EngagingCities helps urban planners understand and use the internet. We write about new online developments and give practical advice. How can new technologies make your planning processes more participatory, collaborative or effective? Which online tools best suit your needs and how do you use them effectively? http://EngagingCities.com (continue)

The spring 2010 issue of GSA’s Intergovernmental Solutions Newsletter explores some of the many ways technology is expanding opportunities for governments to collaborate on public-policy decision-making–and ways collaboration is increasing the range and power of technology to dramatically alter the accepted ways of doing business. Features 22 contributions from key players in governments and other organizations around the world. Download here. From the introductory article by Darlene Meskell, of the GSA Office of Citizen Services and Communications… The 21st Century society poses challenges of unprecedented ... (continue)

Three resources to help you get a sense of the kinds of legislation that can and do support citizen engagement in governance and decision-making, an NCDD listserv compilation, an amazing article by Lisa Bingham, and a 2003 global compilation by LogoLink. (continue)

Written by NCDD director Sandy Heierbacher to expand upon the text on our “What Are Dialogue & Deliberation?” page. This resource provides enough details to enable you to decide which of these leading dialogue and deliberation methods you should learn more about. In addition to looking at which methods fit your intentions, you will need to consider which methods are aligned with your resources, timeline, and the people you feel need to be involved. The text below is drawn from NCDD’s Engagement Streams Framework. AmericaSpeaks ... (continue)

The following are remixed highlights of Beth Noveck’s talk “Transparent Government” that she gave as part of the Long Now Foundation‘s Seminars about Long-Term Thinking. As with Noveck’s original talk, these highlights, as remixed by Hassan Masum and posted on August 11, 2010 here on worldchanging.com, are made available under a Creative Commons by-nc-sa 2.5 license. Noveck talks about the three pilars of the Open Government Directive:  transparency, participation and collaboration.  About deliberative democracy, she emphasizes the importance of focusing on action in addition to ... (continue)

This September 2, 2010 article by Joe Klein on the Time Magazine website compares Jim Fishkin's Deliberative Polling process with the kleroterion process used in ancient Athens (a citizen decision-making process that used random selection), and suggests that rather than appointing a "blue-ribbon" commission to study the federal deficit, Obama ought to have initiated a deliberative democracy program using Deliberative Polling. (continue)

Written by NCDD director Sandy Heierbacher to expand upon the text on our “What Are Dialogue & Deliberation?” page. Several strategies can ensure that the benefits of a dialogue or deliberation program are retained. Sustain the Dialogue While a single group may meet five or six times and agree to act together, the opportunity for many more groups to experience the process amplifies its effect. Even if hundreds of people participate in a single dialogue and deliberation process addressing racism in their community and transitioning ... (continue)

The State Government in Western Australia has portrayed itself as a champion of revitalising local democracy and civic engagement. This can be seen in the plethora of community consultation/participation policy documents that have emerged from the Premier's Citizens and Civics Unit over the past five years. Dialogue with the City, a major participatory planning process that formed part of the development of a new strategic plan—Network City—for metropolitan Perth, has been heralded as an exemplar of deliberative democracy. This paper draws on deliberative democratic theory, performative policy analysis and institutional discourse analysis to interrogate the efficacy of this claim by examining the discursive practices leading up to and including the Community Forum, a major consultative and participatory event of the Dialogue Initiative. (continue)

Craig Freshley’s book, “The Wisdom of Group Decisions is a collection of 100 one-page tips for avoiding conflict and making thoughtful, equitable, lasting group decisions for our communities, our organizations, our governments, our families, our Earth. Each tip is a provocative meditation and the book as a whole is a complete toolkit. Angus King, former Governor of Maine had this to say about the book: “What a terrific reminder of what works! Even the most experienced decision makers will benefit from the common-sense nuggets in ... (continue)

Teaching Democracy in Public Administration: a TDI catalyst paper on trends and future prospects is a 2008 white paper written by Matt Leighninger and produced by The Democracy Imperative and the Deliberative Democracy Consortium. The paper addresses the challenges faced by public administration educators, who are responding to trends toward democratic governance in the field. The article will be part of a special issue of the Journal of Public Deliberation devoted to deliberation and democracy in the academic disciplines. Below is a brief description taken ... (continue)