Commons Cafes were created by Sharif Abdullah to bring diverse groups of people together in small groups to get to know each other. (continue)

A community event intended to provide project information and raise awareness about particular issues. The fair includes a multiplicity of activities and events of interest to cater for the broadest range of people, for example, sausage sizzles, rides and activities for children, young people's activities and events of interest to adults. (continue)

Community indicators are statistical measures of a community's quality of life, through which a community can track things getting better or worse. Often they are created through extensive conversations in the community. (continue)

Community juries consist of individuals impaneled to hear testimony related to a specific issue. Jurors, chosen for their impartiality, hear reviews of an issue by neutral experts. The jury discusses and deliberates and subsequently issues its findings. Always non-binding and with no legal standing, the findings of such juries can pinpoint "fatal flaws" or gauge public reaction. The Minnesota DOT assembled a community jury to determine public attitudes toward congestion pricing as a traffic-reduction measure. The jury met for five days of hearings with more than 20 witnesses and voted in favor of reducing traffic but against congestion pricing. The jury then voted for increases in the gas tax and for allowing its use in funding transit improvements. (continue)

Community Weaving is a innovative approach to foster a community of responsible citizens who create Family Support Networks where they share their time, gifts, talents and resources with others. This community mobilization strategy increases civic engagement and social capital by tapping grassroots resources resulting in the creation of healthy thriving communities. Family Support Networks meet the needs of families and children in the old fashioned way, neighbor to neighbor. Through the use of telephones and a web-based technology families can easily and immediately access a myriad of resources to help themselves and others in the community. (continue)

Compassionate Listening is a process of "listening our way to wholeness." We believe that peace comes through the hard work of meeting one's enemy - the human being behind the stereotype, and acknowledging one another's suffering. Compassionate Listening as a tool for reconciliation is based on a simple yet profound formula for the resolution of conflict: adversaries giving the gift of listening. To help reconcile conflicting parties, we must have the ability to understand the suffering of both sides. (continue)

A conference is usually organised by a like-minded group or association to share information, present the latest innovations, and/or to make decisions about or on behalf of the organisation. Conferences can vary from 'shoestring' budget gatherings to large-scale, week-long events that may justify hiring a professional conference organiser. (continue)

Dick Axelrod's Conference Model Redesign is a method that uses a series of four fast, participatory 3-day conferences - vision, customer, technology, and design - held a month apart, resulting in an organizational design, followed by implementation steps. (continue)

Consensus Conferences, developed in Denmark, are used in a variety of settings and typically involve a group of citizens with varied backgrounds who meet to discuss issues of a scientific or technical nature. The conference has two stages: the first involves small group meetings with experts to discuss the issues and work towards consensus. The second stage assembles experts, media and the public where the conferences main observations and conclusions are presented. (continue)

Consensus Forums involve large numbers of community, industry and government representatives in a 1-3 day Forum, with the goal of reaching common ground on broad and complex issues. The Consensus Forum provides a way for lay people to deliberate on technologically complex issues, with the support of those who are experts in the area. It is a way of exploring the issues using the best available knowledge, the widest possible views, and a focus on understanding different viewpoints. Where consensus (common ground) is achieved, these views become integral to the decision making process. The goal of the Consensus Forum is strategic partnership between the community, industry and government, in order to jointly make decisions and then implement the key recommendations. (continue)