Link to this entry

The Splintering of the United States: Enough is Enough!

On Thursday, June 17, 2004 - from 9 to 10 a.m. - Richard C. Harwood, President of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, and the Reverend Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, President of The Interfaith Alliance Foundation, will address one of the most pressing and critical challenges we face today - how to break through the rhetoric of division by drawing on the civic and religious faith that binds individuals to their communities and to each other. This moderated conversation with Q&A will take place at the National Press Club, Holeman Lounge, 529 14th Street NW, 13th Floor, Washington DC. Email Patrick Miller for more details at .

Added by Sandy on May 26, 2004??-??Link to this entry

New Book on "Civic Revolutionaries"

I received an email this morning from Senator Les Ihara, Hawaii State Senator, NCDD member and Board member of the National Issues Forums Institute. He attached an interesting article entitled "The Rise of the New Civic
Revolutionaries: Answering the Call to Stewardship in Our Times," which was published recently in the National Civic Review. This article, by Douglas Menton, John Melville and Kim Walesh, is adapted from their recently-published book, Civic Revolutionaries: Igniting the Passion for Change in America's Communities.

Here's a compelling quote from the article: "A new grassroots movement is underway in the regions of the United States today. Once again, a movement is beginning in communities across the nation, urged ahead by leaders who see the need for fundamental change in how their regions define and solve problems and ultimately how they are governed. They represent a new kind of regional civic leadership attuned to the economic and social realities of our times. Traditional top-down leadership styles and stovepipe government models simply do not work in the fast-paced, global economy and diverse societies of today." Email me () if you'd like a copy of the article.

Added by Sandy on May 26, 2004??-??Link to this entry

This Year's Presidential Election Campaign May Include Public Deliberation

I just read an exciting segment in May 14th's Friday Letter from the Kettering Foundation. The segment started off with this eye-popping (for us, at least) statement: "There?’s a chance public deliberation will become a part of this year?’s presidential election campaign." Click below to read about what transcribed when the Director of Voter Education for the Commission on Presidential Debates (the folks who have organized the presidential debates since 1988) visited Kettering on May 11.

Read the rest of "This Year's Presidential Election Campaign May Include Public Deliberation"

Added by Sandy on May 23, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Update from Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform

I received an email today from Paul Harris of British Columbia's groundbreaking Citizens?’ Assembly on Electoral Reform. The Assembly is an independent, representative, non-partisan group of 160 randomly-selected British Columbians. They must decide by December 15 whether to propose a change to B.C.'s electoral system. If they recommend a change, it will be the subject of a referendum for all voters in the May 2005 provincial election. Click below for an overview of this week's public hearings.

Read the rest of "Update from Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform"

Added by Sandy on May 21, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Use of E-government Increases 50% from 2002 to 2003

The Pew Internet & American Life Project issued a press release recently with the title "Use of E-government Increases 50% from 2002 to 2003, But Citizens Want Multiple Channels Available to contact government." According to the release, internet users are increasingly turning to e-government sites to carry out their business with government. But Internet users and non-users alike value having more than one way to get in touch with government. Read the full report at
http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=127 or click below to read the press release.

Read the rest of "Use of E-government Increases 50% from 2002 to 2003"

Added by Sandy on May 20, 2004??-??Link to this entry

New e-participation Pilot Launch Looking at the Use of Gaming Techniques

Chris Quigley, the Director of DELIB, sent an interesting message to the DO-WIRE listserv today. Working with their partners at the New Economics Foundation, DELIB has put together an interactive pilot of e-DEMOCS for use by Napier University's Teledemocracy unit. This pilot looks at how gaming technology like e-DEMOCS can be used to engage young people in difficult policy issues - in this case RadioActive Waste Management. Focus groups will be taking place in Scotland over the next couple of weeks, and results of the pilot will be published in June. Chris also mentioned a paper they've produced on using gaming techniques in citizen engagement. Chris, who is based in London, can be reached at .

