Category Archives: civic infrastructure

NCDD Launches D&D Training Partnership with Am. Library Association

Posted on by
Reply

As we begin the new year, NCDD is excited to announce we are launching a two-year partnership with the American Library Association (ALA) that will train library staff across the country to use methods and processes from the dialogue and deliberation field to support their communities. Our Libraries Transforming Communities: Models for Change partnership will take the form of both online and in-person trainings that we hope will help strengthen the capacity for libraries to serve not only as places of learning and research, but also as hubs for dialogue, engagement, and healing our divides.Libraries Transforming Communities: Models for Change

We see this partnership as a chance to broaden the reach and the impact of our field’s work, as well as an opportunity to create new audiences and collaborative potentials for D&D practitioners in the future. We’ll be sharing more info on the partnership soon, but for now, we encourage you to read more about the upcoming trainings in the ALA announcement below or to find the original here.

Facing a Divided Nation, ALA Offers Free Training for Libraries

The ALA Public Programs Office and the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) invite library professionals to attend a free learning series to explore various dialogue facilitation approaches and position themselves to foster conversation and lead change in their communities.

“As our nation becomes increasingly divided, ALA sees tremendous opportunity for libraries to be a leading force for reconciliation, progress, and common ground,” said ALA President Julie Todaro. “We are proud to make community engagement resources available to all libraries, free of charge, through this initiative.”

Through Libraries Transforming Communities: Models for Change, a two-year project, ALA and NCDD will produce ten webinars and three in-person workshops. Change-making leaders, such as Everyday Democracy, National Issues Forum, and World Café, will develop and lead the trainings, which will be customized to meet the needs of various library types and sizes: large public library systems; small, medium-sized, and rural public libraries; and academic libraries.

First four sessions announced

Registration is currently open for four learning sessions.

Representatives of public libraries serving large or urban communities are invited to attend the following three-part series:

Each session will be recorded and archived for free on-demand viewing on the Programming Librarian Learning page.

Individuals who view all three webinars, live or recorded, will be invited to attend a free pre-conference workshop at the 2017 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.

Future sessions for academic libraries and small, mid-sized, and rural public libraries

Future learning sessions will be designed for academic libraries (Fall 2017) and small, mid-sized and rural public libraries (Spring 2018). Details for future sessions will be announced in 2017. To stay informed about future offerings, sign up for the Programming Librarian e-newsletter.

Libraries Transforming Communities: Models for Change follows up on Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC), a two-year initiative offered in 2014-15 by ALA and the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation that explored and developed the Harwood Institute’s “Turning Outward” approach in public libraries.

With this second phase of LTC, ALA will broaden its focus on library-led community engagement by offering professional development training in community engagement and dialogue facilitation models created by change-making leaders such as Everyday Democracy and National Issues Forums.

LTC: Models for Change is made possible through a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program.

You can find the original version of this announcement on the ALA’s Programming Librarian site at www.programminglibrarian.org/articles/facing-divided-nation-ala-offers-free-training-libraries.

Statewide Deliberative Forum Series Launches in Alabama

Posted on by
Reply

In case you missed it, we wanted to share some exciting news about deliberation in the South that we heard from the team at the National Issues Forums Institute. NIFI and the Mathews Center for Civic Life, both NCDD member organizations, will be partnering to host a series of deliberative forums aimed at helping Alabama residents plan for their futures over the next two years. We encourage you to read more about the initiative below or find the original NIFI blog post here.

“What’s Next Alabama?” Statewide Initiative Moving Forward

NIF logoThe David Mathews Center for Civic Life (DMCCL), based in Montevallo, Alabama, has launched an ambitious project to help residents of the state take stock of how well their communities are working for them, where people would like to see their communities be in the future, and how they might get there. Titled, What’s Next, Alabama? a recent DMCCL newsletter described pilot activities leading up to the initiative:

In preparation for our 2017-19 AIF initiative, What’s Next, Alabama? Mathews Center staff is piloting this new approach in Cullman, Alabama. Our second of three public forums is scheduled for October 25. The community will ask itself, “Where do we want to go from here?” as they uncover common ground for economic, community, and workforce development. From local news source Cullman Tribune, read about the first forum, focused on answering the questions, “Where are we now, and who else should be at the table?”

