National Civic Review Summer Ed. – Access Code Included

The National Civic League, an NCDD member organization, released the National Civic Review (NCR) Summer 2021 edition and  NCDD members receive a digital copy of NCR for free! (Find the access code below.). This esteemed quarterly journal offers insights and examples of civic engagement and deliberative governance from around the country. Thanks to Rebecca Trout, NCL’s Program Director for All-America City Award & Communications, for sharing this announcement with the NCDD network!

Friendly reminder that the League is always seeking articles for NCR on community-based examples of civic engagement, public deliberation, co-production, and democratic innovation – more info here.


National Civic Review Summer Edition 2021 – Access Code: NCDD21

The summer issue of the National Civic Review celebrates cities that are making progress on addressing challenges such as racial equity, health equity and community resilience. Review authors offer insightful ideas on measuring the value of public participation, engaging urban residents through block clubs, promoting public trust with better service delivery and digital communication, and the most effective ways of seeking input from youthful residents. Former Missoula Mayor and Speaker of the Montana House of Representatives Dan Kemmis offers his ideas on what a small “d” democratic renewal movement might look like in the 21st Century.

You can access this edition by going directly to the table of contents and entering your access code: NCDD21.

One of the Nation’s Oldest and Most Respected Journals of Civic Affairs
Its cases studies, reports, interviews and essays help communities learn about the latest developments in collaborative problem-solving, civic engagement, local government innovation and democratic governance. Some of the country’s leading doers and thinkers have contributed articles to this invaluable resource for elected officials, public managers, nonprofit leaders, grassroots activists, and public administration scholars seeking to make America’s communities more inclusive, participatory, innovative and successful.

Community Solutions for Advancing Health Equity in NYC

Public Agenda is hosting an upcoming webinar that we encourage you to join – Equitable and Inclusive Engagement: Community Solutions for Advancing Health Equity in NYC on Wednesday, August 18, 2021 from 1:00 PM to 2:15 PM Eastern, 11:00 AM to 12:15 PM Pacific. Thanks to Nicole Cabral, Public Agenda’s Associate Director of NY Engagement Programs, for sharing this announcement with the NCDD network! Learn more below and register here.


Equitable and Inclusive Engagement: Community Solutions for Advancing Health Equity in NYC

Public Agenda would like to invite you to a free webinar on August 18, 2021, led by our Associate Director of NY Engagement Programs, Nicole Cabral. Nicole will be speaking with Dr. Alyson Myers, Medical Director of Inpatient Diabetes at North Shore University Hospital, and community advocate, Lisa Foster, about how health care providers, policymakers, and residents are advancing health equity in New York City.

While this conversation will be focused on health equity in the NYC area, we believe the conversation will resonate in other communities as well. Feel free to share this information with your networks.

We hope you can join us on August 18th – You can register here!

Join three New York-based women of color as they discuss health equity, the social determinants of health, and culturally competent care from the perspective of the doctor, researcher, and patient and caregiver. Nicole Cabral, Associate Director of NY Engagement Programs at Public Agenda, will lead a very important conversation with Dr. Alyson Myers, Medical Director of Inpatient Diabetes at North Shore University Hospital, and Lisa Foster, Community Advocate, on how health care providers, policymakers, and residents are advancing health equity in New York City.

Dr. Alyson Myers is the Medical Director of Inpatient Diabetes at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York. She also is an Associate Professor at the David and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Dr. Myers is a sought-after speaker in both academia and her community. In February 2021, she gave Endocrinology Grand Rounds at the Mayo Clinic on the topic of Diabetes and COVID-19: Tales from the Epicenter. Dr. Myers also co-hosts a biweekly webinar, Corona Conversations in the Black and Brown Community, that reaches hundreds of viewers internationally.

