Please join us in praising the winners of the Civvys!

Recently six organizations, were recognized by the American Civic Collaboration Awards during their virtual livestream ceremony.  This year’s ceremony saw a peak number in nominations, reflecting the growing civic efforts happening in the United States.

Congratulations to The Civic Responsibility Project, SA2020, Green Our Planet, Pandemic Voting Project, Issue Voter, DoSomething.org’s Our 2020 Vision campaign for elevating democracy with your impactful civic- oriented work!

Read more below for more details on the winners or navigate to the original post here.

Six Exemplary Projects Named Civvys Winners

The American Civic Collaboration Awards honored six organizations for their impactful work across the country in civic engagement in a livestreamed, virtual ceremony on April 19th.

The six winners represent outstanding examples of civic-oriented work that elevate democracy at every level of American life. The 2020-21 award cycle saw the highest number of nominees, making for a competitive selection process — and demonstrating the growing breadth and depth of civic efforts happening across the nation.

In case you missed it, you can stream the ceremony again at civvys.org. This year’s awards were hosted by F. Willis Johnson, Jr., Vice President of Partnerships and Programming with Bridge Alliance, and feature award announcements by esteemed members of the Civvys Review committee. This year’s program also included a special tribute to Joel Odom, who accepted the Youth award on behalf of Generation Nation last year and sadly lost his life in 2020. Join us in honoring Joel and the work of all Civvys nominees, finalists and winners.

In total,18 finalists were selected from this year’s nominees in three different categories. Read on to meet this year’s 6 Civvys winners, and stream the ceremony if you missed it.

Meet The Civvys Winners

Please join us in congratulating all finalists and honorable mentions!

NATIONAL WINNER – CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY PROJECT

The Civic Responsibility Project brings the broader business community together in collaboration to support voter participation and civic engagement. Research shows that supporting democracy is good for business – and the Civic Responsibility Project helps brands create and implement civic responsibility programs that get their employees and consumers actively engaged in our democracy. Through their work, thousands of companies actively supported voting in the 2020 election, and other industries can take lessons from this coalition, service-based model.

LOCAL WINNER — SA2020

Throughout the year 2020, nearly 12,300 people in San Antonio reaffirmed and strengthened a shared vision originally created by nearly 6,000 people in 2010. Both processes were led by SA2020, the nonprofit organization responsible for driving progress toward San Antonio’s Community Vision through research, storytelling, and practice. This work includes measuring progress on more than 60 community indicators, telling stories that broaden perspectives and reshape narratives about San Antonio, and holding institutions accountable to leading change. SA2020’s work is a model for broad based community visioning and impact.

YOUTH WINNER – GREEN OUR PLANET

From its hub in Las Vegas, Green Our Planet has projects all over the U.S. and is making immediate impact as the largest “school garden” program. In a creative approach, they bring together STEM learning, hydroponics, school yards, and the business world of farmers’ markets, to help young people connect with the Earth, their own skills and knowledge, and civic responsibility in communities. Across 10 states, 3500 teachers, thousands of students – Green Our Planet demonstrates impact, teaching self-reliance and hard work, entrepreneurship and climate science, and healthy living and eating. It’s a holistic, engaging, real approach to getting young kids involved in community and civic life.

COMMITTEE CHOICE AWARD – PANDEMIC VOTING PROJECT

Missouri’s impressive voter turnout in 2020 had the Pandemic Voting Project to thank, organized by the NAACP Missouri State Conference and Show Me Integrity. This truly cross-partisan initiative brought together Republicans and Democrats, the public and private sector, as well as an initiative called DoctorsForDemocracy, that collaborated to help more people in Missouri vote safely. Together, they gave people more ways to vote absentee, supported election authorities, registered and educated voters, and launched new technology at MoVote.org that registered 16,000 voters with a 92% voting rate.

