Author Archives: NCDD Community

Jefferson Center Wins Knight News Challenge on Elections Award

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We invite you to join us in congratulating the team at the Jefferson Center, one of our NCDD member organizations, on the recent award they received from the Knight Foundation for a great program they’ve planned to engage Millennials and media outlets in Ohio around 2016 local elections. We encourage you to read more about it in JC’s announcement below or find the original here.

Up for Debate Ohio Wins Knight News Challenge Award

JeffersonCenterLogoOur Up for Debate Ohio initiative, aimed at uniting young voters and traditional media outlets to improve the substance of political conversations during election season, was named a winner of the Knight News Challenge on Elections. The project will receive funding through the Knight Prototype Fund, which supports early-stage media and information ideas with $35,000 in funding.

Many eligible voters, particularly younger ones, cite negative campaigning and a lack of substantive information as primary reasons they avoid the polls on Election Day. The Up for Debate Ohio pilot will engage Millennials in Akron, OH to recommend opportunities for local media to be more responsive to the information needs of younger voters. Local media outlets will use the input from young voters to shape their coverage of the 2015 Akron mayoral election.

We know that young Americans are incredibly committed to strengthening their communities. Too many, unfortunately, feel disconnected from electoral politics, especially at the local level. Up for Debate Ohio will generate insight into the best opportunities to bring young people into dialogue about politics and the future of their community.

Along with our partners in Northeast Ohio, including the Akron Beacon Journal, WKSU Public Radio, and the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron, we’ll share what we learn in an effort to create more substantive voter information resources for the 2016 campaign cycle.

Up for Debate Ohio was selected as one of just 22 projects funded through the News Challenge out of 1008 original submissions. We’re excited to be in such great company.

“This project has the potential to provide voters in Ohio, a key swing state, with a forum to discuss and connect around important community issues, so they make informed choices and meaningfully participate,” said Chris Barr, Knight Foundation director for media innovation, who leads the Prototype Fund.

The Knight News Challenge on Elections funds ideas that inform voters and increase civic participation before, during and after elections. For more, visit www.newschallenge.org.

You can find the original version of this Jefferson Center post by visiting www.jefferson-center.org/knight-news-challenge-award.

Featured D&D Story: Reforming the Barcelona Football Club

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Today we are happy to feature another great example of dialogue and deliberation in action. This fascinating mini case study from Spain was submitted by NCDD Founding Member Alberto Lusoli of QuattrodiTre (4d3) via NCDD’s Dialogue Storytelling Tool. Do you have a dialogue story that our network could learn from? Add your dialogue story today!

ShareYourStory-sidebarimageTitle of Project:

Reforming the Barcelona FC, One Opinion at a Time

Description

The Manifest Blaugrana Association was born to promote a greater and equal participation of all the Futbol Club Barcelona members, to improve its democratic processes, and to go beyond the usual and common football club paradigm, based on a clear separation between the fans and administrators.

Organized and supported by about 200 shareholders of the Barcelona Futbol Club, the aim of the “Debats” initiative is to provide the next President with a set of guidelines collectively written by the members of the association and fans of the club. As 4d3, we have been involved in providing and customizing our collective decision-making platform Deebase to their needs.

Should the members’ register be opened, thus allowing the entry of new members? May the club set a salary cap regardless of UEFA regulations? These issues, among many others, are now finally open to fans’ discussion. Thanks to the Deebase deliberation process, which includes a scoring system and an assessment of opinions and arguments, ideas will be compared and voted by the community, allowing the most popular to bubble up.

The project has been released in conjunction with the electoral campaign that will lead to the election of the new president of the Club on July 18th. The aims of the project are:

  • to provide to the future President a set of guidelines developed collectively by Barcelona’s fans and shareholders.
  • to regularly publish and send to the Club’s management the results of the deliberations

What was your role in the project?

Technology supplier / Co-designer

What issues did the project primarily address?

Associació Manifest Blaugrana (Barcelona)

Lessons Learned

Lost in translation: one of the biggest challenges that we faced during the design phase was to translate the platform in Catalan and Spanish. Since the participants will be mainly Catalan native speakers, it was fundamental to provide a platform fully translated into Catalan. However, at the same time it was necessary to make the platform available and understandable also to Spanish, non-Catalan speakers. Therefore, having a system capable to manage different languages, and providing a hybrid Spanish-Catalan version of the platform was necessary in order to lower adoption barriers.

