On February 1, 2013, National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI) released an Issue Advisory that contains materials that communities might wish to use in deliberating over the issues raised by the tragic events in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012. This “issue advisory” is not a full NIF issue guide, but a basic outline of the options, entitled How Can We Stop Mass Shootings in Our Communities? It can be downloaded here. The 4-page issue advisory was written by NCDD member Brad Rourke, a Kettering Foundation program officer. (continue)

In “Slow Democracy,” community leader (and NCDD Sustaining Member) Susan Clark and democracy scholar Woden Teachout document the range of ways that citizens around the country are breathing new life into participatory democracy in their communities. (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2012.) Large institutions and centralized governments, with top-down, expert-driven thinking, are no longer society’s drivers. In fact, they are often responsible for tearing communities apart. New decision-making techniques now pair with cutting-edge communication tools to make local communities—and the citizens who live there—uniquely suited to meet today’s ... (continue)

This 2011 Kettering Foundation working paper by Laura W. Black focuses on the question: To what extent can digital media truly offer potential opportunities for deliberative decision making, particularly the practice of deliberation itself? To address this question, this working paper assesses features of online deliberation by reviewing online deliberative tools, examples of other potentially deliberative websites, and relevant academic research. (continue)

Jacob Z. Hess is a Mormon, a community psychologist, and a devoted conservative, while Phil Neisser is an atheist, a leftist, and a college professor. Yet in 2009, after meeting at an NCDD conference, they embarked on a two-year conversation about the issues that divide them. The result is “You’re not as Crazy as I Thought,” an entertaining dialogue about power, government, media, religion, morality, gender roles, sexual orientation, race, and more. Drawing on the latest debates in social and political theory, Hess and Neisser ... (continue)

Throughout California, most local agency efforts to involve residents occur occasionally as one-time public engagement activities that are focused on issues such as a general plan update, annual budgeting, a public works project, a public safety issue, a climate change plan, etc. Fewer cities and counties think about and “embed” a capacity to regularly consider and use public engagement tools as an ongoing part of local governance. This 2011 document from the Institute for Local Government Public Engagement Program (www.ca-ilg.org/engagement) provides several useful caveats for any ... (continue)

This deck of 91 full-color cards distills the core wisdom of the field: what skilled facilitators do over and over again to make things work. The content is more specific than values, and less specific than tips and techniques, cutting across existing methodologies with a designer’s eye to capture patterns that repeat. The deck can be used to plan sessions, reflect on and debrief from them, provide guidance mid-stride, and share responsibility for making the process go well. In addition to the card set (which ... (continue)

Each of Craig Freshley’s free Group Decision Tips is a quick one-page read that helps improve group efficiency, productivity, and creativity. At www.groupdecisiontips.com you can view a complete index of over 150 Tips and download PDF handouts of your favorites. Freshley is an NCDD blogger, and has shared some of his tips on the NCDD Community blog. Each Tip begins with a principle – a core concept, and ends with a practical tip – something that you and your group can do to bring more ... (continue)

Amanda Kathryn Roman of the Citizens in Charge Foundation and Joan Blades of MoveOn.org and MomsRising are collaborating to launch a new and exciting project to promote civil conversations: www.LivingRoomConversations.org. It is an open-source project that provides a model for respectful conversations among friends & friends of friends around political issues that are typically polarizing. (continue)

Peter Nixon's new 2012 book addresses the gap between the quality of dialogues we have and the quality of dialogues we need to solve the problems we face at work, at home and in society. The book "bridges the gap between simply communicating and optimal decision making." (continue)

Tree Bressen, an NCDD Supporting Member and expert in facilitation and consensus, just released a new 2-page handout to assist those involved in the current Occupy movement, which has been using a consensus decision-making process. Tree noted in her email about this extremely timely, useful resource that “a two-page quick handout can’t replace a training, but it can help in the meantime.” You can download the handout at http://treegroup.info/topics/Top-10-Consensus-Mistakes.pdf (I’m also including it below as a valuable archive and resource). (continue)