COMMITTEE CHOICE AWARD — MARIA YUAN AND ISSUE VOTER

Issue Voter connects constituents to members of congress and uses technology to make peoples’ voices heard. Given the urgent need for an easy, clear understanding of issues, Issue Voter breaks down complicated policy and ballot measures and helps citizens to be more informed. Maria Yuan was also nominated for her work in streamlining data collection to better track and combat anti-Asian hate crimes. Her work in gathering, organizing and disseminating key data – on ballot issues and hate crimes alike – provides a replicable, scalable model that other civic collaborators might learn from.

COMMITTEE CHOICE AWARD — DOSOMETHING.ORG

The pandemic, the election, and protests for racial justice all changed the way we live in 2020, but young people were especially affected, as school and major milestones were disrupted. DoSomething.org’s Our 2020 Vision campaign mobilized in response to give young people more of a say – with their vote. The “Our 2020 Vision” campaign registered 250,000 voters all online, and 37% of those were rural voters. DoSomething.org’s work focused on gathering broad stakeholders, serving immediate needs and making an impact.

Six civic engagement organizations were recognized Monday night for their work to strengthen democracy in a cross-partisan way.

Keep The Collaboration Going

Ready to help repair America’s divides, one conversation at a time? America Talks is a powerful two-day event that invites Americans to connect one-on-one, face-to-face on video across our political divides. Find dialogue and bridge-building events near you during the National Week of Conversation.

Mark your calendar for America Talks and the National Week of Conversation, kicking off June 12!

Find the original version of this post on the American Civic Collaborations Awards’ site at: www.civvys.org/the-2020-civvys

NCDD Member Public Agenda is looking to hire two Research Fellows for the Healthier Democracies Project.  The Healthier Democracies Project, concentrates on identifying innovative participative democratic practices in foreign governments at the local and state levels to demonstrate back to American public officials examples of what can be implemented to fortify our own democratic processes in the United States.

The duration of the engagement is short term, approximately 25 hours a week for 10 weeks, to be completed remotely.  The position calls for a Master’s degree, bilingualism in English and Spanish/Portuguese, experience in civic engagement or public participation in participatory democracy to conduct international qualitative case study research.  Students from a varied range of disciplinary backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

This is an astounding  opportunity for those looking to broaden their network around the world with a community of public participation professionals, receive mentoring on conducting research in an international context, experience working in grant funded research environment and the chance to publish with Public Agenda!

Please send a cover letter, cv, writing sample and 3 reference letters to Ms. Mikayla Townsend, mtownsend@publicagenda.org,  by May 14, 2021.

Read more below on the needs, desired qualifications and compensation for the Fellowship and find the original post here.

Summer Senior Research Fellow: Healthier Democracies

Salary: $30/hourly, or about $7500 total for the summer

Job Type: Full-time/Part-time/Contract

Term: A 10-week contract, with an approximate start date of May 25 (dates flexible)

Reports to: Associate Director of National Engagement

Location: Remote

Introduction:
Public Agenda, a nonprofit organization that focuses on strengthening democracy, is currently seeking 2 graduate students with experience in civic engagement, public participation, or participatory democracy to conduct international qualitative case study research as a part of the Healthier Democracies project. Students may come from a range of disciplinary backgrounds including Communication, Political Science, Sociology, Public Policy, or other degree programs.

This is a remote, short-term, part-time position for summer 2021. Students will work a total of 250 hours, approximately 25 hours a week for 10 weeks, however hour allocation can be flexible according to students’ scheduling needs. Compensation will be $30/hourly, or about $7500 total for the summer.

The Healthier Democracies project is an international research endeavor

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NCDD is excited to announce the launch of session applications for our upcoming Summer Learning Springboard!

Don’t miss out on the chance to celebrate the 4th American Civic Collaborations Award Ceremony! Since it’s very beginning, the Civvys have highlighted outstanding efforts of civic collaboration impacts in national, local and youth communities. The Civvys are the only national awards program dedicated to exalt projects that emphasize working together across divides to strengthen communities and empower citizens, this year with an added focus on building a more diverse and equitable America.