Serving as a reviewer for numerous journals including Minerva Endocrinologica, Journal of Affective Disorders and Diabetes Care, she is also an active member of both the Endocrine Society and the American Diabetes Association. In 2021, Dr. Myers was re-elected as a three-year member of the ABIM Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism Board. In 2019 she was awarded as Doctor of the Year by the Professional Organization of Women in Excellence Recognized (POWER) and with the Salzman Award for Quality from the Department of Medicine, Northwell Health. In September 2020, she was recognized by the Department of Medicine for Women in Medicine Month.

Nicole Cabral is the Associate Director for New York Engagement Programs at Public Agenda. She manages the Public Engagement team in the development and execution of projects on a variety of local and national issues.

Join Launch of the Partnership for American Democracy

Did you miss America Talks? This incredible event kicked off the 4th annual National Week of Conversation from June 12-20, 2021. Although the National Week of Conversation 2021 has passed, you can stay connected to their upcoming events here!

Including this announcement from the #ListenFirst Coalition about a special event happening tomorrow July 1 at 12pm Eastern, 9am Pacific – “Thursday marks another milestone as we help launch the Partnership for American Democracy, a new initiative that will serve as the collaborative nerve center to attract and direct greater attention, energy, and resources to efforts to renew and strengthen our democracy. Bridging cultural and political divides, embodied in our #ListenFirst Coalition, is one of five priorities the Partnership will support.” Join the launch here!


The Launch of the Partnership for American Democracy

We’re launching the Partnership for American Democracy, a collective impact initiative bringing greater attention and resources to the renewal of American democracy.

We have five years before the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, over which time we’ll make progress to prove to the world that the American system of self-government can once again solve problems at scale. Join us for the event that will launch it all, and hear from the change-makers driving forward the next chapter of America’s future. Learn more about the Partnership for American Democracy at www.pfad.us.

Register here for the launch event: linked here

More About America Talks and National Week of  Conversation 2021

America Talks (June 12-13) a powerful two-day event that invited Americans to connect one-on-one, face-to-face on video across our divides organized by a coalition of nonpartisan, bridge-building organizations and promoted by USA TODAY and other media partners. America Talks offered the opportunity to pair participants of different political associations who were seeking to find common cause and repair divides to speak directly.

Following America Talks, was the 4th annual National Week of Conversation  (June 14-20), which invited Americans to practice “Courage over Contempt” by having conversations despite differences in bold and energizing ways. NWOC events were hosted by more than 100 partners from the #ListenFirst Coalition and anyone else who wanted to host a conversation.

The National Week of Conversation 2021 presented a packed week of multiple sessions to attend.  Each event was meant to challenge our courage over contempt and make our way step by step in healing the division felt in this country. Both events encourage Americans of all stripes to listen, extend grace, and discover common interests. Take a courageous step on this hopeful mission to defeat toxic polarization and heal America by transforming division and contempt into connection and understanding. #ListenFirst

Announcing the Summer Learning Springboard, July 26-30!

NCDD is excited to announce the lineup of events for the first-ever Summer Learning Springboard event, July 26-30, 2021!

The Springboard is a week-long series of  virtual skill-building, learning exchange, and networking events. Spend some time this summer improving and exploring your dialogue and deliberation practice with your peers in a variety of sessions!

Registration for the SLS is just $10 for NCDD Members and $20 for non-members, and includes access to all included sessions and networking spaces. Other workshops are offered with a separate registration fee. Discounted rates are available to NCDD Members! Not a member? Consider joining NCDD today to take advantage of these great deals.

Review the agenda below, and register today to join us!

For the full agenda with presenter information and registration fees, go to ncdd.org/events/springboard.

MONDAY JULY 26TH

12:00 – 1:00 PM Eastern/9:00 – 10:00 AM Pacific

Welcome to the Summer Learning Springboard

Join NCDD for the Springboard opening session! We will provide a brief orientation to the Springboard and the QiqoChat platform which will serve as the home base for all events and networking. Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in a brief networking round.

2:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern/11:00 – 12:30 PM Pacific

Deliberative Practices that Support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

In this workshop, we will examine how practices of framing public issues, convening, and facilitating can lead to more diverse, equitable, inclusive discussions in communities and on campuses. Join us to explore a wide range of resources that support these efforts and to learn from work that is taking place throughout the country.

4:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern/1:00 – 3:00 PM Pacific

Compassionate Listening During Politically Polarizing Times: How to Engage with Your Heart Open and Wisdom Intact

The practice of Compassionate Listening supports staying in connection by listening deeply and speaking from our hearts, even when the situation is intense. The work begins from the inside out: cultivating compassion for ourselves as well as the other, connecting to our hearts, staying grounded, resisting hooks, acting from an intention of cultivating connection and mutual understanding based on seeking shared values. This session will be very interactive, using real life examples from our current political sphere, to practice conversations that increase the chances of vibrant, open, honest engagement. The presenters will spend time sharing what they have learned and apply it to how NCDD participants can support our community of practitioners during this polarized time.

4:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern/1:00 – 3:00 PM Pacific

Do I Even Want to be Considered Neutral?
Engaging the Inherent Tensions between Impartiality, Democracy, Expertise, and Social Justice

Dialogue and deliberation practitioners – as well as librarians, journalists, public administrators, educators, and others–  to varying degrees must often be perceived by key audiences as either neutral, impartial, objective, apolitical, or non-partisan to be able to fulfill their community obligations and maintain broad public support. Neutrality, however, is a complex concept that seems particularly undertheorized and is unfortunately susceptible to attacks that undermine the quality of our discussions about the issue. At the same time, practitioners often have strong commitments to supporting democratic principles on one hand, and defending facts and truth against misinformation and manipulation on the other. This session will explore the natural connections and tensions between these three commitments, as well as whether the growing focus on social justice, equity, and/or anti-racism represent partisan obligations that reject calls for neutrality or potentially can connect to broader notions of neutrality or democracy.

TUESDAY JULY 27TH

12:00 – 2:00 PM Eastern/9:00 – 11:00 AM Pacific

Online Open Space and Conversation Café with QiqoChat

This is a hands-on session where you will get a chance to build and customize simple online breakout spaces to enhance any dialogue sessions that you are already conducting on Zoom. Qiqo is a platform for connecting Zoom to the tools that facilitators love such as Google docs, Miro, Mentimeter, and Slido. You will learn how to design spaces that support Open Space, Conversation Café, and Liberating Structures.

1:00 – 3:00 PM Eastern/10:00 – 12:00 PM Pacific 

Ripple Effects Mapping: Capturing the Stories of Impact in Community Engagement Programs (part 1)

Every community engagement program has impacts, but they can be difficult to identify and substantiate—especially when program implementation is multifaceted and evolving. These effects usually play out over the course of months or years, and by the time a real evaluation makes sense, it’s hard to connect new knowledge, changed behaviors and the host of direct and indirect impacts that your program may have fostered. Learn to use Ripple Effects Mapping, which blends appreciative inquiry and mind mapping, to measure a broad range of program impacts, even years after initial activities have taken place.

3:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern/12:00 – 3:00 PM Pacific

Reframing Democracy through the Wicked Problems Lens

This workshop is focused on elevating our local conversations about shared problems by building local capacity to engage issues more collaboratively and productively through the use of deliberative engagement processes. Deliberative engagement involves interactive, often facilitated, small group discussions utilizing materials and processes designed to spark collaborative learning rather than merely the collection of individual opinions. An opening session will examine the concept of “wicked problems” as a framework to reframe difficult issues and review recent research on social psychology to help explain why traditional engagement processes are often counterproductive to sparking the high quality communication democracy requires. The workshop will then review the key components to deliberative engagement and explore a variety of in person and online tools and techniques drawn from several dialogue and deliberation traditions.

 

WEDNESDAY JULY 28TH

12:00 – 3:00 PM Eastern/9:00 – 12:00 PM Pacific

Being in the Here and Now: Learning from the Process while In Process

This session will introduce participants to strategies associated with interpersonal process therapy for use in non-therapeutic contexts. Interpersonal process brings the topic of conversation to the dynamics of those interacting, their strengths and areas for growth regarding their social and communication skills. Examples of non-therapeutic contexts will include intergroup dialogues and conflict situations. Participants will learn about, observe the use of, practice, and receive feedback on the strategies.