Added by Sandy on May 15, 2004??-??Link to this entry

NIF Basics Workshop to be Held in Davis, California in June

National Issues Forums (NIF) help people become re-engaged in the political process by providing a place for public deliberation to occur. Public deliberation happens where people come together to talk about important community problems, weighing as many options as they have available and then deciding on a course of action that makes everyone a winner. The NIF Basics Workshop starts the learning process for the local practice of deliberative decision making.

Learn the basics of NIF theory and skills in the NIF Basics Workshop (NIFB) in Davis, California, June 24-26, 2004. Registration is $280. Note that this NIF Basics Workshop is a prerequisite for all advanced workshops. Go to www.nifica.org for more details or to register.

Added by Sandy on May 14, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Collaborative "Calling the Question" Project to Launch this Summer

The Mainstream Media Project and the Harvard Global Negotiation Project, in cooperation with MoveOn.org, are launching a joint initiative this summer called the Calling the Question project. The Calling the Question initiative is a multi-year initiative to shift the national conversation from partisanship to problem-solving by engaging a broad spectrum of the public in calling in to talk radio, querying candidates in media and live appearances, and reframing policy debates by asking open, breakthrough, ?“third side?” questions that blame no one but encourage us to think in practical terms about what we can do together to resolve the challenges that confront us all. The aim of this initiative is to reach across the divide between thoughtful progressives and thoughtful conservatives to catalyze ?“convergence conversations?” that could contribute to a broader de-polarization of an increasingly divided electorate and society. Click below for more details and contact info.

Read the rest of "Collaborative "Calling the Question" Project to Launch this Summer"

Added by Sandy on May 14, 2004??-??Link to this entry

NIF Community Teams Workshop Offered in Davis, California in August

Learn advanced deliberative decision making theory and develop specialized National Issues Forums (NIF) roles at the Community Teams Workshop August 27-28 in Davis, California. Community Teams customize public deliberation to local hopes and dreams, needs and challenges. It has been discovered that the most effective Community Teams incorporate nine unique but inter-connected roles in their public deliberation research. When these roles are understood and applied, public deliberation can be customized for increased sensitivity to local needs, increased inclusion of diverse voices and increased focus on the decisions that resolve urgent and important issues.

Please note that you must attend a session of 'NIF Basics' (previously known as the Public Policy Institute) before you can attend this advanced session. Go to www.nifica.org for more details or to register. Registration fee is $220.

Added by Sandy on May 14, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Peter Levine's Blog Entry on the September Project

I've posted about the September Project already, but Peter Levine's blog May 10 blog entry about the project is more detailed that mine... so here it is.
Peter starts by saying "The September Project is a great idea for promoting public deliberation. Libraries across the country will hold public discussions on the third anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. The library systems that have already signed up are shown on this map." Click below to read his full blog entry, or go to www.peterlevine.ws/mt/ to check out Peter's blog.

Read the rest of "Peter Levine's Blog Entry on the September Project"

Added by Sandy on May 13, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Canadian Citizens' Assembly Breaking New Ground

In case you haven't heard about the British Columbia Parliament's innovative experiment in deliberative democracy called "Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform," I thought I'd post an update. Formed last year by that province's government to get meanngful citizen input into reforming its entire electoral system, the Citizens Assembly has been holding hearings for months now. As it says on the Citizens' Assembly website, "nowhere else in the world has such power been handed to randomly selected citizens. Click below to read more, or go to www.citizensassembly.bc.ca/public for more details or to sign up for the e-newsletter.

Read the rest of "Canadian Citizens' Assembly Breaking New Ground"

Added by Sandy on May 06, 2004??-??Link to this entry

New Article on Citizen Involvement in Environmental Governance

Just received an email from Pat Bonner at the Environmental Protection Agency. There's not too much detail here, those of you interested in environmental issues, can follow up if you'd like to. Her email said "In Vol 18, Number 4, Spring 2004 of Natural Resources & Environment (ABA) (which is not online -- except for members;individual issues are $15 plus shipping) has an article 'Enhancing Citizen Involvement in Environmental Governance' focusing on enforcement/compliance participation."