This year, NCDD is proud to be a partner in national award finalist, the With the People Initiative, coordinated by the National Issues Forums Institute. We’re excited this effort is being recognized and look forward to celebrating it an all the finalists at the ceremony!

The event is free, open to the public and will be streamed on Monday April 19th  from 7:00- 8:00 ET.

TO ATTEND  RSVP HERE

To view the list of all impressive finalists read below or find the original invitation here.

Attend the 4th Annual Civvys Awards Ceremony

Monday, April 19th, 2021 at 7:00 – 8:00pm ET

You are cordially invited to attend the virtual awards ceremony for the 4th annual American Civic Collaboration Awards, or “Civvys,” highlighting exemplary efforts that worked to repair and improve our nation in 2020.

More than ever, in a moment when democracy and community – the fabric of our nation – are stretching at the seams, we look to initiatives like these to work across divides and lead the way in building a stronger, fairer America.

From a record number of inspiring nominees, a substantial set of honorable mentions paving the path forward, and a set of best-in-class finalists, this year’s Civvys winners represent the most collaborative, highest impact and most scalable initiatives from 2020.

Join the livestreamed award ceremony on Monday, April 19th at 7pm ET, 6pm CT or 4pm PT, to learn about their work, congratulate all of our finalists and winners, and hear from the Civvys Review Committee on these inspiring case studies of democracy in action.

This event is virtual. Attendance is free and open to the public.

RSVP TO ATTEND

Meet The Civvys Finalists
Please join us in congratulating all finalists and honorable mentions!

National Category
Braven
The Civic Responsibility Project
Hidden Common Ground Initiative and Strange Bedfellows Series from Public Agenda and USA Today with The National Issues Forums Network and the America Amplified Public Media Consortium
Issue Voter and Maria Yuan
Millenial Action Project
With the People, coordinated by National Issues Forums Institute

Local Category
Akron Civic Commons (Akron, OH)
Interfaith Council of Metro DC (Washington, DC)
Pandemic Voting Project, organized by NAACP (Missouri State Conference) and Show Me Integrity (Missouri)
SA2020 (San Antonio, TX)
STL Approves (St. Louis, MO)
Tarrant County College Civic Engagement District Work Team (Fort Worth, TX)
Youth Category
Changeist
The Conversationalist
DoSomething.org’s “Our 2020 Vision” campaign
Green Our Planet
KidsVotingDurham
Student PIRGS New Voters project, including specifically nominated Eckerd College, California Student Vote and NAACP Youth and College Division initiatives
See All Finalists and Honorable Mentions

About The Civvys
The Civvys are the only national awards program dedicated to celebrating projects that emphasize working together across divides to strengthen communities and empower citizens, this year with an added focus on building a more diverse and equitable America.

Essential Conversations is celebrating one year! Essential Conversations was created by the Center for Purposeful Leadership as a response to the disruption felt worldwide with the events of 2020, in the hopes of engaging and activating leaders.  If you haven’t checked it out yet, Essential Conversations is a weekly event with the purpose of hosting provocative and evocative conversations, interactive breakouts, and community conversations  to equip you with strategies, inspiration and ideas to create change and innovation needed for  coherence, resilience and positive impact.  Anyone looking to create a positive impact in their family, community or organizational circles are welcomed to these 1.5 hour conversations.

Additional details on upcoming sessions and to register read below or navigate to the original post here.

Find the original version of this event on the Center for Purposeful Leadership’s site at: www.centerforpurposefulleadership.com/essential-conversations

Ten Directions invites you to an exciting development opportunity with their anticipated Next Stage Facilitation Program. The 6- weeks online training goes live from April 20th- May 25th and is oriented for professionals who want to push their edge, take more risks and find more flow, ease and effectiveness in working with groups. This is perfect for anyone who is interested in taking the first step in the Certified Integral Facilitator ® path and is officially accredited by the ICF to provide 23.5 CCEU’s

Even better, in partnership with Ten Directions we are offering a DISCOUNT FOR NCDD members of 20% off the tuition until April 10 **** use coupon JOY2NCDD ****

To find out more and register, read below or navigate to the Ten Directions’ page here.