1:00 – 4:00 PM Eastern/10:00 AM – 1:00 PM Pacific

Facilitate Interactive Online Meetings

Participants will learn how to effectively use Zoom and other virtual meeting platforms for engaging, inclusive online meetings, workshops, teaching, and other group work. The training will introduce participants to a range of tools and exercises for participant engagement that can be used via in-person or video conference meetings. Participants will also have a chance to explore strategies for addressing challenges with online and in-person meetings.

4:30 – 6:00 PM Eastern/1:30 – 3:00 PM Pacific

Networking!

Join NCDD for an informal networking event. Mix and mingle with fellow attendees in a variety of breakout sessions.

THURSDAY JULY 29TH

11:00 – 3:00 PM Eastern/8:00 – 12:00 PM Pacific

Bohm Dialogue and Proprioception of Thought

David Bohm proposed that it is our lack of proprioception of thought that sits at the root of our global problems –  climate change, systemic racial and economic inequity, food insecurity, a response to the pandemic, and more. This session is an experiential introduction to proprioception of thought, which distinguishes Bohm Dialogue from other forms of conversation and lies at the core of learning to think differently together towards profound systemic change. We will explore skills that support groups in developing collective proprioception of thought engaging with specific examples and activities to deepen our own understanding of Bohm Dialogue.

1:00 – 3:00 PM Eastern/10:00 – 12:00 PM Pacific 

Ripple Effects Mapping: Capturing the Stories of Impact in Community Engagement Programs (part 2)

Learn to use Ripple Effects Mapping, which blends appreciative inquiry and mind mapping, to measure a broad range of program impacts, even years after initial activities have taken place. Session two will give participants the tools they need to set up and facilitate their own virtual or in-person Ripple Effects Mapping process as well as tips for how to manage, use and present resulting information.

3:00 – 5:00 PM Eastern/12:00 – 2:00 PM Pacific

Introducing the IF Collaborative Discussion Toolkit 

In this session, we will offer a preview of our open source Collaborative Discussion Toolkit (it is not yet public). This toolkit has been created in collaboration with educators and community practitioners. It contains 50+ learning activities, intentionally designed to develop or enhance collaborative discussion skills and habits. These skills are categorized in easy to search modules: creative, critical, culturally responsive, and civic collaboration. The toolkit also contains introductory and practice modules. The learning activities can be adapted to be incorporated into classrooms, communities, or workplaces. Participants will be invited to review the toolkit in advance and during this session we will dive into 2-3 learning activities to experience the learning structure of these activities. Participants will be invited to learn more (after the session) about how to become a Collaborative Discussion Coach and offer certificates in collaborative discussion.

FRIDAY JULY 30TH

12:00 – 2:00 PM Eastern/9:00 – 11:00 AM Pacific 

Multi-Process Synergies for Better Collective Outcomes

We will explore past, present and envisioned initiatives which feature different engagement processes incorporated into a whole program, with special attention on the nature of any synergy (or lack of it) between the processes used.  Synergy enables the parts of a whole to be more effective than those parts can be separately.  So learning more together about this subject will enable us to design future multi-process programs for their increased capacity to generate collective sense making and community intelligence.  I’ll introduce the topic with a simple example from my own life – the use of World Cafe before lunch to stir up energy and ideas for exploration in an Open Space after lunch – and then we’ll delve into the experiences and ideas of those who attend the session.  If needed, more – and more complex – examples will be available.

2:30 – 4:00 PM Eastern/11:30 – 1:00 PM Pacific

Closing Session: What’s Next?

Join NCDD for a closing session of the Summer Learning Springboard. We’ll talk together about where we can go from here, both individually and as a community of practice. Join us to discuss with one another what you will do and think together about what’s next for us all in NCDD!

