Funders to Launch National Conversation on A ‘Common Purpose’

Posted on October 5, 2013 by Sandy Heierbacher

Here’s an important heads-up for NCDDers…

During a plenary session at the Independent Sector’s annual conference on September 30, 2013, Stephen Heintz, president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Diana Aviv, president and CEO of Independent Sector, unveiled planning for a “National Purpose Initiative,” an effort to reunite Americans around a common purpose. The project aims to engage hundreds of thousands—if not millions—of Americans in a dialogue that will culminate in a broadly shared agenda of national priorities by 2016. Other funders of the planning, proof of concept, and development phase of the initiative include the Open Society, Rockefeller, W.K. Kellogg, Carnegie, Hewlett, Packard, Mellon, and MacArthur foundations. (Read the full speech here.)

A contact emailed me to let me know that RBF is seeking a Program Associate to coordinate the new National Purpose Initiative, so in addition to an exciting development for our field, there’s a job opening that perhaps one of you would be perfect for!

The above text came from the RBF website. An October 1st article on The Nonprofit Times website added this and much more:

Heintz used the forum to unveil an attempt to reunite Americans on a common purpose. RBF and six other major foundations are funding a project called the National Purpose Initiative (NPI). It is a multi-year effort to combine citizens’ dialogues and other forms of public consultation “engaging hundreds of thousands if not millions of Americans, online and face-to-face, with a parallel but integrated effort to engage a wide range of issue experts, policy analysts, scholars, advocates, and leaders from the nonprofit sector as well as from business, the media, and the cultural and faith communities,” said Heintz.

Along with RBF, funders include the Rockefeller Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, the Carnegie Foundation, The Hewlett Foundation, the Packard Foundation and Mellon Foundation and MacArthur Foundation.

The hope is that by 2016 the initiative will be able to offer a broadly shared agenda of national priorities, a statement of shared principles to guide the nation’s politics and economic life, and an emerging vision for America’s future that is animating, unifying, and empowering.

CIVICUS looking for convening partners to conduct local dialogues

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Sandy Heierbacher

My friend Ileana Marin at the Kettering Foundation brought my attention to this announcement the other day, thinking it would be of interest to some NCDD members…

CIVICUS is looking for Expressions of Interest by potential convening partners to conduct locally-initiated multi-stakeholder dialogues, following the methodological approach proposed by the project New Social Contract. The dialogues shall take place between November 2013 and May 2014. Selected partners will receive a financial contribution of $4000.

We’re looking for NGOs, CBOs, CSOs, umbrella organisations and other relevant entities across the world to get involved in this project. Interested? Apply online before 15 October! Or consult the call here.

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is an international alliance of members and partners which constitutes an influential network of organisations at the local, national, regional and international levels, and spans the spectrum of civil society. CIVICUS includes the following in its definition of civil society: civil society networks and organisations; trade unions; faith-based networks; professional associations; NGO capacity development organisations; philanthropic foundations and other funding bodies.

Institute for Local Government seeks Public Engagement Program Manager

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Sandy Heierbacher

The Institute for Local Government is recruiting for a public engagement program manager. The position, based in Sacramento, offers an exciting opportunity for an energetic individual who shares the Institute’s passion for good government at the local level and the role that public education and engagement can play in building greater public trust and confidence.

Salary depends on qualifications, but the salary range starts at $73,488 per year.

The position has primary responsibility for developing and recommending the overall strategy and workplan for the program, planning, budgeting, management, execution, evaluation and fundraising for Institute’s public engagement activities.

The position is part of the Institute’s overall management team and will share in communications with the Board of Directors and long-term planning for the organization.

The nature of the position demands a highly motivated individual who has not only public engagement and program management expertise, but excellent communications, interpersonal and teamwork skills.

A passion for ILG’s mission and a commitment to fulfill ILG’s obligation to local officials, funders and stakeholders is also essential.