April 20-May 25 Next Stage Facilitation

This is the first step in the Certified Integral Facilitator ® path.

Integral Facilitator ® is focused on growing capacities for collaborative work – in communities, groups and organizations. Facilitative leaders, coaches, facilitators, and mediators, and change makers to transform how people and groups can accomplish more together, create thriving dynamic communities, and shape the kind of culture we want to live in.

Next Stage Facilitation™ is an advanced leadership program, designed to expand your perception of yourself as a facilitative leader, your impact in the room, and your potential for shaping group experience. It integrates deep insights from the fields of adult development, Zen Awareness and Integral theory, combined with core competencies of masterful facilitation.

This live 6 week online training is oriented to self-actualizing professionals who want to push their edges, take more risks, and find more flow, ease and effectiveness in working with groups.

In this training, you’ll refine your ability to:
– Rejuvenate a room by addressing what is exciting or even threatening (and often both)
– Go off-script to adapt in the moment, following energy to sustain engagement
– Make “facilitator moves” to increase trust and connection

You’ll experience hands-on practice and receive targeted personal feedback and coaching from the faculty team, alongside other high-caliber facilitative leaders, change makers and innovators engaging with courageous intentions and fresh outlooks.

Next Stage Facilitation – April 20 – May 25, 2020 – 6 weekly classes, online.
Learn More and Register Here

Being in the room with a team of confident, adaptive, and insightful facilitators provides a rich and immersive container for experiential learning. In every moment, there is something we can learn from. Please share this with your colleagues so that they can take advantage of this opportunity – And – even better – here is a special DISCOUNT FOR NCDD members of 20% off the tuition until April 10 **** use coupon JOY2NCDD ****

Please reach out with any questions – group discounts are available for teams of 3+
Programs@tendirections.com
https://tendirections.com/offerings/integral-facilitator/next-stage/

Find the original version of this opportunity on the Ten Directions’ site at: www.tendirections.com/offerings/integral-facilitator/next-stage/

On February 17th NCDD held our first call of 2021. This all-network call asked participants to share where they are putting energy into their work this year. They proposed topics they would like to discuss with others, and we had about 6-7 active sessions going on simultaneously. It was a great networking event!

Topics mainly focused in a few areas:

• Online engagement, including expanding participation, access, and inclusion
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Building others skills and increasing the value of good process

In the wrap-up of the event, the groups shared highlights from the conversations, and plans to continue talking or explore further. It was an inspiring session, and it helped NCDD learn more about what we can help support through programming in 2021.

If you would like to see the introduction and the wrap-up, check out the call recording here. Half of the event took place in breakouts, so the recording only captures the main room conversation, which provides a good recap of what happened in each room.

The topics were proposed in a spreadsheet which can be accessed here. Those who proposed the topic and others interested shared names and contact information. Some groups even shared link to their notes! If there is a topic of interest, feel free to connect with those who said they are interested.

Is there a topic we missed? Feel free to share it in the comments!

NCDD looks forward to the next conversation!

You don’t want to miss the upcoming Equitable and Inclusive Engagement webinar hosted by Public Agenda, an NCDD member org, this coming Wednesday February 24th. The event will take place from 1-2:15pm Eastern, 10-11:15am Pacific. This segment will spotlight BIPOC Women Leading Disaster Recovery and the indispensable role they play in assisting their communities with what was needed in the aftermaths of Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. This conversation is part of Public Agenda‘s FREE webinar series. Register here! Read more below about the event or find the original posting here.

Equitable and Inclusive Engagement: BIPOC Women Leading Disaster Recovery

Join Nicole Cabral, Associate Director of NY Engagement Programs at Public Agenda, in conversation with Maria Garrett, President of the Fresh Creek Civic Association in Brooklyn, New York; Myrtle Phillips, President of Grand Bayou Families United in Grand Bayou, Louisiana; and Daphne Viverette, former Community Development Director of the City of Moss Point, Mississippi.

