Many people are reluctant to discuss politics across party lines.  This 4-page guide entitled Reaching Out Across the Red Blue Divide, One Person at a Time (available for download in PDF format) by PCP Associate and NCDD member Maggie Herzig is a step-by-step approach to inviting one other person—someone whose perspectives differ from your own—into a conversation, focusing on developing a better understanding of each other’s perspectives.  Here’s an excerpt from the guide… Why bother to reach across the divide? Many people have at least one ... (continue)

The first three years of a child’s life are a time of great opportunity, as well as risk. We can tip the scales in favor of healthy development by providing early experiences and relationships that help babies and toddlers thrive. Our failure to do so can lead to long-lasting harm to our children, communities, and economy. In order to consider ways to ensure a good start for all West Virginia’s children, the Early Childhood Advisory Council of West Virginia joined with the West Virginia Center ... (continue)

On February 1, 2013, National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI) released an Issue Advisory that contains materials that communities might wish to use in deliberating over the issues raised by the tragic events in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012. This “issue advisory” is not a full NIF issue guide, but a basic outline of the options, entitled How Can We Stop Mass Shootings in Our Communities? It can be downloaded here. The 4-page issue advisory was written by NCDD member Brad Rourke, a Kettering Foundation program officer. (continue)

How should schools and communities respond to the Newtown tragedy? The Deliberative Democracy Consortium produced, in partnership with the National School Public Relations Association, a guide for discussion and action on school safety and other issues raised by the events in Newtown. (DDC executive director Matt Leighninger serves on the board of NSPRA.) A number of other deliberation practitioners (all NCDD members) contributed to this guide, including: Will Friedman of Public Agenda, John Dedrick and Brad Rourke of the Kettering Foundation, Martha McCoy, Pat Scully, and Molly Barrett ... (continue)

A National Issues Forums issue guide, A Nation in Debt: How Can We Pay the Bills? (2011) outlines the effect of the growing national debt on our society and several choices or approaches to addressing the issue. National Issues Forums do not advocate a specific solution or point of view, but provide citizens the opportunity to consider a broad range of choices, weigh the pros and cons of those options, and meet with each other in a public dialogue to identify the concerns they hold in common. ... (continue)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) is proud to launch the “Public Participation Guide“, an international public participation toolkit. It is a resource for agencies and organizations to help develop, plan for, and implement programs that engage the public in environmental decision-making. U.S.EPA has worked on developing this guide since 2009, initially for use in the Middle East and North Africa, but with potential for global application. It has now been introduced to regions and countries around the world. The guide was developed to ... (continue)

The Obama Administration’s Open Government initiative is now three years old.  But is it making a difference?  Tina Nabatchi’s new report (2012), published by the IBM Center for The Business of Government, provides a practical assessment guide for government program managers so they can assess whether their efforts are making a difference.  The report lays out evaluation steps for both the implementation and management of citizen participation initiatives as well as how to assess the impact of a particular citizen participation initiative.  An appendix provides helpful ... (continue)

A new guide can help citizens and local leaders decide how to make their communities more engaging, inclusive, participatory, and powerful. Planning for Stronger Local Democracy is built around two lists: the questions to ask about your community in order to take stock of local democracy; and the building blocks you might consider as part of a comprehensive, sustainable strategy for vitalizing civic engagement in your town. This is a publication of the National League of Cities and the Deliberative Democracy Consortium, and can be ... (continue)

This 40-page report by NCDD member Matt Leighninger was published by the IBM Center for the Business of Government. This 2011 report begins to pull back the veil on how public managers can make use of the various online engagement tactics and tools currently available to them, and when they work best. (continue)

Collaboration Soup: A Six-Step Recipe For Co-Creative Meetings and Other Conversations is a little 100-page book packed with goodness. We recommend it for meeting conveners and participants alike. Authors Delia Horwitz and Paula Vigneault are offering a special $10 rate to the NCDD community (about $5 off). Go to www.createspace.com/3411497 to order and use code UHFJPXWJ at checkout. (continue)