Collective decision making began in the Americas long before the deliberations that produced the Mayflower Compact. In research done for the Kettering Foundation, Ruth Yellowhawk showed that a legacy of tribal deliberation has carried over into modern day decision making. The foundation wishes to delve more deeply into this legacy and its contemporary applications as part of its study of citizen decision making worldwide. To continue their research, Kettering has established the Ruth Yellowhawk fellowship. Fellows are selected on the basis of proposals to tell ... (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)

This article on participatory budgeting (PB) by Daniel Altschuler and Josh Lerner appeared in the Christian Science Monitor site on April 5, 2011. (continue)

An online social network launched by NCDD organizational member AmericaSpeaks, The American Square is rooted in the belief that our country needs to engage in vigorous, honest, and civil political debate to address the enormous challenges we face. (continue)

LexPop.org is a new wiki-based website that invites participants to collaboratively craft public policy. (continue)

The Red Lodge Clearinghouse (RLCH) website, at www.rlch.org, makes participation in natural resources decision-making easier than ever before. The RLCH website — originally founded in 2001 by renowned fashion designer and philanthropist, the late Liz Claiborne and her husband, Art Ortenberg — has served the needs of individuals and organizations engaged in collaborative natural resources management for nearly a decade. The Natural Resources Law Center took over the project in 2007 and, with continued funding from the Liz Claiborne Art Ortenberg Foundation, recently resolved to broaden the mission of the project to support a wider variety of problem-solving methods and to break down the barriers impeding citizen engagement. (continue)

This post includes details on a new National Issues Forums documentary film on how schools can use deliberation to uncover the best ways for them to address the achievement gap. The film will be aired on PBS stations around the country in 2011, and you can (1) request a free copy of the film and (2) help make sure your local PBS station airs the film. (continue)

Led by the Danish Board of Technology, World Wide Views on Global Warming (2009) is considered the first in-depth global citizen consultancy on climate change. WWViews established a model for the future inclusion of the world’s citizens in global policymaking. The novel and practical project design made it potentially possible for all nations on the planet to take part and to produce comparable results that can be clearly communicated to policymakers. World Wide Views on Global Warming involved roughly 4,000 citizens in 38 countries spanning ... (continue)

The “Democracy Communications Network” was a 2007-2009 project centered around an informal group of leaders (listed below) who agreed to periodically write letters to the editor, blog posts, and other media pieces as part of larger, collaborative campaigns that raise awareness of the importance of quality public engagement.  Use the “Democracy Communications Network” tag to see all the great articles that were written in association with this project. Also see the General Tips for Writing Op-Ed Articles. AmericaSpeaks, the Deliberative Democracy Consortium, Everyday Democracy, the ... (continue)

PRIA's founders believed in two principles of development: Participatory Research, which believes in the intrinsic value of people's knowledge as basis for their own empowerment, and Participatory Development, a process which empowers people to create and implement their own development plans. In the process of its work at the grassroots, PRIA pioneered a vast range of methodologies and tools for the empowerment of the marginalized, including Participatory Training, Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation, Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue, and Community Based Monitoring. (continue)