By “civic infrastructure,” we’re talking about the underlying systems and structures that enable people to come together to address their challenges effectively. NCDDers show people there is another way to make decisions, solve problems, and resolve conflicts. Civic infrastructure is what’s needed in our communities, in our nation, and across the globe, in order for these practices to become simply the way things are done.
In case you missed it, applications are now being accepted for the 2020 All-American City Awards! Hosted by the National Civic League, an NCDD partner, this year’s award theme is focused on “Enhancing health and well-being through civic engagement”. We encourage you to watch the video from the 2018 awardees with tips on how to apply and how the award has benefited their communities. We also recorded our co-hosted NCDD-NCL Confab call earlier this spring which can provide some great context and background information on the […] (continue)
Tags: bridge building, civic infrastructure, collaborative action, field news, funding-jobs-awards, public participation, upcoming events, youth & student engagement
NCDDer Lorelei Kelly recently published a new report called, Modernizing Congress: Bringing Democracy into the 21st Century, which was developed in support with the Democracy Fund and the Beeck Center, an experiential hub at Georgetown University. Here is an excerpt from the summary – “Modernizing Congress lays out a plan to accelerate this institutional progress. It scopes out the challenge of including civic voice in the legislative and deliberative process. It then identifies trusted local information intermediaries who could act as key components of a […] (continue)
Tags: bridge building, civic infrastructure, collaborative action, current issues, field news, public participation
The fourth annual Civic Institute is happening Friday, August 16th, hosted by NCDD member org the David Mathews Center for Civic Life. This will be one of the premier events dedicated to strengthening civic life in Alabama and will be a fantastic opportunity for those doing civic engagement work throughout the state. DMC recently announced the session line up which you can read more below and on the DMC’s site here. 2019 Civic Institute: Sessions Announced Join us Friday, August 16th at the American Village in Montevallo, Alabama […] (continue)
Tags: bridge building, civic infrastructure, collaborative action, educational opportunities, exploration, field news, upcoming events, youth & student engagement
NCDD member organization The Participatory Budgeting Project recently shared a new research paper on how participatory budgeting (PB) has been linked to improved civic engagement and increased tax revenue. PB is a process where community members vote on how to spend a portion of public dollars and is increasingly being attributed to bolstering peoples’ faith and practice in local governance. The article written by Loren Peabody shares the research of Michael Touchton, Brian Wampler, and Tiago Peixoto, who found that when people have the opportunity to […] (continue)
Tags: civic infrastructure, collaborative action, current issues, exploration, public participation, research
For younger folks excited to build their civic power, Citizen University is accepting applications for their 2020 Youth Collaboratory cohort! The Youth Collaboratory is an exciting opportunity for 24 high school sophomores and juniors, who are passionate about civic engagement, to join this year-long program to strengthen civic literacy and network with civic leaders. Applications are due Monday, July 1st – so make sure to share with your networks and submit applications ASAP. You can read more about the Youth Collaboratory and how to apply […] (continue)
Tags: bridge building, civic infrastructure, collaborative action, educational opportunities, field news, funding-jobs-awards, gems, upcoming events, youth & student engagement
Did you know that every week we compile the hottest new jobs and internships related to dialogue, deliberation, civic tech, and public engagement work?! We work to stay up on the most recent opportunities and send them out at the beginning of the week on our Making-A-Living listserv. While the Making-A-Living listserv is a benefit of being an NCDD member, we have been finding such a robust line-up of jobs and internships that we wanted to lift these up here on the blog. If you’d like […] (continue)
Tags: civic infrastructure, field news, funding-jobs-awards, gems, public participation, youth & student engagement
If you are looking for some fantastic D&D content to enjoy this weekend, we encourage you to check out the new works from Eric Liu on awakening our civic power. He released his new TED talk, “How to revive your belief in democracy”, in which he offers a framework for democratic participation. As well as, his new book, “Become America: Civic Sermons on Love, Responsibility, and Democracy” which compiles the civic sermons he gave at the first 19 Civic Saturday events, hosted throughout the country […] (continue)
Tags: bridge building, civic infrastructure, educational opportunities, field news, stories, tools, upcoming events
The Journal of Public Deliberation (JPD) is currently looking for contributions on an upcoming special issue, Citizens, Media and Politics in Challenging Times: Perspectives on the Deliberative Quality of Communication. JPD is a peer-reviewed journal on deliberative democracy and is a collaboration between the Deliberative Democracy Consortium (DDC) and the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2). We encourage folks in our network to learn more about the opportunity in the post below. Manuscripts need to be submitted by July 31st and decisions will be made […] (continue)
Tags: civic infrastructure, collaborative action, decision making, educational opportunities, field news, research
Did you know that every week we compile the hottest jobs and internships related to dialogue, deliberation, civic tech, and public engagement work?! We work to stay up on the most recent opportunities and send them out at the beginning of the week on our Making-A-Living listserv. While the Making-A-Living listserv is a benefit of being an NCDD member, we have been finding such a robust line-up of jobs and internships that we wanted to lift these up here on the blog. If you’d like to […] (continue)
Tags: civic infrastructure, field news, funding-jobs-awards, gems, public participation, youth & student engagement
This week marks the close of March and Women’s History Month, which is an intentional time to lift up the vital contributions women have given to history and society. It is in this spirit of celebration and honor, we share this piece from the Democracy Fund, Celebrating Women Who Are Making Democracy Stronger, written by Anne Gleich, Jessica Harris, and Jessica Mahone. The article offers an incredible list of phenomenal women across the nation working to improve our election systems, political representation, journalism, and who […] (continue)
Tags: bridge building, civic infrastructure, collaborative action, current issues, exploration, gems