Thirty-four managers from 23 different federal agencies and departments came together on March 30-31, 2009, to develop recommendations for President Obama’s Open Government Directive. Participants in the working session shared a deep commitment to empowering the public and transforming the relationship between the American people and their government. Together, they brought to the discussion a wealth of experience in public participation, collaborative problem solving and conflict resolution. This 51-page report (2009) compiles the ideas and recommendations generated during the event. At the working meeting participants ... (continue)

Champions of Participation is a 50-page report summarizing an international learning event held in the U.K. from May 31 to June 4, 2007. Sponsored by the Citizenship DRC and Logolink, the event focused on  the role of champions of participation inside government, whether they be elected officials or government officers. Download here. (continue)

In this economic climate, the value of public engagement needs to be articulated in economic terms. Involve’s toolkit demonstrates that you don’t need specialist skills or knowledge to make the business case for engagement. Download the July 2011 toolkit from Involve and Consumer Focus, Making the Case for Public Engagement: How to demonstrate the value of consumer input. Toolkit authors are Edward Andersson, Emily Fennell and Thea Shahrokh. There is a substantial amount of anecdotal evidence in support of public engagement and some case study ... (continue)

The Pathways through Participation looks at participation in a very broad way, and covers a wide range of participatory activities that are often viewed in isolation. This broad approach to participation has informed our literature review. (continue)

This short thread is an archive of a discussion on the NCDD forum started on July 9, 2004 by Matt Leighninger. (continue)

Here is the transcript of a rich conversation we had on NCDD’s Discussion list in February 2010 with the subject “Conservatives and Liberals,” initiated by Pete Peterson. A big thank-you to Martin Carcasson for keeping track of these posts and sharing his archive! (continue)

The following comments were made over the NCDD Discussion list a few years ago when Leah Lamb posed this question: “I have been pondering about how we can actively make the D&D lexicon more familiar to the greater public? I am curious to learn about how those of you on the listserv approach describing the fields of D&D, and more specifically, how you address the complexity of the wide range of definitions and practice.” (continue)

An annual report that elevates the discussion of our nation’s civic health by measuring a wide variety of civic indicators, America’s Civic Health Index is in an effort to educate Americans about our civic life and to motivate citizens, leaders and policymakers to strengthen it. Among other things, the Civic Health Index measures such factors as engagement in public policy, charitable giving, volunteering, and online participation. Learn more at www.ncoc.net/CHI. In 2006, the National Conference on Citizenship, in partnership with the Civic Health Index Indicators ... (continue)

Toward Wiser Public Judgment (2011) revisits and expands upon Yankelovich's seminal 1991 book, Coming to Public Judgment, which argued that people advance through several distinct stages to form politically meaningful judgments about public issues. In particular, citizens must "work through" the temptation to opt for easy answers or engage in wishful thinking, reconcile conflicting values, and come to terms with tough tradeoffs, before they can truly support a new course of action. (continue)

Joseph McCormick, co-founder of Reuniting America, and humorist Steve Bhaerman have just released a new e-Book directly relevant to our national situation, Reuniting America: A Toolkit for Changing the Political Game. As old top-down ways of governing prove inadequate in the face of increasing complexity, it is a manifesto for a transpartisan “grassroots up-wising.” (continue)