Where to learn more about the project:

Link to the initiative: http://debats.manifestblaugrana.cat
Link to the platform: http://deeba.se
Link to the association: www.manifestblaugrana.cat
Photo: www.manifestblaugrana.cat/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/rebut.png

Minding Our Future: Investing in Healthy Infants and Toddlers (DMC Issue Guide)

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Minding Our Future: Investing in Healthy Infants and Toddlers is an issue guide created by the David Mathews Center for Civic Life for our Alabama Issues Forums 2014 – 2015 series. The issue guide provides a brief overview on the importance of early childhood development, outlininDMC_MindingFutureg three approaches towards investing in healthy infants and toddlers across the state of Alabama. The David Mathews Center—a non-profit, non-partisan organization—does not advocate a particular solution to this issue, but rather seeks to provide a framework for Alabamians to thoughtfully examine multiple approaches, weigh costs and consequences, and work through tensions and tradeoffs among different courses of action.

The issue guide’s introductory essay, authored by Dr. Ellen Abell, Associate Professor and Cooperative Extension Specialist at Auburn University, highlights the importance of healthy infant and toddler development:

“Research tells us that the structure of babies’ brains is built in the first three years. During this time, the brain creates 700 neural connections each second, a rate faster than at any other time of life. These simple, beginning connections develop into stronger, more complex connections if babies are exposed to a variety of experiences appropriate for their stages of development… [E]arly adverse experiences lead to poorer learning outcomes, reduced immune system function, and a decreased ability to manage basic levels of stress… Differences in early childhood experiences contribute greatly to the growing gaps in children’s learning and achievement.”

The issue guide outlines three possible approaches to addressing the issue:

Approach One: “Develop Capable and Caring Parents, Guardians, and Caregivers”
During their first three years of life, children are completely dependent on parents, guardians, and caregivers. We must ensure that infants and toddlers receive the support that they need during these important years. Although programs and services aimed at helping children and improving community are important, we need to focus additional time and energy on strengthening the capabilities of the individuals who are responsible for raising and caring for young children… We also must prepare future parents and guardians for their upcoming responsibilities.

Approach Two: “Create Healthy and Thriving Communities”
Communities directly impact infants and toddlers. If we want to “mind our future,” then we must work to foster safe and healthy communities that support young children and their families. Parents and guardians may want to provide children with everything that they need, but unsupportive neighborhoods and workplaces that increase stress may reduce their abilities to do so. We must create additional family resource centers, encourage workplace policies that embrace families, and organize community events that focus on young children and parents.

Approach Three: “Provide Access to Comprehensive High Quality Services for All Children”
If we want to provide children with a strong foundation during their first three years of life, then we must offer wide access to necessary support services. Alabamians must make genuine commitments to invest in education, healthcare, and nutrition for all infants and toddlers; otherwise, growing children may face challenges that will impact them for the rest of their lives. Parents, guardians, caregivers, and community groups cannot provide everything that children need during their first three years – some services and support must be provided by institutions and agencies. Also, access to and use of existing services may be limited due to lack of awareness and understanding.

More About DMC Issue Guides
David Mathews Center issue guides are named and framed by Alabamians for Alabama Issues Forums (AIF) during a biennial “Citizens’ Congress” and follow-up workshops. Alabama Issues Forums is a David Mathews Center signature program designed to bring Alabamians together to deliberate and take community action on an issue of public concern. Digital copies of all AIF issue guides, and accompanying post-forum questionnaires, are available for free download at http://mathewscenter.org/resources/

For further information about the Mathews Center, Alabama Issues Forums, or this publication, please visit http://mathewscenter.org/

Resource Link: http://mathewscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Minding-Our-Future-singlepages.pdf

This resource was submitted by Cristin Foster, the Executive Director at David Mathews Center for Civic Life, via the Add-a-Resource form.

