Created by NCDD director Sandy Heierbacher in collaboration with Martin Carcasson, Will Friedman and Alison Kadlec (and based on Carcasson's paper Beginning With the End in Mind), the Goals of Dialogue & Deliberation graphic pictured here outlines 3 types of goals for public problem-solving work. In a nutshell, the three tiers of goals are individual and knowledge-based goals, immediate group/community outcomes, and longer-term capacity building and community change. Click on the image to view a larger version of the graphic. (continue)

GovLoop.com, the self-proclaimed “Facebook for Government,” is a social network that connects federal, state, and local government employees; public policy students and professors; good government organizations; those considering government service; and government contractors. The site was founded in 2008 by Steve Ressler, a former information technology specialist with the US Department of Homeland Security, and boasts over 30,000 members as of 2010. GovLoop offers many resources for its members, such as personal profile pages, job postings, discussion groups, blogs, and an events calendar. It organizes ... (continue)

Open Policy Making 101: 10 Questions To Ask Before Launching Your Online Public Consultation (November 2009) is a list of ten important questions to consider before beginning an online public consultation, published by Joseph Peters, a founding Partner of Ascentum, and Joe Goldman, the Vice President of Citizen Engagement at AmericaSpeaks. The ten questions are listed below; for more details, check out the full document, posted on Ascentum’s website. (continue)

Civility is much more than just behaving politely. This 8-page issue brief from the National Association of Counties (NACo) provides an overview of current state of civil dialogue in local government and examples of how counties can ensure a civil dialogue during county meetings. Published June 2010. Download In Search of Civility at this link or visit www.naco.org/research/pubs/ to see all NACo publications. (continue)

Engaging the public in local decisions is a necessary, but many times challenging step for county governments. This 8-page brief from the National Association of Counties (NACo) is designed to provide county officials with a variety of options available in order to engage residents and garner meaningful citizen input. Published June 2010, the brief provides descriptions of public hearings, focus groups, surveys, comment and feedback cards, and online tools. Download the brief at this link or visit www.naco.org/research/pubs/ to see all NACo publications. (continue)

The National Association of Counties (NACo) is the only national organization that represents county governments in the United States. Founded in 1935, NACo provides essential services to the nation’s 3,068 counties. NACo advances issues with a unified voice before the federal government, improves the public’s understanding of county government, assists counties in finding and sharing innovative solutions through education and research, and provides value-added services to save counties and taxpayers money. For more information about NACo, visit www.naco.org. (continue)

The Knight Commission released its report Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age on October 2, 2009. The Commission seeks to start a national discussion – leading to real action. Its aims are to maximize the availability and flow of credible local information; to enhance access and capacity to use the new tools of knowledge and exchange; and to encourage people to engage with information and each other within their geographic communities. All are welcome to participate in the national dialogue on the Commission’s ... (continue)

The 66-minute Rise and Fall of the Town Hall Meeting video shows the NCSL (National Conference of State Legislatures) 2009 Fall Forum held on Dec. 11, 2009.  The video features three legislators talking about the effective use of town hall meetings and deliberation. One of the legislators featured is NCDD member and Hawaii State Senator Les Ihara. The other speakers included: Representative Sheryl L. Allen (Utah), Representative Ellen Roberts (Colorado), and Katie Ziegler (NCSL). (continue)

Archon Fung, a professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, has written a short article titled “How to Hold a Public Meeting,” published in the March/April 2010 edition of Capitol Ideas, the magazine of the Council of State Governments. Fung’s article can be seen online at www.csg.org/pubs/capitolideas/mar_apr_2010/howto.aspx, and outlines 5 tips for holding an effective public meeting: be clear on the purpose, get help, avoid the usual format, go beyond the usuals, and avoid promises you can’t keep. This is a nice, concise one-pager worth ... (continue)

The purpose of the White House’s Open Government Directive (OGD) is to change the culture of federal agencies so that they are more transparent, participatory, and collaborative. The OpenGov Playbook (at www.opengovplaybook.org) is a place for open government practitioners at the federal, state, and local levels to share questions and effective practices about the Directive. Knowledge about the OGD is spread out across the Web; the primary purpose of this wiki-based site is to serve as a useful directory to those resources. The Playbook also ... (continue)