Added by Sandy on May 04, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Full Graduate Fellowship at Regis University for Student of Dialogue & Deliberation

Paul Alexander, Director of Regis University's Institute on the Common Good, sent an announcement today about a full graduate fellowship that covers full tuition and benefits, AND provides a yearly stipend of $20-$24,000. The fellowship provides research and facilitation support for the Institute and serves as the event coordinator. Click below for the full message about this great opportunity.

Read the rest of "Full Graduate Fellowship at Regis University for Student of Dialogue & Deliberation"

Added by Sandy on April 28, 2004??-??Link to this entry

New Book Shares Learnings from Pew Partnership for Civic Change Research

A new book called "Smart Communities: How Citizens and Local Leaders Can Use Strategic Thinking to Build a Brighter Future," offers community leaders teh information they need to build a civic infrastructure and to create community readiness that will help avert problems before they begin. Written by Susan W. Morse, executive director of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change and member of the Board of Trustees of the Kettering Foundation, the $34 book is based on the results of over a decade of research by the Pew Partnership, and includes a chapter on "Doing Democracy" which features the Kettering Foundation's work in Owensboro, Kentucky, as well as National Issues Forums in general.

Added by Sandy on April 20, 2004??-??Link to this entry

New Report Released on Youth Civic Engagement

Someone forwarded an email to me today from Barbara Gottlieb, in which she announced a just-released research report called ?“Youth as E-Citizens: Engaging the Digital Generation.?” This study, by Kathryn Montgomery, Gary Larson and Barbara, is the first to ?“map?” and analyze the rich but little-known terrain of websites that promote youth civic engagement. According to Barbara, the study "brings to light an online youth civic culture, largely unnoticed by the general public, that has taken hold on the Internet and is fostering Generation Y?’s participation in U.S. politics and community affairs." Click below for Barbara's entire announcement.

Read the rest of "New Report Released on Youth Civic Engagement"

Added by Sandy on April 07, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Second Int'l Conference on Appreciative Inquiry

The Second International Conference on Appreciative Inquiry: Creating Extraordinary Organizations for Business and Society is scheduled to take place September 19?–22, 2004, at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami, Florida. Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a process that focuses on leveraging an organization's core strengths rather than seeking to overcome or minimize its weaknesses. As AI becomes a regular way of working, individuals at all levels and all functions identify best practices that the organization can build on in order to respond to new challenges. Go to www.aiconsulting.org/conference2004/index.htm for more details. Early registration rate ($1395) ends June 1.

Added by Sandy on April 06, 2004??-??Link to this entry

New Rogue Valley Wisdom Council Video Available Online

You know that amazing picture that's posted on NCDD's main page right now? The one with the people holding up a banner that says "We the People"? Well, that's the Rogue Valley Wisdom Coucil, an important democratic experiment that's been going on in Oregon. I just received an email letting me know that the video footage of the first Rogue Valley Wisdom Council, which took place in November, has been incorporated into a 22-minute video. If you're curious about Wisdom Councils or Dynamic Facilitation, this video allows you to watch the process unfold, as the panelists grapple with issues and find common ground. Click below for more info.

Read the rest of "New Rogue Valley Wisdom Council Video Available Online"

Added by Sandy on April 03, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Preview Forum Invites You to Address Globalization in your Community - and Offers Free Resources

NCDD has just become a National Partner of Preview Forum, which is a national media and dialogue initiative that brings together news professionals and the public in local forums to discuss social issues relevant to the community. This spring, Preview Forum will focus on the sweeping changes of globalization and what those changes mean at the local level. We invite organizations of all sizes to become local partners and host forums in their communities. Roundtable will provide FREE RESOURCES (including videos, planning guides, and publicity materials) to the first 100 organizations that sign on as partners. For more information, contact or 781-893-3336 x24. Visit the Preview Forum website at www.previewforum.com.

Added by Sandy on March 30, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Game Used to Increase Citizen Engagement in Queens Spurs Query

An email from Harvard Ph.D. candidate Alexandra Samuel to the Do-Consult listserv today asked: "The Community Board in Queens, NY has developed a cell phone-enabled game that is intended to boost awareness and use of its citizen engagement web site (www.cb3qn.nyc.gov/). Has anyone else used games to promote an online engagement process?" Click below for a description of the game used in Queens. Email Alexandra at if you have any info to share.