The following excerpt is from a more complete description of the initiative:

The David Mathews Center for Civic Life (DMC) is gearing up for its most ambitious forum series to date; throughout 2017 and 2018, we will launch our first-ever two-year Alabama Issues Forums (AIF) series entitled, “What’s Next, Alabama?” AIF is a series of community forums across the state that is designed to help Alabamians talk through issues, rather than just about issues. AIF provides citizens with an opportunity to come together and address an issue of local concern through public deliberation.

The issue at hand our upcoming AIF series will be focused on the hyper-local geography of prosperity and, with an eye toward the future, will urge each community to frame its own assets and challenges in order to intimately imagine new futures for the community by asking the question: What’s Next?…

Read the full description of What’s Next, Alabama?

The What’s Next, Alabama? initiative is modeled after the What’s Next, West Virginia? project that the West Virginia Center for Civic Life is coordinating in the state of West Virginia.

You can find the original version of this NIFI blog post at www.nifi.org/en/whats-next-alabama-statewide-initiative-moving-forward-david-mathews-center-civic-life.

NCDD 2016 Preview: Our Philanthropist and Media Panels

Posted on by
Reply

Our 2016 National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation is just around the corner – we couldn’t be more excited, and we hope you are too! It’s not too late to register for what is going to be an absolutely amazing gathering! As if you needed more reason beyond our incredible schedule and workshop session list, we also want to share a preview of the two great panel discussions we’ll feature during the plenaries to convince all those fence-sitters to register today!bumper_sticker_600px

Background on the Panels

During two of NCDD 2016 plenaries, we’ll be addressing two interconnected parts of what it takes to bridge our divides – stories and resources. Since 2002, the financial and media landscape of civic life has fundamentally changed to our work’s detriment. Funding on the Left and Right – but not the middle – has skyrocketed, and media spheres have become more siloed and divided than ever.

Money and media attention for the “problem-solving sector” – in which the NCDD network plays a pivotal role – has significantly diminished, despite continued growth and innovation in the sector. So at NCDD 2016, we are addressing these issues directly by providing spaces in the conference where we can take an in-depth look as a field at why so many of our initiatives underfunded and under-reported and how we can reverse this trend to create new momentum for our work. These spaces will take the form of interactive panel events on the topic of philanthropy and media.

Engaging Divides through Media Collaborations Panel

Our closing plenary will feature a conversation with representatives from the media who are engaging with society’s divides and the public in innovative ways. We’ll be hearing from journalists and other media representatives about the ways they are engaging with divided communities and divisive issues, discuss how we can increase the visibility of this kind of work, and learn from and envision new ways engagement practitioners and journalists can partner with one another. In short, our media colleagues will help us explore what’s happening now, what’s emerging for the future, and how we can work together to create innovative ways to bridge our divides and shift the toxic political discourse.

During this final plenary session, we will also ask the panelists to reflect on what they heard during the conference, what excites them, and what possibilities they see for lifting up or creating stories of those who are bridging our divides.

Our Panelists

Peggy Holman (moderator), Co-Founder of Journalism That Matters
Peggy is a nationally known author and consultant and is a recognized leader in deploying group processes that directly involve hundreds, or thousands, of people in organizations or communities in achieving breakthroughs. In 2001, Peggy co-founded Journalism That Matters (JTM) with three career journalists. JTM has built a national coalition of journalists, educators, reformers and others to support people who are reshapingthe emerging news and information ecosystem. 

Christa Case Bryant, Politics Editor for the Christian Science Monitor
Christa is The Christian Science Monitor’s new Politics editor. She comes to this post fresh off a 2015-16 stint as a Nieman fellow at Harvard, where she explored new models for digital journalism and audience engagement. Ms. Bryant previously served as the Monitor’s Jerusalem bureau chief.

