The growing sense of division in our country has been felt  strongly this year in conjunction with the physical separation of pandemic life and elections right around the corner. This article published on USA Today, written by David Mathews, President of Kettering Foundation, explores a narrative that is rarely reported on. USA Today networks and America Amplified, a public media collaborative, equipped with research provided by organizations including Public Agenda and the Kettering Foundation want to uncover the common ground. The main findings reported demonstrate more common ground […] (continue)

NCDD member org, The National Civic League released the 2020 Fall Edition of the National Civic Review, published in collaboration with NCDD member, the Kettering Foundation. This esteemed quarterly journal offers insights and examples of civic engagement and deliberative governance from around the country. Friendly reminder that NCDD members receive the digital copy of the National Civic Review for free! (Find the access code below.) We strongly encourage our members to check out this great resource and there is an open invite for NCDD members to contribute to the NCR. You […] (continue)

The Professional Certificate Leading Smart Communities will be hosted online this fall by our friends at NCDD member org, the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civil Leadership! The intersection of government and technology has drastically changed in the past few years, and these changes are even more drastic with the health precautions needed due to COVID-19. Learn essential skills from leaders in government technology on how to better utilize #govtech, and impact of technology in the future. Don’t miss out on this training series – program […] (continue)

ICYMI –  The McCourtney Institute for Democracy  an NCDD member org, is hosting their next virtual book club event TODAY, featuring the book, Beyond Civility: The Competing Obligations of Citizenship. Come share a discussion with the authors, William Keith and Robert Danisch, on civility in democracy and public discourse. You can purchase the book through Penn State University Press, and receive a 30% discount when you use the promo code “NR20”! The event is via zoom at 4pm Eastern, 1pm Pacific; reading of the book […] (continue)

We want to take a moment to recognize exceptional individuals in our field by extending this invitation from NCDD member org, National Issues Forums Institute, to submit your applications for the Elizabeth “Libby” Kingseed Teaching with Deliberation Memorial Award Libby’s commitment to civic education and deliberation continue to be an inspiration; and it is in this spirit that NIFI has created this award to grant $500 to any K-12 teacher working to implement deliberation or deliberative pedagogy in the classroom. Applications will be accepted until […] (continue)

NCDD is proud to be a partner of the Online Facilitation Unconference 2020 (#OFU2020), hosted by the Center for Applied Community Engagement LLC! Mark your calendars for October 19-25th, to join the 7th annual OFU event where attendees will have the opportunity to strengthen their virtual facilitation skills. FYI NCDD members can receive a 20% discount on tickets (see below for promo code)! We encourage you to read more about #OFU2020 in the post below and register here. In addition, you can get a teaser […] (continue)

Exciting news! Our friends and member organization, the Bridge Alliance and Bridge Alliance Education Fund are pleased to welcome the addition of Reverend F. Willis Johnson as Vice President, Maria Yuan CEO of IssueVoter and Manu Meel CEO of BridgeUSA, as crucial parts of their board. NCDD is looking forward to continuing to support all the important work Bridge Alliance accomplishes with the updates in staff and structure. This announcement was sent to the NCDD team via the BA Updates newsletter, which you can sign […] (continue)

All are invited to test drive the freshly renamed civil discourse digital platform, AllSides Connect, and give your feedback! For the next three days, August 18th, 19th, and 20th –  NCDDers AllSides and Living Room Conversations are hosting the AllSides Connect “Hackathon”, and we encourage you to check it out! Folks may remember the platform by its’ former name, “Mismatch”. This platform is an opportunity to build connections and share conversation, which many of us are greatly in need of during these times of increased […] (continue)

Let the 2020 All-America City Award Competition begin! This beloved annual community event hosted by NCDD partner organization, the National Civic League, kicks off today and continues until the Weds. August 19th. This inspirational event recognizes communities that leverage civic engagement, collaboration, inclusiveness and innovation to successfully address local issues. This year has gone virtual but you can still join by heading on over to the NCL site linked here. If you are looking for a great boost of spirit, then we strongly encourage you […] (continue)

This announcement comes to us from our friends at the David Matthews Center for Civic Life. ICYMI on Friday, August 21st, the Matthews Center will be hosting their annual Civic Institute with this year’s theme, Common Bonds: Collective Purpose and Civic Resilience in Uncertain Times.  The event this year will be entirely online and open to folks outside the state, as well as free-of-charge! Make sure you see Dr. David Mathews, President and C.E.O. of the Kettering Foundation, give the keynote address sharing from his experiences […] (continue)