Read the rest of "Game Used to Increase Citizen Engagement in Queens Spurs Query"

Added by Sandy on March 28, 2004??-??Link to this entry

CIVICUS Announces Results of Study on Resisting Repression

In a March 23 press release, CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organizations, announced the release of a study on the legislative frameworks and country practices governing civil space in Zimbabwe, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda. The study relates specifically to freedom of association, expression and assembly in these four countries, with a focus on the grave and worsening situation in Zimbabwe.

Read the rest of "CIVICUS Announces Results of Study on Resisting Repression"

Added by Sandy on March 26, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Report Emphasizes Need for Public Involvement in World's Water Problems

Pat Bonner of the EPA forwarded this interesting press release to me the other day. On World Water Day 2004, a new report was released from the Geneva-based Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council WSSCC. The report emphasized that the world's severe water and sanitation problems will not be solved by "business as usual" - delivering solutions from the outside to communities who have had no involvement in, or ownership of, the process. An important report in its implications for public involvement. Click below for the full press release.

Read the rest of "Report Emphasizes Need for Public Involvement in World's Water Problems"

Added by Sandy on March 24, 2004??-??Link to this entry

CIRCLE Releases Indicators of Civic Engagement

What does being "civically engaged" mean? What types of behavior should civic egagement programs look to encourage? A team of leading researchers, in collaboration with CIRCLE, have developed Indicators of Civic Engagement to help identify different dimensions of civic behavior. The indicators, which include community problem solving, regular volunteering, and active membership in a group, can be found at www.civicyouth.org/practitioners/Core_Indicators_Page.htm.

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Added by Sandy on March 24, 2004??-??Link to this entry

CIRCLE Awards 30 Research Grants

This summer CIRCLE (The Center for Information & Research On Civic Learning & Engagement at the University of Maryland) announced three grant competitions for research on the following topics: (1) political participation and voting (2) K-12 civic education, and (3) youth civic engagement. The three RFPs generated a tremendous amount of interest. Approximately 250 letters of inquiry were submitted to CIRCLE from which about 30 grants were awarded. To view a list of newly funded grants, visit www.civicyouth.org/grants/index.htm.

Added by Sandy on March 24, 2004??-??Link to this entry

CIVICUS World Assembly Going Strong

I just received a press release from CIVICUS today about a conference in Botswana I wish I was at right now. Here it is: Gaborone, 22 March 2004 - Over 700 citizens from 100 countries worldwide gathered this morning in Gaborone, Botswana for the start of a four-day CIVICUS World Assembly conference around the theme of 'working together for a just world.' The participants included civil society activists, practitioners, researchers, activists, concerned business leaders, representatives from intergovernmental organisations and government representatives, all united by a common concern to work concertedly for greater social, economic, political and civic justice worldwide.

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Added by Sandy on March 23, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Int'l Conference on Community Health Set for Early October

Community-Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH) and The Network: Toward Unity for Health are co-sponsoring an international Conference in Atlanta, Georgia USA that will replace our individual conferences for that year. The conference will be held October 6-10, 2004. CCPH is a US-based organization that promotes health through partnerships between communities and higher educational institutions. The Network is an international organization of community-oriented health professional schools, many from developing countries. By collaborating in these and other ways, we hope to strengthen the many wonderful partnerships already underway around the world, as well as to engage new individuals and organizations in this important work. More details and the "call for proposals" will be posted on our website at www.ccph.info.

Added by Sandy on March 22, 2004??-??Link to this entry

New Book on Civil Society

From the March 16 DD-net eBulletin: Is civil society the big idea for the 21st century? Or will the idea of civil society - confused, conflated and co-opted by elites - prove another false horizon in the search for a better world? By illuminating the uses and abuses of different theories and traditions in clear and engaging prose, Michael Edwards, author and Governance and Civil Society Program Director at the Ford Foundation, will guide readers of all persuasions to answer this question for themselves.

