This post was submitted by NCDD supporting member Tuesday Ryan Heart of Confluence Unlimited via the Add-to-Blog form. Join us in Chicago, Sept 30-Oct 2 for an Art of Hosting on developing strategy and methods for designing and hosting meaningful engagement. The tools and know how for meaningful and productive engagement are now available in the fields of dialogue, social media and design. The combination of these disciplines and tools enable us to genuinely integrate those who are most affected in the design and delivery of […] (continue)

Facilitate your meetings through the rough spots. Engage conflict constructively in your community or organization. Gain the skills and tools you need with one of the Public Conversations Project’s upcoming trainings. Discounts for early bird registrants, NCDD members, and folks who bring a friend. Continuing Education credits available through NBCC and MAMFT. Facilitating with Purpose and Poise—Even When Things Get Hot October 8-9, 2013, Watertown, MA Anyone who leads meetings can be thrown off balance when difficult moments arise. The difficulty might be an unexpected […] (continue)

We are pleased (and somewhat saddened) to announce the last conference call in the three-part capacity building series being hosted by our partners at CommunityMatters and the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design. This final call, titled “Secrets of Successful Communities”, is coming up on Thursday, August 22nd from 3-4pm EST and will feature CIRD’s own Ed McMahon: Last year Barbara Walters asked four billionaires for their Top 20 Secrets of Success. The #2 secret? “Always be True to Yourself.” It turns out that applies to communities, too. Join national […] (continue)

Please join the Future Search Network this December 9-11, 2013 and take advantage of your NCDD 25% discount! Managing A Future Search Workshop with Sandra Janoff is for facilitators, leaders, managers or anyone who wants to learn how applying Future Search principles enables a community, group, company, unit or organization to transform its capability for action. Participants will acquire the tools needed to organize and manage Future Search conferences with integrity in any sector or culture. The workshop is built around a simulated Future Search. […] (continue)

It’s time to sign up for the next cycle of the award winning Dialogue, Deliberation, and Public Engagement Certificate Program. Kansas State University’s DDPE program is a transformative professional development program focused on making wise choices for engagement. NCDD is a ‘Collaborator’ of the program, and NCDD supporting members enjoy a 10% discount on program fees. Please note that information calls on the program are scheduled for today at 6pm Central, August 8 at 10am Central, August 22 at 6pm Central, September 4 at 10am Central and September […] (continue)

We are excited to once again invite you all to join us for a free conference call being hosted by our partners at CommunityMatters and the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design this Thursday, July 25th from 3:00 to 4:00 pm Eastern Time.  This second call in the three-part capacity building series will feature David Hohenschau of the Orton Family Foundation and Peter Flinker of Dodson & Flinker Landscape Architecture and Planning who will share their knowledge and experience around the call’s theme, “Designing for the Vision and Values of Your Community.” If you want your […] (continue)

Hey, everyone!  We have a one-hour webinar scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday) at 1pm Eastern for the national dialogue initiative Creating Community Solutions.  Two NCDD members I just adore — Martha McCoy of Everyday Democracy and Daniel Clark of AmericaSpeaks — are leading the webinar, on the topic “Organizing Multiple Conversations Across Your Community.” If you’re thinking of organizing a larger-scale dialogue effort in your community as part of Creating Community Solutions, please register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2991543891289628928 asap  – before the webinar maxes out.  Even if you’re not […] (continue)

We all dream of a society where citizens are willing and able to participate competently in democratic processes. Yet most of the schools where we ostensibly prepare our young people for the rights and responsibilities of being a citizen are fairly undemocratic places. Thus, making our schools places where the skills and competencies needed for democracy are taught and put into practice is a crucial step to achieving the society we collectively envision. That is why I’m personally excited to share a unique opportunity for NCDD members to […] (continue)

At the start of the ‘What Would You Do If…?’ Master Class with Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff, you can raise whatever questions you have about real issues when organizing or supervising meetings: What would you do if…? You will learn from yourself, from each other, and from Marvin and Sandra (co-creators of the Future Search method), while discovering new possibilities, alternative strategies and new ways to support groups effectively. A unique 1.5-day first-hand experience of the power of being able to put your trust […] (continue)

NCDD is the Core Collaborator of the highly regarded Dialogue, Deliberation and Public Engagement Certificate Program (DDP&E for short).  The certificate program is now hosted by Kansas State University, and the first course launches next month! We wanted to alert the NCDD community to an opportunity to learn more about the program next Wednesday at 5pm Eastern on an conference call with program leaders.  You can sign up here to participate in the call. I have heard nothing but great things about this program, which […] (continue)