Summer Research Fellowship at Public Agenda

NCDD Member Public Agenda is looking to hire two Research Fellows for the Healthier Democracies Project.  The Healthier Democracies Project, concentrates on identifying innovative participative democratic practices in foreign governments at the local and state levels to demonstrate back to American public officials examples of what can be implemented to fortify our own democratic processes in the United States.

The duration of the engagement is short term, approximately 25 hours a week for 10 weeks, to be completed remotely.  The position calls for a Master’s degree, bilingualism in English and Spanish/Portuguese, experience in civic engagement or public participation in participatory democracy to conduct international qualitative case study research.  Students from a varied range of disciplinary backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

This is an astounding  opportunity for those looking to broaden their network around the world with a community of public participation professionals, receive mentoring on conducting research in an international context, experience working in grant funded research environment and the chance to publish with Public Agenda!

Please send a cover letter, cv, writing sample and 3 reference letters to Ms. Mikayla Townsend, mtownsend@publicagenda.org,  by May 14, 2021.

Read more below on the needs, desired qualifications and compensation for the Fellowship and find the original post here.


Summer Senior Research Fellow: Healthier Democracies

Salary: $30/hourly, or about $7500 total for the summer

Job Type: Full-time/Part-time/Contract

Term: A 10-week contract, with an approximate start date of May 25 (dates flexible)

Reports to: Associate Director of National Engagement

Location: Remote

Introduction:
Public Agenda, a nonprofit organization that focuses on strengthening democracy, is currently seeking 2 graduate students with experience in civic engagement, public participation, or participatory democracy to conduct international qualitative case study research as a part of the Healthier Democracies project. Students may come from a range of disciplinary backgrounds including Communication, Political Science, Sociology, Public Policy, or other degree programs.

This is a remote, short-term, part-time position for summer 2021. Students will work a total of 250 hours, approximately 25 hours a week for 10 weeks, however hour allocation can be flexible according to students’ scheduling needs. Compensation will be $30/hourly, or about $7500 total for the summer.

The Healthier Democracies project is an international research endeavor

funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The goal is to identify examples of innovative participatory democracy practices embedded in local and state government systems in places outside the US, and then bring them back to American public officials as examples of what can, and should be done to strengthen democratic practice in the United States.

What Students Will Do:
– Schedule and conduct interviews with public officials in locations around the world

– Participate in thematic analysis of interview transcripts

– Compile, read, and provide reviews and summaries of existing literature

– Author case study documents for a professional/scholarly audience

Candidate Qualifications:
– Master’s Degree required (communication, public policy, political science, sociology, economics, or related fields)

– Some doctoral-level graduate work preferred

– Coursework or research experience in the civic engagement field, including around participatory democracy and public participation

– Experience in qualitative case study research, particularly with document review, semi-structured interviewing, data analysis, and writing

– Comfort conducting interviews and writing academic papers in English

– Ability to engage in some meetings on an Eastern Time Zone

Preferred Qualifications:
– Bilingual in English/Spanish, or English/Portuguese

– Please highlight if you speak any other languages as well

We Can Offer:
– Compensation of $7500 for the summer ($30/hourly)

– Mentoring around how to conduct qualitative research in international contexts

– Opportunities to publish work with Public Agenda, as well as in scholarly journals and national media outlets

– Networking opportunities with public participation professionals across the world

– A change to explore working in a grant-funded research nonprofit environment

Application Materials:
Please submit a brief cover letter, a CV, a writing sample, and the names and contact information for 3 references, via email, to Ms. Mikayla Townsend, mtownsend@publicagenda.org, no later than May 14, 2021

Statement About Candidates:
Equal employment opportunity etc. Students from international or US based universities are eligible to apply.

Public Agenda is committed to equal employment opportunity and diversity in the workplace. We will not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally-recognized basis [“protected class”] including, but not limited to: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, uniform service member status or any other protected class under federal, state, or local law.