 

Chris Faraone, Co-Founder of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism
Chris is an award-winning journalist (AAN, NENPA), a former Boston Phoenix Staff Writer, and the News + Features Editor of DigBoston, a co-founder of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism, and an adjunct professor of communications at Salem State University. He has more than ten years of media experience, has published four books, and has written features for publications ranging from Columbia Journalism Review to Esquire.


Linda Miller, Director of Network Journalism & Inclusion, American Public Media Group
Linda Miller became a journalist in the small towns of Wyoming, where newspapers were pieced together with hot wax and border tape, and held together by trust, transparency, and a partnership with readers. At American Public Media, she is still helping journalists deepen relationships with the communities they serve, albeit with better technology. Miller runs the Public Insight Network (PIN), a nationally recognized platform for making the news media more relevant, relational, and inclusive.

Ellen Mayer, Community Manager, Hearken
Ellen Mayer became an early Hearken convert when she interned and reported stories for WBEZ’s Curious City. Now she’s excited to foster a collaborative network of public powered journalists as Hearken’s community manager. Previous hats include: digital outreach coordinator for social justice documentaries and producer for the music podcast Pitch.  Excited about: media diversity, One Direction, and Chicago rap.


dr-michelle-ferrier_2015Michelle Ferrier, Ph.D., E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University
Michelle Ferrier is an associate professor in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. She is the president of Journalism that Matters and the founder of TrollBusters.com, a rescue service for women writers and journalists experiencing online harassment. She is the principal investigator for the Media Deserts Project that uses GIS technologies to examine places in the United States where fresh news and information are lacking.

Philanthropy Beyond Partisan Divides Panel

A frank exchange with funders and philanthropists is urgently needed. On the second day of the conference, our panelists and conference participants will focus on the financial constraints — and opportunities — facing our field. Panelists will share their experiences around funding “bridging the divides” projects and organizations, and share practical ideas about how leaders in this field can be more effective advocates for their work during conversations with funders. Meanwhile, conference participants will challenge panelists with their provocative, timely questions and commentary about the role that funders play in the development of the D&D field.

Our Panelists

Mark Gerzon (moderator), President of Mediators Foundation
Mark is an author, leadership expert, and veteran convener of cross-party conversations. His primary current focus is having a positive, transformative impact impact on the 2016 election. His newest book, The Reunited States of America: How We Can Bridge the Partisan Divide, shares the basic principles and profiles the leading figures in this movement.

Kahlil Byrd, Forward Progress in Politics
Kahlil Byrd’s expertise is building and leading large, disruptive technology based bipartisan reform organizations. He was president of the education reform effort StudentsFirst and cofounder and CEO of Americans Elect. His current firm, Forward Progress in Politics (FPPCO) is building a national bipartisan community of funders committed to essential and aggressive issue reform and political transformation. 

 

John Hardin, Charles Koch Foundation
 John is director of university relations at the Charles Koch Foundation, a charitable organization that supports hundreds of schools and scholars working to expand opportunities on campuses across the country. He manages relationships with partner universities, organizations, and donors to support programs that explore the ideas of a free society.

David Nevins, Bridge Alliance
David is President of the Bridge Alliance, an alliance of 43 organizations who have come together in civility, respect, and goodwill advocating “Country Before Party.” David is a Fellow at the Aspen Institute with a particular interest in supporting the Aspen Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership, a program designed to support political leaders committed to sustaining the vision of a political system based on thoughtful and civil bipartisan dialogue. Additionally, Nevins has established and is involved with The Nevins Democracy Leaders program, a signature initiative within The McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State.