Airesis – Open Source E-democracy Social Network

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Airesis is a free, web-based, open source E-democracy platform, structured as a social network and designed to maximize the collective intelligence of group deliberation. It is the result of 5 years of development, testing and pilot experimentation, organized and done by an Italian Association – Tecnologie Democratiche, which included the collaboration of more than 50 people.

Airesis is the outcome of the fusion of two projects: Agorà 2.0 and DemocracyOnline, that came together in the association, Tecnologie Democratiche, with one of its main goals being the development of an innovative, open-source, e-democracy software. The goal of the team, made entirely of volunteers, is to give citizens and groups a software platform that allows them to cope with most of the problems of our society, by allowing the creation, discussion and voting on proposals in a transparent, democratic, constructive and participative way; allowing the collective intelligence to emerge.

From Airesis

Airesis is a free software platform, built by a team of Italian developers and contributors, to enable communities and groups to organize themselves in a productive manner according to the principles of direct democracy and participation.

To achieve this goal, the application has been designed as a multifunctional system, which integrates all the tools that can help the development of a community, in particular “social” and deliberative tools.

Among social tools, Airesis offers blogs and a system of promotion of events and meetings with adjoining scheduling. Among deliberative tools it includes areas for the collection and deliberation of proposals and initiatives, and a voting system aimed to the election of candidates. The platform also allows you to create groups with access regulations policies and customizable permissions. Since the goal of Airesis is to stimulate participation, great attention has been spent in order to maximize the intuitiveness of the whole platform. The development philosophy is focused on continuous improvement, a kind of evolutionary process based on users feedback. The development team is available to meet the needs of the communities which want to use the software according to the spirit of direct democracy.

TecnologieDemocraticheMore about Tecnologie Democratiche
In the political arena and by the citizen, the Internet is increasingly perceived as potential instrument for the democratic participation; however, few and undeveloped are the web platforms conceived to help parties and political movement to involve citizens in the preparation of programs and policy proposals. The association “Tecnologie Democratiche” (“Democratic Technologies” ndr.) was created to satisfy this need, providing an enhanced tool to exploit the “collective intelligence”, the skills and experiences of citizens, their creativity, their critical spirit, while ensuring at the same time democratic values in the various stages of the elaboration of a policy proposal. Follow Technologie Democratiche on Twitter: @TDemocratiche

Learn more about the Airesis team here. Follow Airesis on Twitter: @democracyo

Resource Link: www.airesis.info/

This resource was submitted by Jacopo Tolja, the Internationalisation Team Leader at Associazione Tecnologie Democratiche via the Add-a-Resource form.

Call for Papers for New Journal of Dialogue Studies

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We are happy to share the announcement below from Elena Liedig of the Dialogue Society. Elena’s announcement came via our great Submit-to-Blog Form. Do you have news you want to share with the NCDD network? Just click here to submit your news post for the NCDD Blog!

Call for Papers for Journal of Dialogue Studies
Autumn 2015, Volume 3, Number 2
Dialogue and Democracy

Paper submission deadline: 07/11/2015

This is a call for papers for the Journal of Dialogue Studies, a multidisciplinary, blind-peer-reviewed academic journal published twice a year. The Journal seeks to bring together a body of original scholarship on the theory and practice of dialogue that can be critically appraised and discussed. It aims to contribute towards establishing ‘dialogue studies’ as a distinct academic field (or perhaps even emerging discipline). It is hoped that this will be directly useful not only to scholars and students but also to professionals and practitioners working in different contexts at various cultural interfaces.

The Editors would like to call for papers providing ‘dialogue and democracy’ for the forthcoming issue. However, authors are also welcome to submit papers that address the topic of the previous issues, namely ‘social scientific and historical analysis of dialogue practice’, ‘dialogue ethics’, ‘critiquing dialogue theories’, or indeed any other paper that comes within the remit of the Journal as described below. All papers, regardless of their particular theme, will be considered so long as they are in line with the aims and focus of the Journal. Please see below for more information.

For the Journal’s Editorial Team, Editorial Board, article submission guideline, style-guide and past issues please click here or visit: www.DialogueStudies.org.