See the full program announcement at https://www.cacities.org/UploadedFiles/LeagueInternet/ab/ab43dbdc-721c-4b72-b3a1-5dcda4a91d09.pdf.

From Dialogue to Action: Climate Dialogues and Climate Action Labs

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Sandy Heierbacher

This 2008 article by Phil Mitchell shows how a global issue like climate change can be handled gracefully at the local level with little funds by working in collaboration with the existing infrastructure provided by local environmental organizations. (Vol 2 Issue 2 of the International Journal of Public Participation, December 2008)

Abstract:
The Greater Seattle Climate Dialogues is a climate change education and advocacy project with its roots in dialogue and deliberation. Using an adapted study circles model, the purpose of its Climate Action Labs is to change grassroots politics in such a way that people can bridge the ubiquitous gap between dialogue and action. In overview form, this is the story of the project, intended to share the thinking that motivated it and the activities, design principles, and actual process designs that shaped its implementation and outcomes. The story is not complete without articulating lessons learned to date, and these are shared to benefit others, as is the major political challenge we believe we all face. For others’ projects based in similar motivation, the design principles and lessons learned may be a useful, transportable resource.

Excerpt from the introduction:
Practitioners of dialogue and deliberation (D&D) are keenly interested in two of the facets of public participation that remain underexplored: action and scale (Levine, Fung, & Gastil, 2005). We need action, especially in the many situations where our motivation for applying D&D techniques is to solve real world problems that require action outcomes, often political ones. Too often, however, in otherwise excellent deliberative processes, the links between talk and action are tenuous. Secondly, we need scale, because while most applications of D&D techniques have been on a local scale, it is clear that many larger, even global scale challenges could benefit from such approaches. Climate change is a perfect example.

Climate change—that is, the human-caused disruption of the Earth’s climate system—is arguably the most pressing global challenge society faces (CNA, 2007; Stern, 2005). Yet despite a broad scientific consensus on the facts, the very existence of the problem remains bitterly contested in the public sphere. The use of obfuscation and uncertainty as a political tactic cries out to be addressed by the wisdom inherent in D&D approaches.

Some attempts have been made to do so, as for example, the Empowerment Institute’s Global Warming Cafe (World Cafe), the Northwest Earth Institute’s Changing Course (discussion circle), the National Conversation on Climate Action (21st Century town hall), Deliberative Democracy and Climate Change (World Cafe, then next steps forthcoming), and the Greater Seattle Climate Dialogues and Action Labs (study circles/hybrid/experimental).

The Climate Dialogues/Labs are the subject of this report. The Greater Seattle Climate Dialogues is a climate change education and advocacy project with its roots in dialogue and deliberation. From its inception, we attempted to bridge the gap between dialogue and action. The Climate Action Labs model is our response to challenges we found in using study circles to support participant action. Here, I offer an overview of the programs: how we prepared for launch, how we approached design, what happened in terms of implementation and outcomes, and finally, the lessons we have learned to date.

The question at the center of Climate Dialogues was, How can we build a mandate for strong global warming policy when there is no public consensus and when public discussion is frozen into camps and undermined by disinformation? Our answer: (a) Start with well-designed dialogue; (b) take people through a learning and community-building process that gets past the obfuscations; and (c) use that as a launching point for collective political action. Our premise was that if we could create an opening for the public to actually hear and understand what the scientists are telling us, that members of the public would be moved to act.

Resource Link: www.ncdd.org/rc/wp-content/uploads/Mitchell-ClimateDialoguesToAction.pdf (free download)

We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For: The Promise of Civic Renewal in America

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Sandy Heierbacher

Chronic unemployment, deindustrialized cities, and mass incarceration are among the grievous social problems that will not yield unless American citizens address them.