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Added by Sandy on March 17, 2004??-??Link to this entry

New LogoLink Research Initiative Focuses on Resources, Citizen Engagement and Democratic Local Governance

The main objectives of LogoLink?’s new ?“Research on Resources, Citizen Engagement and Democratic Local Governance?” initiative (RECITE) are: (1) to contribute to knowledge on an aspect of participation in local governance that has attracted limited policy interest to date; (2) to draw to the attention of governments and aid donors the importance of creating and resourcing spaces for participatory processes in fiscal decisions; and (3) to strengthen the capacities of LogoLink partners and other civil society groups to influence and participate in the most critical fiscal spaces.

The UK-based LogoLink is a global network of practitioners from civil society organizations, research institutions and governments working to deepen democracy through greater citizen participation in local governance.

Added by Sandy on March 08, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Trial Version of a New Website on Participation Launches

A trial version of participation.net, a collaborative information initiative on participatory approaches to citizenship, rights and local governance, has just been launched. Participation.net is a global, online space for sharing ideas about the participation of people in development, citizenship, governance and rights. Researchers, practitioners, activists, educators, policy makers and others from around the world are welcome to exchange diverse views and resources.

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Added by Sandy on March 08, 2004??-??Link to this entry

CIRCLE Fact Sheet on the Role of Mass Media in Civic Development

A new Fact Sheet from CIRCLE (The Center for Information & Research On Civic Learning & Engagement), entitled "Attention to Media and Trust in Media Sources," examines the role of mass media in the development of young people's civic knowledge and engagement in three countries - Chile, Portugal, and the U.S. The Fact Sheet shows that young people in all three countries use television most often to get information about politics. Newspapers are also used by a fair number of young people, especially in the U.S. In all three countries, students who frequently read newspaper stories about their country had higher average levels of civic knowledge. The Fact Sheet can be found at www.civicyouth.org/research/products/fact_sheets.htm.

Added by Sandy on February 27, 2004??-??Link to this entry

New CHOICES Unit for Teachers

?“The U.S. Role in a Changing World?” is one of the newest units published by the Choices for the 21st Century Education Program of Brown University. This new unit helps students reflect on global changes, assess national priorities, and decide for themselves through informed deliberation the role the US should play in the world today. Click below for info about other resources and ordering details.

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Added by Sandy on February 27, 2004??-??Link to this entry

?‘Family Circles' Build Vital Neighborhoods in Indianapolis

A great article by Gloria F. Mengual outlines how the Study Circles Resource Center and the Annie E. Casey Foundation have helped neighborhoods in Indianapolis, Indiana, solve their problems through dialogue and collaborative action. According to Mengual, ?“Since 2000, 780 residents have participated in the 92 Family Circles held in 30 neighborhoods. Participants identified many action ideas they wanted to pursue, including new playgrounds, mentoring programs, after school programs, safe houses for teens and more.?” Click below for the full article.

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Added by Sandy on February 26, 2004??-??Link to this entry

"Let's Talk America" Featured in Current Utne Magazine

NCDD has been working with the Utne Institute, Conversation Cafe and The World Cafe to organize a nation-wide dialogue called "Let's Talk America." LTA is featured in the March/April Utne that I just received in my mailbox this morning, and I encourage all of you to go out and get this month's Utne if you're not a subscriber.

A very cool 2-page ad (p. 48-49) with a red background encourages people to participate in this "new nationwide movement to revitalize our democracy." And on pages 60-61, a great article by Leif Utne provides background and info on how to get involved. Everyone in the dialogue & deliberation community is invited to participate in this election-year initiative. Go to www.letstalkamerica.org to find out more about the different levels of involvement.

Added by Sandy on February 21, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Praxis Peace Institute Conference on ?“The Alchemy of Democracy?”