Papers within General Remit of Journal

The Journal publishes conceptual, research, and/or case-based works on both theory and practice, and papers that discuss wider social, cultural or political issues as these relate to the practice and evaluation of dialogue. Dialogue is understood provisionally as: meaningful interaction and exchange between individuals and/or people of different groups (social, cultural, political and religious) who come together through various kinds of conversations or activities with a view to increased understanding.

Some scholars will want to question that description of dialogue, and others may be sceptical of the effectiveness of dialogue as a mechanism to produce increased understanding. The Editors of course welcome vigorous discussion and debate on these and other fundamental questions.

The Editors do not have any preference as regards the general disciplinary background of the work. Indeed contributions will be welcome from a variety of disciplines which may, for example, include sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, linguistics, the study of religion, politics, international relations or law.

Papers on ‘Dialogue and Democracy’

The Editors invite papers on dialogue and democracy, including papers critically appraising the following areas:

  • What is the relationship between dialogue and democracy?
  • How is dialogue espoused by different practitioners of democracy, from leaders to the general public?
  • The positive and negative impact dialogue can have on democracy.
  • What can democracy learn from dialogue?
  • Are politics and/or power structures within the context of a democratic system compatible with dialogue values and processes?
  • What role if any can dialogue play in supporting the processes that produce and develop government policies?
  • Are political ambitions and dialogic aspirations mutually exclusive?

Papers on ‘Social Scientific and Historical Analysis of Dialogue Practice’

  • Where do dialogue practices come from, sociologically and intellectually?
  • How has dialogue practice changed/developed over time in a particular place, religious/interreligious context and/or post conflict context?
  • How have dialogue practices been shaped by overlapping areas of theory, policy and practice?
  • How have dialogue practices themselves impacted upon societal issues or discourse?
  • Mapping the existing field of practice and study.
  • Sociological and historical analysis of the perception of the need for ‘dialogue’ given its current status as a preferred means of community engagement or management of community/intergroup tensions or conflict.
    (See Fern Elsdon-Baker, JDS 1:1)

Papers on ‘Dialogue Ethics’

The Editors invite papers with a focus on dialogue and ethics, including papers critically exploring the following areas:

  • Dialogic ethics as conceived by dialogue theorists such as Buber, Gadamer, Freire (and developed by others)
  • Ethics espoused and/or enacted by leaders of/participants in dialogue
  • Dialogue as a process of ethics formation/refinement
  • Underlying and perhaps unstated values in dialogue:
    • What kind of interaction is seen valid or as meaningful? What are the criteria? Who decides? (Fern Eldson-Baker, JDS 1:1)
    • Where building understanding is conceived as goal of dialogue, ‘what understandings are valued and how [are] such understandings… defined’? (Michael Atkinson, JDS 1:1)
  • Ethical pitfalls in the practice of dialogue

Papers on ‘Critiquing Dialogue Theories’

By dialogue ‘theories’ is meant developed, significant understandings or principles of dialogue. The Editors are open to papers exploring theories extrapolated by the author from the significant and distinctive practice of a dialogue practitioner who has perhaps not elaborated his/her ideas in writing. They invite papers which address critical/evaluative questions such as the following:

  • Which dialogue theories are/have been most influential in practice?
  • Do dialogue theories make sense in relation to relevant bodies of research and established theories?
  • Do dialogue theories sufficiently take account of power imbalances?
  • How far are dialogue theories relevant/useful to dialogue in practice?
  • Do normative dialogue theories have anything to offer in challenging contexts in which circumstances often suggested as preconditions for dialogue (for example, equality, empathetic listening, the bringing of assumption into the open, safety) simply do not obtain?

The Editors welcome papers which address these questions in relation to one or more than one specified dialogue theories. They also welcome critical case studies of the application of specified dialogue theories in practice.

In all papers submitted, a concern with the theory or practice of dialogue should be in the foreground.

While the Editors do not wish to be prescriptive about the definition of dialogue, they do specify that papers should have a clear bearing on ‘live’ dialogue – actual interaction between human beings; papers which analyse written, fictional dialogue without relating this clearly and convincingly to ‘live’ dialogue are not suitable for the Journal.

Case studies should include a high level of critical evaluation of the practice in question, and/or apply dialogue theory in a way that advances understanding or critique of that theory and/or its application.

