According to author Matt Leighninger, beneath the national radar, the relationship between citizens and government is undergoing a dramatic shift. More than ever before, citizens are educated, skeptical, and capable of bringing the decision-making process to a sudden halt. Public officials and other leaders are tired of confrontation and desperate for resources. In order to address persistent challenges like education, race relations, crime prevention, land use planning, and economic development, communities have been forced to find new ways for people and public servants to work together. The stories of civic experiments in this book can show us the realpolitik of deliberative democracy, and illustrate how the evolution of democracy is already reshaping politics. (continue)

Between November 2005 and June 2007, a team from The Keystone Center helped organize and implement a multiparty negotiation process aimed at increased redress for people affected by river contamination from the Ok Tedi Mine in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Ok Tedi is often cited as one of the worst man-made environmental disasters in the world. It is also a true sustainability dilemma. The mine produces 20% of PNG's gross domestic product but it has also disrupted the traditional food webs and lives of more than 50,000 people by putting 90,000 tons of rock waste and tailings per day into the Fly River system. Download the 34-page report directly from the NCDD website. (continue)

At the heart of the Program on Intergroup Relations (University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus) website is a comprehensive list of publications, reports and research documents, many online, relating to Intergroup Dialogue and Intergroup Relations Education. (continue)

This paper is concerned with how local councils might bring about the renewal of local democracy, and in particular, to the extent to which public relations might contribute to the process of renewal. To begin, the public policy literature is reviewed to investigate the concept of participatory democracy and its application in the UK. The role of local government public relations are then discussed to the extent to which the concepts of public relations and local public participation are linked. The paper then goes on to describe and critically evaluate one particular case where a public relations strategy was used to affect participatory democracy through local forums or district assemblies. (continue)

Experts in public engagement, participation and dialogue, Involve carries out research and delivers training to inspire citizens, communities and institutions to run and take part in high-quality public participation processes, consultations and community engagement. They believe passionately in a democracy where citizens are empowered to take and influence the decisions that affect their lives. Their January 2012 briefing paper, The Use of Public Engagement in Tackling Climate Change, draws from compelling results and evaluation findings of a range of public dialogues around climate change and argues ... (continue)

Thirdside.org is sponsored by the Global Negotiation Project at Harvard University. The idea of the Third Side and the initial content of this website are drawn from Bill Ury's book The Third Side: Why We Fight and How We Can Stop. Thirdside.org offers numerous tools for negotiation, including high school and college curriculua, workshop facilitators' guides, Third Side stories and case studies, and a variety of exercises. (continue)

Public policy consensus-building processes, which have been heralded as forums for genuine citizen involvement in government decision making, are increasingly subject to state and federal open meeting laws. While both open meeting laws and consensus-building processes were developed with the laudable intent of enhancing the legitimacy of government, it has been alleged that open meeting laws pose significant challenges for consensus building bodies. (continue)

On the face of it, the story of Bridgeport, Connecticut, is a familiar one. After losing much of its manufacturing and industrial base following the Second World War, the city confronted the problems of many old industrial cities—high unemployment, a shrinking tax base, the growth of violent crime and drugs. So far, so familiar. But what sets Bridgeport apart from cities with similar histories is the evolving story of its uncommonly rich civic life. When it comes time to solve community problems or make and ... (continue)

Dana Meadows believed that computer simulation models and systems thinking could be powerful tools for democracy, helping make social decisions and the assumptions on which they are based more transparent and open to public debate. She also believed that people should be more involved in making conscious and informed choices about their future. In the environmental arena, pressure to increase public participation in decision-making is growing. (continue)

This collection of a dozen stories are about everyday people who have changed the way politics is practiced in their towns. They share a commitment to the idea that in a democracy citizens take responsibility for dealing with community problems. 51 pages. (continue)