Instead of meeting numerous times for dialogue before finally trying to make the transition to action, why not try adding a community service activity to your dialogue program's schedule? This revised format could benefit your dialogue group in several ways. A community service session could: temporarily satisfy participants' need for action, get all group members thinking about possibilities for future action, provide a common framework for approaching a discussion about action, help build trust and teamwork, increase the group's visibility in the community and more. Heierbacher put together this tip sheet while she was serving as a Fellow for the Corporation for National Service and working on her Master's thesis on integrating dialogue with action. (continue)

This 31-page PDF was used to guide Jay Hartling and Laura Wells' well-received workshop at NCDD's 2006 conference in San Francisco. The lively lecture-style presentation and discussion examined action beyond dialogue, and the intersection of state institutions, civil society organizations and neighborhoods through preliminary research on the implementation of Venezuela's new Law of Communal Councils. Presenters discussed the convergence of political will and pressure from grassroots communities to support a bold shift to a truly participatory democracy. The session also shared information on different approaches to democracy in other regions of the globe, particularly the global south. (continue)

This 6-minute video highlights the efforts of Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland) Study Circles Program to address racism and student achievement in the district's schools and community. Includes Spanish subtitles. (continue)

This 6-minute video features one study circle, among many, involved in a 1999 community-wide dialogue and change effort in Syracuse, New York, around the issue of racism and race relations. (continue)

This 10-minute motivational video introduces the concept of study circles, including a profile of the study circle program in Decatur, Georgia. (continue)

At the 2008 National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation, we focused on 5 challenges identified by participants at our past conferences as being vitally important for our field to address. This is one in a series of five posts featuring the final reports from our “challenge leaders.” Action & Change Challenge: Strengthening the relationship between D&D and action and policy change. How can we increase the likelihood that D&D engagement streams of “exploration,” “conflict transformation,” and “collaborative action” will result in community action? How can ... (continue)