The role of group facilitator is often pivotal to good results for groups making the transition to consensus. The Manual is a great introduction to the concept of approaching the role of facilitator as someone who welcomes both rational and emotional input. The staff of the Center for Conflict Resolution put their experience in working with groups into A Manual for Group Facilitators. This is an informal outline detailing useful and effective techniques to help groups work well. More than a simple 'how to,' the manual contains a discussion of the values, dynamics, and common sense behind group process that have been verified by our own experience. (continue)

The model described here was developed for the single session introductory dialogues on abortion that Public Conversations Project conducted in 1990-1992 (eighteen sessions) and 1995-1998 (ten sessions). Most of these dialogues took place on weekday evenings between 6:00 and 9:30 and involved four to eight participants who did not know one another ahead of time. Several participants were activists but few were highly visible leaders. All groups were evenly balanced with people who described themselves as 'prochoice' or 'prolife.' (continue)

A New Weave of Power, People & Politics provides a well-tested approach for building people's participation and collective power that goes beyond influencing policy and politics to transforming public decision-making altogether. Based on 25 years of participatory research, community development, neighborhood organizing, legal rights education, and large-scale campaign advocacy experiences worldwide, A New Weave combines concrete and practical action 'steps' with a sound theoretical foundation to help users understand the process of people-centered politics from planning to action. (continue)

This 75-page step-by-step handbook walks readers through the stages of sponsoring, organizing, and participating in a public policy consensus process. Designed primarily for government agencies or departments, the guide also is useful for any other sponsor of - or participant in - a consensus building process. (continue)

Harold Saunders, former Assistant Secretary of State and negotiator of the Camp David Accords and now Director of International Programs at the Kettering Foundation, distills over 35 years of experience working with conflicts across the globe. This book describes how sustained dialogue can help conflicting groups of citizens move toward resolution. (continue)

This 2010 Public Agenda Choicework guide explores the question: What can we do, in our schools and community, to keep young people in school and on track for graduation? In today’s world, a high school diploma is not just a good idea, it’s essential. It’s essential for individuals and their futures. In fact, over their lifetimes, high school dropouts earn roughly $200,000 less than high school graduates and about $1.4 million less than college graduates. It’s essential for our community as well. We need an ... (continue)

The World Café is an easy-to-use method for creating a living network of collaborative dialogue around questions that matter to the real-life situations of your organizations or community. In this beautifully illustrated booklet, Juanita Brown collaborates with Nancy Margulies and the World Café Community to articulate seven guiding principles for people to use to host their own Café. Learn about the thousands of people on five continents who have experienced the World Café, a model for setting up the ideal Café for your group, the roles of the hosts, crafting powerful questions, Café assumptions and etiquette, and more. (continue)

Meet the challenges of providing HIV/STD and sexuality education to culturally diverse groups. Using a four-step model, this resource helps build the attitudes, knowledge, and skills necessary to reach all groups of young people. Focuses on African American, Latino and lesbian, gay and bisexual teens. This publication was funded through a cooperative agreement (U63/CCU302752) with the Division of Adolescent and School Health, Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (continue)

Designed to meet the unique needs of afterschool programs, camps, and recreation centers, this guide contains hundreds of hands-on, engaging activities that teach basic conflict resolution skills through cooperative challenges, drama, crafts, music and even cooking. Also included are easy-to-implement strategies and tips for providers to both reduce conflict in their programs and to intervene effectively when conflict does occur. Adventures in Peacemaking blends ESR's innovative conflict resolution curricula with Project Adventure's activity-based programming. (continue)

Different people often have different ideas about what the goals of afterschool programs should be. Given that resources for afterschool programs are limited, and no single program can be all things to all people, communities need to make decisions about what kinds of afterschool programs they want to invest in. This Public Agenda Choicework guide explores the question: What kind of after school program do you think is best for your community, and why? Based on decades of research and experience concerning how average citizens ... (continue)