Peter Levine’s We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For (2013) is a primer for anyone motivated to help revive our fragile civic life and restore citizens’ public role. After offering a novel theory of active citizenship, a diagnosis of its decline, and a searing critique of our political institutions, Levine — one of America’s most influential civic engagement theorists — argues that American citizens must address our most challenging issues. People can change the norms and structures of their own communities through deliberative civic action. He illustrates rich and effective civic work by drawing lessons from YouthBuild USA, Everyday Democracy, the Industrial Areas Foundation, and many other civic groups. Their organizers invite all citizens — including traditionally marginalized people, such as low-income teenagers — to address community problems.

Levine explores successful efforts from communities across America as well as from democracies overseas. He shows how cities like Bridgeport, CT and Allentown, PA have bounced back from the devastating loss of manufacturing jobs by drawing on robust civic networks. The next step is for the participants in these local efforts to change policies that frustrate civic engagement nationally.

Filled with trenchant analysis and strategies for reform, We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For analyzes and advocates a new citizen-centered politics capable of tackling problems that cannot be fixed in any other way.

Peter Levine is Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship and Public Affairs in the Jonathan Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University and Director of The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). He is the author of Reforming the Humanities: Literature and Ethics from Dante through Modern Times and The Future of Democracy: Developing the Next Generation of American Citizens.

From the Back Cover

“As America has wallowed through an unprecedented decline in civic engagement, Peter Levine has been a lighthouse warning of the dangers of civic alienation. Now, he makes the encouraging case that although we will live for a while with the consequences of past mistakes, the worst of the storm is over. Professor Levine concludes with ten common sense strategies that can energize the people and their governmental institutions while preparing a new generation of Americans with the values and competencies to sustain our reinvigorated democracy.”
–Bob Graham, United States Senator (1986-2004)”

Peter Levine is a remarkable asset–a scholar whose research is rigorous and unflinching but whose passion for democracy brims with optimism and engagement. In We Are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For, Levine catalogues all the ways our institutional systems discourage engagement among citizens. But he finds and lifts up a million people doing civic work for a better world, and asks us to join and harness that energy for real change. It’s clear-eyed and a clarion call–and a must read whether you’re a full time advocate or ‘just’ a citizen hoping to make a difference.”
–Miles Rapoport, President, Demos

“We know what it means to get better leaders. But how are we supposed to produce better citizens? That’s the question Peter Levine brings into focus. If the examples he describes can spur the one million most active citizens into a movement for civic renewal, we will all benefit from communities that are more deliberative, more collaborative, and more engaged.”
–Alberto Ibargüen, President and CEO, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

“In an America now rife with inequality, institutionalized corruption, a jobless recovery and more prisoners than any other country, many sense that we stand at a nadir of democracy. With inspiring erudition, Levine points to an unlikely solution: the people themselves. Drawing from experiences in schools from Washington, D.C. to neighborhoods in San Antonio, he develops a pragmatic approach to civic revitalization that builds upon developments in organizing, deliberation, civic education, and public service, but goes far beyond any of these to reach for an ambitious vision of participatory democracy. He asks us to join the emerging civic movement he describes, and we all should.”
–Archon Fung, Ford Foundation Professor of Citizenship and Democracy, Harvard Kennedy School

Resource Link: www.amazon.com/Are-Ones-Have-Been-Waiting/dp/019993942X/ (on Amazon, you can peek into a large portion of the book!)

Collective Impact: A Game Changing Model for the Social Sector

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Sandy Heierbacher

I recently asked NCDD supporting member Marty Jacobs to write a primer for the NCDD blog on “collective impact.” This strategy for large-scale collaborative change has been gaining momentum among funders and nonprofit thought leaders, and we wanted to make sure NCDD members are aware of the concept.

Marty Jacobs has been teaching and consulting for 20 years, applying a systems thinking approach to organizations. As of September 30th, Marty is bringing her Collective Impact expertise to the VT Department of Mental Health in her new role as Change Management Analyst. Marty can be reached at marty.jacobs.sis@gmail.com.