Leslie Pine, The Philanthropic Initiative
Leslie is Managing Partner at the Philanthropic Initiative (TPI) and has been the principal architect of their creative approach to program design and strategy, managing TPI’s program staff in the research, design, implementation, and evaluation of a wide range of innovative philanthropic strategies and initiatives. She has designed a range of philanthropic strategies including various youth development and mentoring initiatives; grants initiatives to stimulate innovation in K-12 schools and in community programs; corporate models to promote employee giving and community engagement; and initiatives designed to leverage grassroots community improvement efforts.

We can’t wait to be part of the discussion with these incredible journalists and philanthropists. And we know that you won’t either so be sure that you’ve registered today to join us in Boston later this month!

Turning Dialogue into Action & Other Skills for Engagement

Posted on by
Reply

You might have missed it, but the team at NCDD member organization Public Agenda have been running an incredible blog series on “Key Talents for Better Public Participation” this summer. The posts are a great set of resources for D&D practitioners, and we wanted to share an important one about making the often difficult transition from talk to action here. We encourage you to read the piece and find links to the 14 other series posts below, or find the original here.

Supporting Action Efforts

pa_logoIdeas for action emerge naturally in many different forms of public participation. When people talk about issues that are important to them, they often want to:

  • Develop new problem-solving partnerships and new ways to work with others.
  • Express their ideas, concerns, and recommendations to public officials and other decision makers.
  • Strengthen practices and policies within departments, agencies, community organizations, workplaces or other groups.

During participatory processes, people often think about action ideas they would like to take individually and as a community. It is important for participants to be able to hear one another’s ideas and decide together which actions to take.

In some single-day participatory processes, action ideas are shared at the end of the day. In others, there is a separate action-focused event where participants can come together to share ideas. Still others facilitate action efforts with online tools and tactics.

Two skills, planning action events and supporting action teams, can be helpful for all of these processes. (Many of these tips, along with more information on supporting action, are described by Everyday Democracy here.)

Planning an Action-Focused Event

Events that help people transition from dialogue to action typically have three elements:

  • Opportunities for dialogue groups to share their ideas. If participants brainstormed and prioritized action ideas, then the action event should include opportunities for each group to share their top ideas.
  • Prioritizing action ideas. During the action event, give people the opportunity to vote for their top three choices for action ideas (perhaps by using keypad polling or dotmocracy). Participation leaders sometimes encourage a mix of short-term and long-term action projects. Short-term projects keep the momentum of the dialogues going and provide an immediate success to share with the community. Long-term goals require more planning, but such efforts can result in lasting change.
  • Creating action teams. Identify the action ideas with the most votes or support. Ask people to divide into groups based on the action they would like to work on and explain that the people in these new “action teams” will work together to put the idea into motion. During the action event, give these new teams some time to introduce themselves, gather contact information and identify co-leaders who will help the group move forward with the idea.

Supporting Action Teams

Promoting team pride, hosting regular meetings with action team leaders and fostering a creative environment are some ways to help a group or team prepare a plan and then take action. Action teams should:

  • Set clear expectations. What needs to happen, by when, and who is responsible? If people know what they are expected to do and by when, they are better able to develop a roadmap for achieving specific tasks and goals.
  • Identify two leaders per team. Co-chairs can share the responsibility of keeping the team on course and moving forward.
  • Share skills and talents. Ask team members to write down some of their talents and skills, so when the group needs to complete tasks, requests can be made to people who have the requisite skills.
  • Foster a creative environment. Be open and welcome diverse ideas and ways of thinking. Show that everyone is valued and is an important part of the group.
  • Continue recruiting volunteers. Even if people were not involved in the initial conversations, they may be interested in taking action. Allowing new people to join brings in fresh energy and cultivates a larger network, greater inclusion and a stronger sense of ownership of the effort.
  • Keep in touch. Meet regularly and keep everyone informed via emails and calls. Consider forming an online network and using online tools and tactics.
  • Share documents and plans. Wikis can be used to help team members work together on documents and stay informed about plans.
  • Connect teams to resources. Participation leaders can provide information, contacts and resources to action teams.
  • Celebrate progress. Keep the work of the team in the public eye by engaging media and sharing success stories.