Nicole will facilitate a conversation with these three leaders about the integral role they play in the recovery of their respective communities in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy.

Register here.

Maria Garrett is the founding member and first elected president of the Fresh Creek Civic Association in Brooklyn, New York. For over twenty-five years, Maria has been deeply involved in community building, conservation, and environmental resilience through her work with Flatland 7 and Flatland 8 Community Block Associations, United Canarsie South Civic Association (UCSCA), Community Board 18, the 69th Precinct and more. She resides in Canarsie with her husband and children.

Myrtle Philips was born and raised in Grand Bayou village in the bayou of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. She is the President of Grand Bayou Families United. As a Native American activist, she is dedicated to fighting for the community, even in the face of extreme environmental and political challenges.

Daphne Viverette is the former Coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources in the Office of Coastal Restoration & Resiliency, where she played an integral role in her community’s recovery after Hurricane Katrina. Her past work includes twenty-five years in a public service capacity implementing and administering local, state, and federal grants as Community Development Director at a Gulf Coast multiple government.

Nicole Cabral is the Associate Director for New York Engagement Programs at Public Agenda. She manages the Public Engagement team in the development and execution of projects on a variety of local and national issues.

For reasonable accommodation requests to attend this discussion, please contact Jennifer Orellana at pe@publicagenda.org no later than Wednesday, February 17, 2021.

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NCDD sponsor organization, Essential Partners, recently released their new comprehensive dialogue guide titled, Race in America. This guide is designed to support community conversations on race; including instructions, a facilitator guide, and several case studies on racial dialogues happening in the U.S. You can learn more about the guide in the post below and download the guide for free via EP’s site here.

Race in America: A Dialogue Guide

Informed by decades of experience, Race in America: A Dialogue Guide will provide a roadmap for you to lead courageous, constructive conversations about race in your community.

Essential Partners has collaborated with grassroots groups, activists, schools, faith institutions, and communities across the United States to make new conversations about race possible. Recent projects include:

• Dialogues between police and Black community members in Raleigh, NC
• Community dialogues about faith, race, and ethnicity in Columbia, MD
• Dialogues among BIPOC educators about the dual strains of COVID and BLM
• A set of student-led race dialogues at a secondary school in Cary, NC

This guide contains everything you need to hold three dialogues: one for an all-white group, one for an inter-racial group, and one for a group composed of participants who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color (BIPOC). (more…)

With Presidents’ Day this coming Monday, we have some great reading for our network to dig into over this holiday weekend! The National Civic League, an NCDD member organization, released the 2020 Winter Edition of the National Civic Review (NCR) and  NCDD members receive a digital copy of NCR for free! (Find the access code below.). This esteemed quarterly journal offers insights and examples of civic engagement and deliberative governance from around the country.

Friendly reminder that the League is always seeking articles for NCR on community-based examples of civic engagement, public deliberation, co-production, and democratic innovation – more info here! Submissions for the Spring 2021 edition of NCR are due March 15th, and Summer edition submissions are due by July 15th. You can read about NCR in the post below and find it on NCL’s site here.

National Civic Review Winter Edition — Access Code: NCDD21

With a deadly pandemic, an economic crisis, events highlighting racial inequity and a political crisis, 2020 was a year of hardship and turmoil for America’s communities. As we begin a new year, the National Civic Review offers these unique perspectives on how the public, private, and nonprofit sectors can work together on innovative strategies to promote civic renewal, community resilience, and individual well-being.

You can access this edition by going directly to the table of contents and entering your access code (NCDD21) when prompted.

One of the Nation’s Oldest and Most Respected Journals of Civic Affairs

Its cases studies, reports, interviews and essays help communities learn about the latest developments in collaborative problem-solving, civic engagement, local government innovation and democratic governance. Some of the country’s leading doers and thinkers have contributed articles to this invaluable resource for elected officials, public managers, nonprofit leaders, grassroots activists, and public administration scholars seeking to make America’s communities more inclusive, participatory, innovative and successful.