Workgroup at Sydney R&P meeting One of the key distinctions between a for profit organization and a not-for-profit one is that the former is focused on increasing shareholder value while the latter is focused on creating community value or impact. Creating lasting impact in the social sector, let alone measuring that impact, is one of the biggest challenges facing nonprofits these days. Past practices often focused on measuring outputs as opposed to measuring outcomes. A new model called Collective Impact is rapidly changing how nonprofits consider their work.

The idea of Collective Impact made waves when the Stanford Social Innovation Review published the article “Collective Impact” in its Winter 2011 edition. It was then followed up with a more in depth article, “Channeling Change: Making Collective Impact Work,” in 2012. In the first article, the authors suggest that the social sector, funders in particular, need to shift their focus from one of isolated impact to that of collective impact. In order for collective impact to be successful, the following five conditions must be present:

Collaborating organizations must create a common agenda.
These organizations must also share a measurement system that tracks indicators of success.
Stakeholders must work together in mutually reinforcing activities.
They must also engage in continuous communication.
There must be a backbone support organization that coordinates, supports, and facilitates the collective process.

The second article outlines more specifics about implementation of the Collective Impact model. In particular, it outlines three phases of Collective Impact:

Phase I: Initiate Action
Phase II: Organize for Impact
Phase III: Sustain Action and Impact

Within those three phases, the follow components for success need to be continually assessed:

Governance and Infrastructure
Strategic Planning
Community Involvement
Evaluation and Improvement

While the social sector has been buzzing about Collective Impact, it’s important to note that it is not the answer to every nonprofit’s dream. Here are some questions to ask to determine whether or not Collective Impact is the right approach for your particular situation:

Is this a complex problem, that is, one that can only be solved by involving multiple stakeholders?
Do we have the capacity to create the five conditions of Collective Impact?
Do we have community support on this issue? Will we be able to engage stakeholders successfully in this effort?
Can we find backing for the backbone support organization?

Boston 2010 dialogue group If you’re convinced that Collective Impact is the right approach, then here are some questions to ask about your group’s readiness for each of the three phases of Collective Impact:

Phase I:

Governance and Infrastructure: Who would be willing partners and do they agree that Collective Impact would be effective?
Strategic Planning: What data do we currently have and what more do we need in order to assess current reality? Is this feasible?
Community Involvement: Are stakeholders receptive to this idea? How well networked are they?
Evaluation and Improvement: What currently exists for measuring impact? Do we have the capacity and the systems to track progress?

Phase II:

Governance and Infrastructure: What do we need in place for infrastructure and governance in order to keep this effort moving forward? What are we all willing to let go of with respect to control, turf, etc. and what is non-negotiable?
Strategic Planning: What have we identified as potential common goals? Is that supported by the data? Does that align with all the partner organizations’ missions?
Community Involvement: Who are all the stakeholders and how can we fully engage them in this process?
Evaluation and Improvement: Do we all agree on what the best measures for impact are? How will we track it and communicate progress?

Phase III:

Governance and Infrastructure: What is working well? What more do we need to do to improve governance and infrastructure?
Strategic Planning: How do we stay on track with implementation? How do we deal with setbacks or unanticipated problems? How do we communicate progress?
Community Involvement: How do we continue to engage stakeholders? What does meaningful engagement look like over time?
Evaluation and Improvement: What are our measurement systems telling us? How do we know when we need to course correct?

While these questions only touch the surface of implementing a Collective Impact effort, they will help create the thinking needed to dig deeper as the process evolves. Collective Impact is a practice – something that will deepen over time as you become more skilled, and with that, you will see greater impact.

© Marty Jacobs 2013

Changes coming on the NCDD website!

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Sandy Heierbacher

Hi, folks! We wanted to give you a heads-up about some changes that are coming soon on the website, and to get your input on what should be featured on the main page of the site.

First, we’re taking down the Members Network that’s currently up at www.ncdd.org/members. It uses a social network platform that doesn’t really work too well — it’s slow-loading, hard to search and navigate, and our members rarely use it.