Papers should be submitted by email attachment to: journal[at]dialoguesociety[dot]org and must be received by July 11th, 2015 in order to allow sufficient time for peer review. Manuscripts should be presented in a form that meets the requirements set out in Journal’s Article Submission Guidelines, provided here, and Style Guide, provided here. The running order for Volume 3, Number 2, listing the papers to be published in that issue, will be announced by the beginning of September 2015. For further information please click here.

Please send any queries to the Editorial Team via journal[at]dialoguesociety[dot]org.

Combating Childhood Obesity in Somerville

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This four-page case study (2014) from The Intersector Project outlines the cross-sector collaboration used by the Friedman School of Nutrition and Tufts School of Medicine, with The City of Somerville to reduce childhood obesity in Somerville, Massachusetts.

From the Intersector Project

One in six American children was affected by obesity in 2000. In the city of Somerville, outside of Boston, 46 percent of Somerville first and third graders were overweight or at risk for becoming so. Dr. Christina Economos, an associate professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition and the School of Medicine at Tufts University worked with her colleagues in collaboration with the entire City of Somerville to design and implement Shape Up Somerville (SUS). Recognizing that children have limited control over the food and physical activity options available to them, the program sought to prevent obesity in early elementary school-age children through a community-wide initiative focused on environmental and policy strategies to impact energy balance. Over the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 school years, Shape Up Somerville led to a statistically significant drop in Body Mass Index (BMI) among early elementary school children. As of 2012, Shape Up Somerville is part of the Somerville Health Department and an integral part of community efforts to improve healthy and active lifestyle options for the community.
IP_Somerville

“A top-down plan cannot address the needs of a diverse community. It cannot sustain over the long haul, because leadership has limited time to devote any single program, and leadership also changes over time. Cultivating a strong grassroots effort is the only way to see an effort like this take root, sustain and grow.”– Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Somerville, Massachusetts

This case study, authored by The Intersector Project, tells the story of this initiative.

More about The Intersector ProjectThe Intersector Project
The Intersector Project is a New York-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks to empower practitioners in the government, business, and non-profit sectors to collaborate to solve problems that cannot be solved by one sector alone. We provide free, publicly available resources for practitioners from every sector to implement collaborative solutions to complex problems. We take forward several years of research in collaborative governance done at the Center for Business and Government at Harvard’s Kennedy School and expand on that research to create practical, accessible resources for practitioners.

Follow on Twitter @theintersector.

Resource Link: http://intersector.com/case/shapeupsomerville_massachusetts/ (Download the case study PDF here.)

This resource was submitted by Neil Britto, the Executive Director at The Intersector Project via the Add-a-Resource form.

Transformative Conversations

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This 184-page book, Transformative Conversations, by Dr. Ada Gonzalez offers guidance on how to improve communication and strengthen dialogue skills. You can find more info on the book site here or go directly to Amazon.

From Transformative Conversations

transformative_convosThe book Transformative Conversations is a resource to any leader, coach, or facilitator who is working to improve their leadership. This is far from the first book written that deals with the dynamics of dialogue and effective communication. This book weaves wisdom from many sources into a useful flow that informs the reader about not only why this is a valuable subject, it gives clear guidance on how to pull it off.

This book provides practical tools and guidance to transform your communications by helping you create deeper understanding and meaning. The text is full of effective illustrations, stories, examples, helpful exercises and even prescriptive guidance on specifically what to say to facilitate participation, collaboration, dialogue and handle certain difficult situations.

If you want to know how dialogue helps to balance the amount of listening and asserting occurring between people at work, and how to ignite engagement and commitment to accomplishing business priorities, this book provides instructions on both. If you want to know how to improve dialogue and collaboration among any group of people, this book will give you guidance on how to do it.

More about Dr. Gonzalez
Dr. Gonzalez is an executive coach, facilitator, and a consultant in organizational behavior. She works with leaders, businesses and organizations to facilitate change, development and transformation through dialogue. She shows business leaders how to discover the power of leading through conversations. For more than 25 years as a change agent, and crafter of organizational dialogue, Gonzalez has provided support and created a safe space for development, learning, and growth.

