The Coast Shire Council Citizens’ Juries on Roads Management was convened by Surf Coast Shire Council, Victoria in 2007. Dr. Annie Bolitho shared this case study with NCDD... (continue)

The Loddon Riparian Frontages Citizens Panel was convened by the Victorian Department of Primary Industries and the North Central Catchment Management Authority. Dr. Annie Bolitho shared this case study with NCDD... (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)

This 2008 essay by John Gastil (professor in the Department of Communication, University of Washington) provides a definition of citizen deliberation and suggests broad categories for evaluation, including design integrity, sound deliberation and judgment, influential conclusions/actions, and other secondary benefits (e.g., positive changes to individual participants’ civic attitudes and improvement in local political practices). Evaluation methods are identified for measuring each of these evaluation criteria, and summary recommendations consider how to conduct a thorough, integrated project assessment with a small or larger evaluation budget. Download ... (continue)

Written by NCDD director Sandy Heierbacher to expand upon the text on our “What Are Dialogue & Deliberation?” page. Since dialogue and deliberation processes help people learn more about themselves or an issue (Exploration stream), resolve conflicts and improve relations among groups (Conflict Transformation), improve knowledge and influence policy (Decision Making), and empower people to solve complicated problems together (Collaborative Action), the keys to success differ based on purpose. There are, however,  several conditions that help increase the likelihood of success of any dialogue or ... (continue)

USARiseUp.com has launched two online dialogues on race, and you are invited to join the conversation: The National Collegiate Dialogue on Race Relations at www.usariseup.com/category/department/national-collegiate-dialogue Race Relations in Your City at www.usariseup.com/publishers-note/join-town-hall-discussion-about-race-relations-your-city? The website has a monthly online magazine with several departments, covering a variety of topics and interests designed to help us celebrate our commonalities, better understand our differences and create a comfortable space to address those things that divide us. Their writers represent the ethnic groups that make up America; and their visitors ... (continue)

NCDD’s October 2010 Resource Guide on Public Engagement is packed with tools and stories to help you tackle contentious problems in your community. Download the Resource Guide at: www.ncdd.org/files/NCDD2010_Resource_Guide.pdf The Resource Guide showcases the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation’s best collaboratively-created products (like the Core Principles for Public Engagement and the Engagement Streams Framework), as well as recognizing and directing you to a lot of the great work on public engagement that has been done by others in our field. Created for our 2010 ... (continue)

"Song Of A Citizen" is a unique collaboration of thinkers and artists exploring what it really means to be a fully engaged and effective citizen in modern times -- how we-the-people are measuring up -- how we can do better -- and why we must. Song Of A Citizen's debut effort is an innovative series of online "video op-eds," featuring an array of nationally renowned political philosophers and self-governance experts (including NCDD members Martha McCoy, Carolyn Lukensmeyer and Will Friedman) -- presented in a playful and engaging visual style -- each making the case in their own compelling way. View the video op-eds at www.songofacitizen.com. (continue)