We’re replacing it with two tools that we think you’ll find more useful: the global google map of members up at www.ncdd.org/map in beta, and a simple directory of our members that will be ready for you to check out soon.

Second, we’re revamping the main page of our site. Instead of having so many lists and so much text, we’re planning on having a grid of different-sized images, titles, and social media widgets. You can get a sense of what I mean at www.ncdd.org/working-grid. Imagine that some of the gray boxes have lively images (of you guys!) in them; one may list the latest three blog posts (or perhaps just the title of one featured post); the long one on the right may show a list of our latest Tweets; another would announce an upcoming event, and another may send people to the Beginner’s Guide in the Resource Center.

We’re not sure exactly what will go into those boxes yet, and really want your ideas! What is it that YOU use most on the site? What do you find useful on the site that is a little hard to get to? What do you think is most useful for people who are new to the site? Please add your thoughts below!

Heartland’s Art of Convening Trainings: In-Residence Certification and Virtual TeleTraining

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Sandy Heierbacher

Convening is a leadership capacity that has the power to integrate and magnify the individual and collective, or group, team, whole organization, to enhance business and organizational performance, or individual relationships. How we gather, communicate and deliver the desired outcomes through our meetings is critical to the long-term vitality and success of our organizations and communities and the people within.

Using The Convening Wheel, Heartland‘s The Art of Convening Training is a practical map that anyone can navigate and activate as a core leadership competency. We travel the inner and outer path of the reflective leader, from getting to “The Heart of the Matter” to a “Commitment to Action” and all the territory in between.

Core TeleTraining Format – 30% off for NCDD members

Each Core TeleTraining Series of 7 two-hour sessions combines guided teaching of session themes with collaborative learning. The format, based on Heartland Inc.’s work with the Transformational Leaders Circles and various convening designs, utilizes ancient forms as well as modern systems for group effectiveness. All sessions are a blend of virtual group interaction and engagement. Between sessions participants continue learning via experiential exercises, individual reading and reflection, developing a Case Study and are supported by a custom online learning platform. Participants will receive ICF CCEUs – 15.75 hours.

Certification Training Format – 30% off for NCDD members

The Certification Training combines a 3-1/2 day in-residency Retreat with a series of 5 guided cohort calls based on Heartland Inc.’s work with the Transformational Leaders Circles and various convening designs. The Training utilizes ancient forms as well as modern systems for group effectiveness. All calls are a blend of virtual group interaction and engagement. Between sessions participants continue learning via experiential exercises, individual reading and reflection, developing a Case Study presentation and are supported by a custom online learning platform. Once training is complete, participants will be certified in The Art of Convening and receive ICF CCEUs – 36.0 hours.

You will learn new practices and processes including:

Utilizing the Convening Wheel
Coaching Council Process
Stringing the Beads
Design Elements Checklist
Working with Transitions
Working with the Principles of Convening

Learn more at http://heartlandcircle.com/aoc-main.htm. Heartland offers a permanent 30% off discount for any Art of Convening Training to all NCDD Members. To receive this discount, use this code when registering: DSC-NCDD-30%

Gathering photos of public meetings for Legal Frameworks project

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Sandy Heierbacher

NCDD is working with the Deliberative Democracy Consortium and National Civic League to “crowdsource” some great photos of public meetings. What photos do you have that you feel depict what “bad” public meetings look like? And do you have favorite photos that show what “good” public meetings can look like?

Send in your photos this week via email, to NCDD’s Creative Director Andy Fluke (andy@ncdd.org). Send in the highest-quality versions you have, and include a by-line (photographer name, where taken, etc.) and verifies that this is your photo to use/share. We’ll ask more questions if we need them, and we’ll check with you before using the photos in print.

Your photo may be chosen to help promote an important project we want to bring your attention to. For the past year, Matt Leighninger (director of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium) has been spearheading a Working Group on Legal Frameworks for Public Participation with representatives of the American Bar Association, International Municipal Lawyers Association, NCDD, National Civic League, National League of Cities, and International City/County Management Association, as well as leading practitioners and scholars of public participation.