Read other blogs in this series:

Part 1: Ten Key Talents for Better Public Participation

Part 2: Building Coalitions and Networks

Part 3: Cultural Competence and Engaging Youth

Part 4: Recruiting Participants

Part 5: Communicating About Participation

Part 6: Managing Conflict

Part 7: Providing Information and Options: Issue Framing

Part 8: Providing Information and Options: Sequencing Discussions and Writing Discussion Materials

Part 9: Managing Discussions, Blog 1 of 3: Facilitating Face-to-Face Groups

Part 10: Managing Discussions, Blog 2 of 3: Recording and Online Moderation

Part 11: Managing Discussions, Blog 3 of 3: Ground Rules and Feedback

Part 12: Helping Participants Generate and Evaluate Ideas

Part 13: Helping Participants Make Group Decisions

Part 14: Supporting Action Efforts

Part 15: Evaluating Participation

You can find the original version of this Public Agenda blog post at www.publicagenda.org/blogs/supporting-action-efforts.

NCDD 2016 Schedule & Workshop List Announced!

Posted on by
Reply

We at NCDD are thrilled to announce that we recently published the official schedule and list of conference sessions and workshops for the 2016 National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation this Oct. 14-16 in Boston!ncdd2016-postcard

NCDD 2016 promises to be the most exciting NCDD conference to date! As always, we’ve planned the conference weekend to be full of activity, learning, and connecting. It includes rich pre-conference offerings, our famously engaging plenary sessions, experiential field trips, the D&D Showcase, and a new Open Space – there is going to be something for everyone! Be sure to have a look at the full NCDD 2016 conference schedule at www.ncdd.org/ncdd2016/schedule.

And of course, it wouldn’t be an NCDD conference without a smorgasbord of incredible workshops and sessions hosted by the brightest leaders and innovators in our field. NCDD 2016 will feature six concurrent workshop block with over 50 super diverse sessions that span the breadth and depth of the work being done by those in our field who are Bridging Our Divides, while also featuring some of the most exciting new initiatives and successful case studies in D&D. We encourage you to check out the full list of sessions and workshops at www.ncdd.org/ncdd2016/workshops.

If you’ve been waiting to register for NCDD 2016, wait no longer! This schedule and list of conference sessions is just more proof that this year’s gathering will be one of the most engaging, catalytic NCDD events yet, and you won’t want to miss out!

The conference is less than a month away now, and we can’t wait to be with 400 of the most engaged and innovative leaders in this work! We look forward to seeing you in October!

Missed Our “Democracy Machine” Confab Call? Hear it Now!

Posted on by
Reply

NCDD hosted another one of our Confab Calls last week, and it was one of our most engaging calls yet! We hosted a conversation with the dynamic duo behind the concept of the “Democracy Machine” and had a very lively discussion with nearly 40 participants about the possibilities and practicalities of building a massive, integrated, deliberative online commons. You really missed out if you weren’t there!

Confab bubble imageOur presenters were John Gastil and Luke Hohmann, who have been working together to outline the technical, organizational, and collaborative process that would be needed to begin to link and integrate the many existing online D&D tools and platforms to create a functioning digital public commons that could facilitate sustained deliberative engagement and send ongoing feedback to both government and citizens to improve how the public interfaces with the public sector. It’s hard to understate the enormity of this undertaking, but the Confab Call presentation and discussion with John and Luke was a great opportunity to wrap our heads around the idea and discuss its pros, cons, and potentials.

If you missed out on the call but still want to see and hear the presentation and conversation, then we encourage you to watch the recording of this Confab Call by clicking here. This Confab Call also had one of the most active discussions we’ve had in the accompanying chat box, and the great back and forth is also worth reading along with the presentation, so you can find discussion from the Confab Call’s chat by clicking here.