About Us:
Public Agenda is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit research and public engagement organization headquartered in New York City. We strive to strengthen democracy and expand opportunity for all Americans. Learn more about us at https://www.publicagenda.org/

Find the original version of this post on the Public Agenda’s site at: www.publicagenda.org/careers/

 

Essential Conversations – Weekly Practice for Leaders

Essential Conversations is celebrating one year! Essential Conversations was created by the Center for Purposeful Leadership as a response to the disruption felt worldwide with the events of 2020, in the hopes of engaging and activating leaders.  If you haven’t checked it out yet, Essential Conversations is a weekly event with the purpose of hosting provocative and evocative conversations, interactive breakouts, and community conversations  to equip you with strategies, inspiration and ideas to create change and innovation needed for  coherence, resilience and positive impact.  Anyone looking to create a positive impact in their family, community or organizational circles are welcomed to these 1.5 hour conversations.

Additional details on upcoming sessions and to register read below or navigate to the original post here.


What are the Essential Conversations?

Every Monday, we convene a conversation with either a Conversation Starter or community conversation addressing these questions:

  • What is a positive response in times of extreme disruption?
  • As one who steps forward to help, how are you sustained and renewed?

The Design: Each 1.5-hour convergence follows the structure of the 9-Steps Convening Wheel.

  • Create the Container together
  • Hear All the Voices
  • Hear an Essential Conversation from a Conversation Starter
  • Take that conversation into Creation via a Wisdom Circle (breakout group)
  • Have Community Circle
  • Close with a Commitment to [Positive] Action.

Who attends: Anyone who wants to step forward to make a positive impact in your family, community or organization.
Cost: Free/no charge. Contributions to support this initiative are welcome.

The Essential Conversations provide tools and practices to help you move from Fragile to Agile and from Reaction to Response

Purpose: Our weekly program of provocative and evocative conversations, interactive breakouts, and community conversations will inspire you and equip you with strategies, inspiration and ideas to create change and innovation needed to being coherence, resilience and positive impact.

We launched in March 2020 to activate leaders in response to the massive disruption we and the world were experiencing.

In community, with shared depth and intimacy, we discover resilience, love, and focus to stay present to what is needed each week. Through collaborative reflection, discover collaborative action towards positive impact.

Begin your week, in a community of support and collaboration, by setting your intention to have a positive impact and bring people together for the highest possible outcome of whatever you are engaged in.

EVENT DETAILS & REGISTRATION

Find the original version of this event on the Center for Purposeful Leadership’s site at: www.centerforpurposefulleadership.com/essential-conversations

Find Ease and Flow in Groups with Next Stage Facilitation!

Ten Directions invites you to an exciting development opportunity with their anticipated Next Stage Facilitation Program. The 6- weeks online training goes live from April 20th- May 25th and is oriented for professionals who want to push their edge, take more risks and find more flow, ease and effectiveness in working with groups. This is perfect for anyone who is interested in taking the first step in the Certified Integral Facilitator ® path and is officially accredited by the ICF to provide 23.5 CCEU’s

Even better, in partnership with Ten Directions we are offering a DISCOUNT FOR NCDD members of 20% off the tuition until April 10 **** use coupon JOY2NCDD ****

To find out more and register, read below or navigate to the Ten Directions’ page here.


April 20-May 25 Next Stage Facilitation

This is the first step in the Certified Integral Facilitator ® path.

Integral Facilitator ® is focused on growing capacities for collaborative work – in communities, groups and organizations. Facilitative leaders, coaches, facilitators, and mediators, and change makers to transform how people and groups can accomplish more together, create thriving dynamic communities, and shape the kind of culture we want to live in.

Next Stage Facilitation™ is an advanced leadership program, designed to expand your perception of yourself as a facilitative leader, your impact in the room, and your potential for shaping group experience. It integrates deep insights from the fields of adult development, Zen Awareness and Integral theory, combined with core competencies of masterful facilitation.

This live 6 week online training is oriented to self-actualizing professionals who want to push their edges, take more risks, and find more flow, ease and effectiveness in working with groups.