The group has developed several new tools, including a model local ordinance and model amendment to state legislation, in order to help create a more supportive, productive, and equitable environment for public participation. These open source documents will soon be released as a publication of the National Civic League (where your photo could be featured!).

Why develop new legal frameworks for public participation?

Most people dislike official public meetings. This is true for both the public officials who preside over them and the citizens who attend them. Over the last two decades, a wide range of participatory meeting formats and dynamic online tools have emerged – so why do we continue conducting public business in such an outdated fashion?

There are a number of reasons, but one is the legal framework that governs public participation.

Most of these laws and ordinances are over thirty years old; they do not match the expectations and capacities of citizens today, they pre-date the Internet, and they do not reflect the lessons learned in the last two decades about how citizens and governments can work together.

We’re looking for photos from the field to help us illustrate the need for better laws to support better public meetings. We also welcome your anecdotes and examples that help bolster the need for more a supportive legal framework for public participation. How have existing laws made it harder for high-quality engagement to take place in your community? How have you worked around those laws to make sure citizens can be informed by each other and heard by public officials? Have you help upgrade your city’s legal framework already? Please send your responses to Andy so he can collect them for the team.

If you want to continue this discussion face-to-face, please join us at the Brookings Institution on October 12 from 9:30 to 11:30 am for “Making Public Participation Legal Again,” a session that will launch the model ordinance and the NCL publication. Brookings is located at 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC.

Join us Sept 16th for an online town hall on veterans’ mental health

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Sandy Heierbacher

I want to invite all members of the NCDD community to join us next Monday, September 16th, for a day-long online town hall (10am-7pm Eastern) on veterans mental health on the Civic Commons. This Creating Community Solutions event will be hosted by Congressman Ron Barber (AZ), and is part of the National Dialogue on Mental Health.

Join us on the 16th at www.theciviccommons.com/mentalhealth.

United States Army Veteran Matthew Randle will be joining Congressman Barber to help inform and inspire our online discussion, and NCDD supporting member Kim Crowley will be serving as our lead moderator for the town hall.

The Veterans Mental Health Online Town Hall will be a national conversation in which anyone can participate to discuss veterans’ mental health. Post questions, share your stories, and participate in this online dialogue with the Congressman.

This special event will be publicized heavily by our partners, and we hope it will draw in many more participants to the 6 discussion topics we’re already running at the Civic Commons on mental health, with a great group of volunteer moderators from NCDD.

Why a town hall on veterans’ mental health?

Because many of our veterans return home with battle scars that can’t be seen
Because families and loved ones sometimes don’t know what to say or how to help
Because an average of 22 veterans commit suicide every day
Because veterans might not know where to find help
Because we don’t often get the chance to talk about this important public issue civilly and openly online
Because there’s a lot we can learn from each other

For more information…

Visit the event page on the Creating Community Solutions site. Or just join us on the 16th anytime after 10am Eastern.

Civic Studies

An intellectual community of researchers and practitioners dedicated to building the emerging field of civic studies

Author Archives: Sandy Heierbacher

Funders to Launch National Conversation on A ‘Common Purpose’

CIVICUS looking for convening partners to conduct local dialogues

Institute for Local Government seeks Public Engagement Program Manager

From Dialogue to Action: Climate Dialogues and Climate Action Labs

We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For: The Promise of Civic Renewal in America

From the Back Cover

Collective Impact: A Game Changing Model for the Social Sector

Phase I:

Phase II:

Phase III:

Changes coming on the NCDD website!

Heartland’s Art of Convening Trainings: In-Residence Certification and Virtual TeleTraining

Gathering photos of public meetings for Legal Frameworks project

Why develop new legal frameworks for public participation?

Join us Sept 16th for an online town hall on veterans’ mental health