NCDD is proud to have supported John and Luke in taking another step in making the Democracy Machine a reality by hosting this first broader conversation on our Confab Call. As you can hear in the call recording, there is still a lot more work to do to make the idea feasible. But the next step that John and Luke have planned is to use their interactive session on building the democracy machine during our NCDD 2016 conference in Boston this October 14th-16th. They’ll be using the session to collect more feedback and ideas from leaders in the field and also to enlist collaborators for the future, so if you’re interested in being involved in their project, be sure to register for the conference today so that you can continue the conversation in person!

Source: Challenges to Democracy blog

If you are looking for a bit more background on the idea of a “democracy machine,” we encourage you to read about the basic concept in John’s recent post on the Challenges to Democracy blog or read his full essay, “Building a Democracy Machine: Toward an Integrated and Empowered Form of Democracy,” by clicking here.

Thanks again to John and Luke for relying on NCDD to help advance their ideas and for collaborating on this Confab Call! To learn more about NCDD’s Tech Tuesday series and hear recordings of past calls, please visit www.ncdd.org/confabs.

NCDD is the New Steward for Conversation Café! – Now What?

Posted on by
Reply

In case you haven’t heard, the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation has become the new steward of Conversation Café (CC). Andy has revamped the CC website, which you can check out at www.conversationcafe.org, and we are in the process of reconnecting with the CC network and figuring out how we can best support and grow this important community.

NCDD’s Sandy Heierbacher and Keiva Hummel will be spearheading this effort, so feel free to contact either of us if you have questions or want to help out!

We’ve created a new one-way announcement list to share news about Conversation Café happenings once in a while (no more than monthly). We encourage all of you to subscribe to that list if you have some interest in CC’s by sending a blank email to conversation-cafe-subscribe-request@lists.ncdd.org.

If you’re a Conversation Cafe host or promoter (or want to be) also consider joining the new Cafe-Community listserv – a discussion list we’ve modeled after the NCDD Discussion list to encourage CC leaders to network, share information, and discuss key issues facing the CC community. To join that list, send a blank email to cafe-community-subscribe-request@lists.ncdd.org.

Why does NCDD feels it’s important to support Conversation Café?

Back in March 2014, we had an amazing conversation with the NCDD community on the blog here about whether we should play this role, and though there were many eloquent arguments both for and against NCDD becoming the new stewards for the CC method, we decided in the end that it was important to help this elegantly simple approach survive and thrive – and we hope you can support our decision!

We think Conversation Café is a wonderful model for dialogue that can and should be widely adopted across the U.S. and the globe. Our vision for Conversation Café, in part, is that it be used to help communities address national and local crises that call for immediate dialogue.

We think CCs are nimble, accessible, and elegantly simple enough to be used very quickly by many people, and NCDD is particularly well equipped to help new CC groups use other forms of dialogue and deliberation when the time is right.

We also just want to see more people, in more places, engaging regularly in conversations that matter, and feel that Conversation Café is uniquely suited to helping make this happen.

In addition to subscribing to the announcement list or discussion list mentioned above, we strongly encourage any of you who have hosted CCs to take a minute and complete the quick form at www.conversationcafe.org/main-survey to tell us a little about your work and interests. Our main interest right now is to learn about what is currently (and has been) going on in the Conversation Café community, and this would help us a great deal!

Join NCDD’s “Democracy Machine” Confab Call on Thurs.

Posted on by
Reply

We wanted to share a friendly reminder that time is running out to register for our next NCDD Confab Call, which takes place this Thursday, August 25th from 1-2 PM Eastern (10am-11am Pacific)! We are excited to be hosting a call with NCDD members John Gastil and Luke Hohmann about their expansive vision of creating a “Democracy Machine” – an integrated online commons comprised of today’s best civic technology and digital deliberation platforms. Be sure to register today to join the conversation!Confab bubble image

On the call, John and Luke will introduce the NCDD network to their project of making this vision a reality. They are gathering together software designers, civic reformers, academics, and public officials to envision and build the “democracy machine” as a digital public square that would draw new people into the civic sphere, encourage more sustained and deliberative engagement, and send ongoing feedback to both government and citizens to improve how the public interfaces with the public sector. NCDD members will have an important role to play, so make sure to register for the call to find out how you can be involved!