The Alchemy of Democracy: Restoring Soul to Culture will be held June 13-18, 2004 at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, California. Sponsored by Praxis Peace Institute, the conference we will focus on the politics of Hope, Vision, Transformation and Civic Empowerment. As the 2004 election looms before us, Praxis Peace Institute will be an active force in promoting a vital Democracy through informed and transformed citizenship. Unique features of the 2004 Praxis Conference include Café Discussions ?– in-depth small group explorations of conference themes following each plenary session.

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Added by Sandy on February 20, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Lamppost Art Demonstrations Highlight Democracy

?“We the People?” seeks city hosts for lamppost art exhibitions www.republicart.org ?“We the People,?” a lamppost banner series based on the theme of democracy, is seeking city hosts. The show, currently debuting on the streets of New Haven, Connecticut, with 35 lampposts displaying 50 different works by local artists, plans to be in Boston during the Democratic National Convention in July. The exhibit intends to increase public awareness and participation in our political process. As part of its tour, rePublicArt.org offers the banner exhibition or can send artists to conduct local workshops to create local banners.

Added by Sandy on February 16, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Public Deliberation Required in New Nanotechnology Bill

In a January 18, 2004 email, Colleen Cordes of the Loka Institute wrote ?“Congratulations and sincere thanks to all of you who signed the letter to Congress and the White House last summer urging a strong provision for public participation -- especially through citizen panels or consensus conferences -- in the big nanotech R&D bill that Congress was then considering: THE BILL HAS PASSED AND HAS BEEN SIGNED INTO LAW WITH A PROVISION THAT DOES MUCH OF WHAT WE JOINTLY REQUESTED.?” NCDD supported this provision and is excited about this development.

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Added by Sandy on February 14, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Creative America Launches New Website

Creative America, a new project developed to encourage creative workers to contribute to transforming American civic life, launched its new site in January 2004. The project invites creative workers to access the site and upload their personal vision for what a Creative America looks like. As a result, Creative America will present the major presidential candidates, with a collective statement about what a Creative America looks like and needs for every citizen to express their creative potential. www.creativeamerica.us

Added by Sandy on February 14, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Update on America?’s Role in the World Deliberations

In January 2003, MacNeil/Lehrer Productions (MLP) held a national dialogue, with 344 randomly selected citizens from across the country, on America's role in the world. (More information on the National Issues Convention is available at www.by-the-people.org). The gathering demonstrated the power of informed public deliberation to spur serious reflection on complex policy choices. To extend and sustain this conversation, By the People held follow-up conversations in January 2004 in cities around the country, in partnership with local public television stations, community foundations, newspapers, universities, and civic organizations. A second phase, scheduled for October 2004, will extend the conversation to thirty communities.

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Added by Sandy on February 14, 2004??-??Link to this entry

EPA?’s Community Involvement Conference to be held in June

The 2004 Community Involvement Conference and Training sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will be in Denver, Colorado, June 15-18, 2004. In its 7th year, this conference has proven itself to be an excellent opportunity to share lessons learned and to establish and monitor EPA?’s standards for community involvement. It's a great event for representatives of federal agencies, states, local government, NGOs and private practitioners of citizen engagement to showcase their successes, compare notes about best practices and network, network, network. The conference covers the entire scope of public participation, community involvement, partnership building, and outreach and education related to all aspects of environmental protection. To learn more, please go to www.epancic.org/2004.

Added by Sandy on February 10, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Call for Nominations for 3rd Annual CCPH Award

The Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Award recognizes exemplary partnerships between communities and health professional schools that build on each other's strengths to improve health professional education, civic responsibility, and the overall health of communities. Nominations are due by March 31, 2004. Partnerships may nominate themselves and need not be members of CCPH. We welcome nominations from any country or nation. For further details and submission guidelines, visit the CCPH website at http://futurehealth.ucsf.edu/ccph/awards.html.

Added by Sandy on February 03, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Community/Health Partnerships Conference Seeks Abstracts

The Call for Abstracts and Registration Brochure is now available for the international conference "Overcoming Health Disparities: Global Experiences from Partnerships Between Communities, Health Services and Health Professional Schools," October 6 - 10, 2004 - Atlanta, Georgia. The conference is cosponsored by Community-Campus Partnerships for Health and The Network: Towards Unity for Health. The Call for Abstracts and Registration Brochure is available at www.futurehealth.ucsf.edu/ccph/nationalconference.html.

