In this great list of pointers for hosts of online conversations, Rheingold outlines what an online host hopes to achieve; characteristics of good online discussions and duties/behavior of a good host. (continue)

Issue framing is rooted in the belief that democracy depends upon people making choices together about how to deal with problems in their communities. Framing an issue for public deliberation requires us to examine a problem from many angles. It encourages us to be curious about - and even compassionate toward - ideas that differ from our own, so that our deliberations may help us discover common ground for action. A well-framed issue will be inclusive of differing perspectives and will be framed in public terms that citizens can relate to. This great 22-page workbook takes you through the various components or steps of framing an issue for public deliberation. (continue)

In some way or another, most public issues need all of us to help remove the supports that keep the issues propped up and causing problems. The process of framing the approaches to the issues, and then deliberating them, assures that the issues get the complex attention they need. It is a foundation for multilateral action in the necessary combinations that most issues need, if we really intend to work on them. It assures we can discover and creatively use all perspectives - including, but not only, our favorite ones. (continue)

According to graphic facilitator Brandy Agerbeck (www.loosetooth.com), graphic facilitation is the practice of using words and images to create a conceptual map of a conversation. A graphic facilitator is the visual, usually silent partner to the traditional, verbal facilitator, drawing a large scale image at the front of the room in real-time.... (continue)

This 24-page guide for moderators and convenors of National Issues Forums-style deliberation includes sections on how to get started, organizing a forum, moderating, reporting, posters, materials and more. (continue)

The Kettering Foundation long ago identified a disconnect between the public and politics. People in communities all over the country felt estranged from their elected representatives, from their public institutions, and most importantly, from each other. A significant portion of this disconnect focused on how issues in communities got named and framed. Kettering surmised, correctly, that if a public issue was named in such a way that the public could not identify with it, then the public would have a difficult time supporting it. However, if the public could identify a public problem together (naming) and then discuss choices on how to solve the particular problem (framing), then the likelihood of greater community action increased ten-fold. (continue)

The following is an account of an Open Space Technology approach designed for people who are unable to read. The idea was conceived by a small group during the 2001 annual gathering of Open Space practitioners in Vancouver Canada. (continue)

Instead of focusing on a community's needs, deficiencies and problems, Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) helps communities become stronger and more self-reliant by discovering, mapping and mobilizing all their local assets. (continue)

Facilitators of dialogic and deliberative processes often develop their own standard set of ground rules which they suggest groups adopt or modify to meet their needs. Here are some samples of ground rules from organizations which represent various streams of online and face-to-face D&D practice. Use this list to get new ideas for ground rules or to show a variety of sets of ground rules to facilitators you are training. (continue)

This 5-page article (2007) written by Will Friedman for Public Agenda addresses the concept of nonpartisan framing for deliberation, which aims to clarify the range of positions surrounding an issue so that citizens can better decide what they want to do. While framing has received significant mainstream attention of late, what is not being discussed is the limited context in which framing is conceived. The current infatuation with framing is concerned virtually exclusively with the power politics of parties and interest groups, and the winning or losing of […] (continue)