Wow. Talk about being inspired by what is possible! The NCDD conference in the DC area last weekend was a potent mix of innovation, connection and motivation for action. 415+ people turned out to share their best thinking, broaden their networks and add their unique contribution to advancing the work of strengthening our democracy. Even as partisan rhetoric heats up in an effort to amplify division and discord in advance of the November elections, the people and organizations involved in NCDD offer a countervailing narrative […] (continue)

The August NCDD Tech Tuesday on Local Governments Adopting Online Engagement looked at how local governments are adopting online engagement as part of their public participation activities. Our two presenters were: Della Rucker, Managing Editor of EngagingCities and Chief Instigator at Wise Economy Susan Stuart Clark, Director of Common Knowledge, NCDD board member and consultant to local governments Della and Susan reviewed examples of how local governments are using online engagement, the state of the industry, key factors to consider in planning and implementing online engagement – […] (continue)

Our May Tech Tuesday event featured Ethelo Decisions (now available to NCDD members in beta),  a decision making tool that provides deeper deliberation about values, constraints and trade-offs in an online setting. Ethelo founder John Richardson (Power Point file) and NCDD sustaining member Kathryn Thomson (Power Point file) led a presentation about the tool, providing a case study about a condo dispute and showed how the Ethelo algorithm works. Participants then split into break out groups facilitated by members of the Ethelo team and discussed questions and ways they […] (continue)