Added by Sandy on February 01, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Applications Invited for Fleishman Civil Society Fellows Program

Through its Joel L. Fleishman Fellows in Civil Society program, the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University provides a select group of leaders from domestic nonprofit organizations, international NGOs, foundations, government, socially responsible businesses, and other civil society groups in the U.S. and internationally with the opportunity to come together in residence at the Sanford Institute for a four-week mini-sabbatical. While at Duke, fellows perform research and work with institute faculty and other Duke affiliates on issues related to the development of civil society. As part of the fellowship, housing and program expenses are covered. Fellows also receive a $6,000 stipend. Deadline: May 1, 2004. www.pubpol.duke.edu/centers/civil/

Added by Sandy on February 01, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Policy Analyst Position Opening at Demos

Demos, a national research and advocacy organization, seeks a qualified applicant for a Policy Analyst position in the Democracy Program. Demos provides state and national advocates and policy makers with applied research, policy analysis and organizing assistance in support of progressive new measures for expanding political participation. Lead reforms include election day registration, voting rights restoration for citizens with felony convictions, and expansive state implementation of the Help America Vote Act. Resumes are due February 19, 2004.

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Added by Sandy on February 01, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Results Available for CIRCLE?’s 2004 National Youth Survey

The 2004 National Youth survey provides the latest polling data on Americans between the ages of 15-25, including the issues they care about, their levels of trust and volunteering, and their attitudes toward government. The survey also reveals that while the Internet does not currently pull many otherwise disengaged youth into politics, it does seem to hold some promise for mobilizing partisan, ideological, and engaged young people. In particular, the most effective online campaign techniques were online chat rooms, e-mails on issues, "blogs" geared to youth, and candidate events like those organized by Meetup.org. The survey was sponsored by CIRCLE (The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement) and the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at The Council for Excellence in Government. Go to www.civicyouth.org/research/products/national_youth_survey2004.htm

Added by Sandy on February 01, 2004??-??Link to this entry

CIRCLE RFP for Youth-Led Research

The deadline for letters of inquiry for CIRCLE's youth-led research proposal is approaching. Letters of inquiry are due February 18, 2004. CIRCLE (The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement) will consider requests for research on civic engagement that is conducted by youth. Research teams that include youth and adults working together, or research teams of youth and adult mentors are welcome to apply. The RFP can be found here: www.civicyouth.org/grants/applying/index.htm

Added by Sandy on February 01, 2004??-??Link to this entry

WorldLink Engages 700 High School Students

WorldLink is a program that thinks big: it stimulates discussion among young people, leaders and other activists about the international dynamics and challenges that shape global policies and economics. NCDD learned about WorldLink?’s efforts from the Public Conversations Project (PCP). PCP Associate Meenaskshi Chakraverti recently participated in a WorldLink event for nearly 700 high school students sponsored by the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice at the University of San Diego. By providing these types of forums, Worldlink encourages students to assume the role of responsible global citizens and joint problem solvers. For more information, visit www.youthworldlink.org or http://peace.sandiego.edu

Added by Sandy on February 01, 2004??-??Link to this entry

Service-Learning Gathering Engages Participants in Learning Circles

The Educators for Community Engagement?’s 2004 National Gathering will be held at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky from June 17-20, 2004. This 10th anniversary gathering will center around serious discussions between people who are truly dedicated to the concept of service-learning. National Gatherings differ from the usual academic conference in that you will join in a learning circle of your choice and remain there for the duration of the gathering - usually two days. During this time you will not only engage in amazingly in-depth discussions of extremely varied topics, but you will come to know others in your circle in a way not possible at an ordinary conference. In fact, you will develop some of the most meaningful and useful personal contacts imaginable. These people will continue to provide guidance, advice, and support (as will you yourself) throughout the year until the next gathering. www.e4ce.org

Added by Sandy on February 01, 2004??-??Link to this entry