Dr. Gonzalez lives in Delaware and serves as an adjunct professor for the University of Delaware. She did undergraduate and graduate work at Andrews University in Michigan, and post-graduate training as a Marriage and Family Therapist. She earned a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior at the Union Institute and University in Ohio, specializing on leadership, dialogue, and transformation.

Follow on Twitter: @PhDAda

Resource Link: www.transformativeconversations.com/take-action/

This resource was submitted by Dr. Ada Luz Gonzalez, owner of Logos Noesis, via the Add-a-Resource form.

Improving Labor Relations in Jamestown

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This four-page case study (2014) from The Intersector Project outlines about how cross-sector collaboration was used to create Jamestown Area Labor Management Committee (JALMC) to improve labor relations in Jamestown, New York.

From the Intersector Project

Shortly after Stan Lundine took office as mayor of Jamestown in 1970, the city’s unemployment rate had reached 10.2 percent – over twice the national average. In 1971, nearly 1,000 workers were unemployed and an additional 2,800 jobs were in jeopardy as the largest company in town closed their doors. The contentious relationship between local unions and businesses had further damaged Jamestown’s reputation as an attractive place for manufacturers, driving away new businesses that may have otherwise invested in the city and revitalized its suffering economy. Drawing on all of his available resources – from his personal network and reputation in Jamestown, to his political leadership and ability to secure federal funding – Stan developed the Jamestown Area Labor Management Committee (JALMC) as a way to mediate labor disputes. With the additional leadership of John Eldred, a consultant who understood the dynamics of factories and labor relations, the JALMC’s programs expanded into individual plants, focusing on worker engagement, skills development, and programs to increase productivity. The success of the JALMC model not only improved working conditions in Jamestown, but also attracted new investments from national manufacturers. Within three years of the JALMC’s launch, unemployment in Jamestown had dropped to 4.2 percent, and new incentives had increased worker productivity and quality of work-life.IP_Jamestown“I think if there’s a lesson to be learned, assume there is a network, find and locate them, and then explore what the goal confluence is between what you want and what their networks want… that’s just good politics to me.”– John Eldred, Jamestown Area Labor Management Committee

This case study, authored by The Intersector Project, tells the story of this initiative.

More about The Intersector ProjectThe Intersector Project
The Intersector Project is a New York-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks to empower practitioners in the government, business, and non-profit sectors to collaborate to solve problems that cannot be solved by one sector alone. We provide free, publicly available resources for practitioners from every sector to implement collaborative solutions to complex problems. We take forward several years of research in collaborative governance done at the Center for Business and Government at Harvard’s Kennedy School and expand on that research to create practical, accessible resources for practitioners.

Follow on Twitter @theintersector.

Resource Link: http://intersector.com/case/laborrelations_newyork/ (Download the case study PDF here.)

This resource was submitted by Neil Britto, the Executive Director at The Intersector Project via the Add-a-Resource form.

Protecting Essential Infrastructure in Alaska

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This four-page case study (2014) from The Intersector Project about how cross-sector collaboration was used to create the Alaska Partnership for Infrastructure Protection (APIP) to protect essential infrastructure in Alaska.

From the Intersector Project

Alaska’s vast size, sparse population, and difficult terrain makes communication and transportation across the state a challenge. Its regional isolation also leaves many Alaskans dependent on limited supply chains for crucial commodities. As a result of growing concerns over potentially hazardous disruptions to Alaska’s critical infrastructure, whether man-made or natural, the State of Alaska, Department of Defense, and several private sector organizations set out to develop a central, cross-sector mechanism to gather, analyze, and disseminate critical infrastructure information during periods of vulnerability or threat. These efforts resulted in the formation of the Alaska Partnership for Infrastructure Protection (APIP) in 2004. The mission of APIP is to protect infrastructure essential to all Alaskans by improving collaboration and interoperability between the public, private, and non-profit sectors. With the support of leaders like John Madden, Director of the Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management for the State of Alaska, APIP continues this integrated team approach to addressing hazards through extensive information sharing, continuity of operations planning, and complex threat scenario exercises. Recognized across the nation, APIP’s Alaska Shield exercise program received acknowledgment from FEMA as the nation’s 2014 Capstone Exercise for securing a more resilient nation.