Participants in the call are invited to bring ideas and questions about the design and development of the “democracy machine” to share with John and Luke.  We also encourage participants to read about the basic concept in John’s recent post on the Challenges to Democracy blog or read his full essay, “Building a Democracy Machine: Toward an Integrated and Empowered Form of Democracy,” by clicking here.

Don’t forget! John will also be hosting an interactive session on building the “democracy machine” during the NCDD 2016 conference, so be sure to register for the conference today so that you can continue the conversation in person!

Don’t Forget to Contribute to Our Survey of the D&D Field!

Posted on by
Reply

Small green NCDD logoAs we recently announced, NCDD is teaming up with the Kettering Foundation to conduct an Inventory Survey of the D&D and public engagement field, and you’re all encouraged to participate! In addition to just getting a better sense of the state of our field, our hope is to use the results to create a map of facilitators and organizations that can be searched by location, the approaches you use, and the issues you specialize in. The map would be designed to help folks outside of the field connect with your consultancy or organization.

But we can’t build this amazing resource for the field without practitioners taking this easy 15-minute survey, so please fill it out today!

Click here to complete the Inventory for Individuals

Click here to complete the Inventory for Organizations

If you or your organization does any kind of dialogue or deliberation work, we ask that you take the time to complete this survey as soon as possible. Remember, you do NOT have to be a member of NCDD to participate – we want perspectives from as many practitioners as possible.

We look forward to hearing all of your insights in the survey!

Join Our Aug. Confab Call on Building an Online Commons!

Posted on by
Reply

You’re invited to join us for our next NCDD Confab Call on Thursday, August 25th from 1-2 PM Eastern (10am-12pm Pacific)! This interactive conference call will feature John Gastil, a democracy scholar and long-time NCDD member, and Luke Hohmann, CEO of Conteneo, Inc., who will share about a ground-breaking civic tech idea that they are working together to make into a reality. Register today to save your spot!Confab bubble image

John and Luke are gathering together software designers, civic reformers, academics, and public officials to envision and build an integrated online commons – a commons that would link together the best existing civic tech and other online deliberation and engagement tools by making them components in a larger “Democracy Machine.”

The purpose of the call is to discuss ideas about the design and development of the machine in advance of a session on the same topic during NCDD 2016 this October. The aim is to draw new people into the civic sphere, encourage more sustained and deliberative engagement, and send ongoing feedback to both government and citizens to improve how the public interfaces with the public sector. In advance of the call, we encourage participants to read about the basic concept in John’s recent post on the Challenges to Democracy blog or read his full essay, “Building a Democracy Machine: Toward an Integrated and Empowered Form of Democracy,” by clicking here

John Gastil is a professor in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences at the Pennsylvania State University. His research focuses on the theory and practice of deliberative democracy, particularly as it relates to how people make decisions in small groups on matters of public concern. His recent books include The Jury and Democracy, The Group in Society, and Democracy in Small Groups: Participation, Decision Making, and Communication (2nd ed.).

Luke Hohmann is CEO of Conteneo, Inc. Conteneo is the leading provider of collaboration – not communication – solutions for the public and private sector. Through their cutting-edge technology and customized services, Conteneo enables employees, customers, and partners to work better together – no matter where they are in the world. Thousands of business leaders are using the Conteneo Collaboration Cloud and our Collaboration Consulting services to be more productive, innovative and competitive.

NCDD’s interactive Confab Calls are free and open to all members and potential members. Register today if you’d like to join us!

About NCDD’s Confab Calls…

Confab bubble imageNCDD’s Confab Calls are opportunities for members (and potential members) of NCDD to talk with and hear from innovators in our field about the work they’re doing, and to connect with fellow members around shared interests. Membership in NCDD is encouraged but not required for participation. Register today if you’d like to join us.