IP_Alaska

“Embracing the idea of sectors as interdependent is the right approach for us to improve our ability to withstand any hazard…Decisions need to occur across the whole sweep of participants through integrated problem solving, collaborative decision-making, and cooperative execution.”— John Madden, Director of the Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management for the State of Alaska

This case study, authored by The Intersector Project, tells the story of this initiative.

More about The Intersector ProjectThe Intersector Project
The Intersector Project is a New York-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks to empower practitioners in the government, business, and non-profit sectors to collaborate to solve problems that cannot be solved by one sector alone. We provide free, publicly available resources for practitioners from every sector to implement collaborative solutions to complex problems. We take forward several years of research in collaborative governance done at the Center for Business and Government at Harvard’s Kennedy School and expand on that research to create practical, accessible resources for practitioners.

Follow on Twitter @theintersector.

Resource Link: http://intersector.com/case/apip_alaska/ (Download the case study PDF here.)

This resource was submitted by Neil Britto, the Executive Director at The Intersector Project via the Add-a-Resource form.

Announcing New Online Courses from Amy Lenzo

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We are happy to share the announcement below from NCDD Supporting Member Amy Lenzo of weDialogue. Amy’s announcement came via our great Submit-to-Blog Form. Do you have news you want to share with the NCDD network? Just click here to submit your news post for the NCDD Blog!

I’m excited to be offering four online courses over the next three months – each a short series packed with learning and inspiration. Two are official “World Cafe Signature Learning Programs” co-hosted by Amy Lenzo and Samantha Tan, and two are original, long-requested offerings from Amy Lenzo, and co-host FireHawk Hulin:

MAY
1) Introduction to the World Cafe
LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER
May 13/14, 19/20, & 22/23
5:30 – 7:30pm Pacific Time / 8:30 – 10:30am Hong Kong Time
Details & Registration

2) Hosting in the Digital Realm
Wednesdays, May 27, June 3, 10, & 17th
Details & Registration

JULY
3) Introduction to the World Cafe
July 8, 15, & 22 9:00 – 11:00am Pacific Time
Details & Registration

4) Sacred Habits: Reconnecting to Wisdom in the Digital Realm
July 7, 14, 21, & 28
Details & Registration

Each “Introduction to the World Cafe” course includes a full World Cafe designed to be a great introduction to the World Cafe experience, and a first step in understanding how to host them most effectively. The first starts this week and is particularly timed to be convenient for people in Australia and Asia, and for people in the Americas who prefer night courses. The July series is timed for days in the Americas and evenings in Europe.

Each of the two original offerings by Amy and FireHawk are deeply engaging, participatory, informative, and inspiring. They are both visionary and practical; visionary in that they reveal a new way of being online, and practical in terms of providing clear techniques and practices for achieving your goals.

The “Hosting in the Digital Realm” course has proved to be phenomenally successful, and due to the demand from people who couldn’t make the first one we offered in March, we’re very excited to be offering it again so soon. In the follow-up survey, 9 out of 10 graduates surveyed said the course had enhanced their hosting practice, that they now feel more confident hosting in the digital realm and have a deeper understanding of what is possible. This course will build on what we learned the first time around and be even better! Hosting in the Digital Realm is for those who want to bring people together in an online environment to take advantage of the reach and scale that this cutting-edge medium offers. It includes a behind-the-scenes look at the technology of online hosting, and there is an additional “hands-on” optional session for those who are interested in “driving” the technologies we’ll be using or just want to understand the technology in more depth.

“Sacred Habits: Reconnecting to Wisdom in the Digital Realm” is designed to cultivate online habits that create space for a new experience online – in everything from our email correspondence to our participation in social media and webinars. It stands alone and is also a companion course that builds on and feeds into Hosting in the Digital Realm in a beautiful way, deepening and extending learning and awareness about working consciously within the digital realm.

I am deeply honored and delighted to see these courses make their way into the world, and hope you can join me for the journey by registering in one or both of them. If you have any questions, please contact me via email: amy[at]wedialogue[dot]com.