In this training, you’ll refine your ability to:
– Rejuvenate a room by addressing what is exciting or even threatening (and often both)
– Go off-script to adapt in the moment, following energy to sustain engagement
– Make “facilitator moves” to increase trust and connection

You’ll experience hands-on practice and receive targeted personal feedback and coaching from the faculty team, alongside other high-caliber facilitative leaders, change makers and innovators engaging with courageous intentions and fresh outlooks.

Next Stage Facilitation – April 20 – May 25, 2020 – 6 weekly classes, online.
Learn More and Register Here

Being in the room with a team of confident, adaptive, and insightful facilitators provides a rich and immersive container for experiential learning. In every moment, there is something we can learn from. Please share this with your colleagues so that they can take advantage of this opportunity – And – even better – here is a special DISCOUNT FOR NCDD members of 20% off the tuition until April 10 **** use coupon JOY2NCDD ****

Please reach out with any questions – group discounts are available for teams of 3+
Programs@tendirections.com
https://tendirections.com/offerings/integral-facilitator/next-stage/

Find the original version of this opportunity on the Ten Directions’ site at: www.tendirections.com/offerings/integral-facilitator/next-stage/

Check out the NCDD All-Network Call Recording!

On February 17th NCDD held our first call of 2021. This all-network call asked participants to share where they are putting energy into their work this year. They proposed topics they would like to discuss with others, and we had about 6-7 active sessions going on simultaneously. It was a great networking event!

Topics mainly focused in a few areas:

  • Online engagement, including expanding participation, access, and inclusion
  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion
  • Building others skills and increasing the value of good process

In the wrap-up of the event, the groups shared highlights from the conversations, and plans to continue talking or explore further. It was an inspiring session, and it helped NCDD learn more about what we can help support through programming in 2021.

If you would like to see the introduction and the wrap-up, check out the call recording here. Half of the event took place in breakouts, so the recording only captures the main room conversation, which provides a good recap of what happened in each room.

The topics were proposed in a spreadsheet which can be accessed here. Those who proposed the topic and others interested shared names and contact information. Some groups even shared link to their notes! If there is a topic of interest, feel free to connect with those who said they are interested.

Is there a topic we missed? Feel free to share it in the comments!

NCDD looks forward to the next conversation!

New Essential Partners’ Dialogue Guide on Race in America

NCDD sponsor organization, Essential Partners, recently released their new comprehensive dialogue guide titled, Race in America. This guide is designed to support community conversations on race; including instructions, a facilitator guide, and several case studies on racial dialogues happening in the U.S. You can learn more about the guide in the post below and download the guide for free via EP’s site here.


Race in America: A Dialogue Guide

Informed by decades of experience, Race in America: A Dialogue Guide will provide a roadmap for you to lead courageous, constructive conversations about race in your community.

Essential Partners has collaborated with grassroots groups, activists, schools, faith institutions, and communities across the United States to make new conversations about race possible. Recent projects include:

  • Dialogues between police and Black community members in Raleigh, NC
  • Community dialogues about faith, race, and ethnicity in Columbia, MD
  • Dialogues among BIPOC educators about the dual strains of COVID and BLM
  • A set of student-led race dialogues at a secondary school in Cary, NC

This guide contains everything you need to hold three dialogues: one for an all-white group, one for an inter-racial group, and one for a group composed of participants who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color (BIPOC).

The Guide contains an introduction to EP’s theory and approach, step-by-step instructions to design and lead a dialogue, a complete facilitator script, as well as tips for those new to this kind of facilitation.

Find the original version of this on Essential Partners’ site at: www.whatisessential.org/race-in-america-a-dialogue-guide.

Read Winter Edition and Contribute to National Civic Review!

With Presidents’ Day this coming Monday, we have some great reading for our network to dig into over this holiday weekend! The National Civic League, an NCDD member organization, released the 2020 Winter Edition of the National Civic Review (NCR) and  NCDD members receive a digital copy of NCR for free! (Find the access code below.). This esteemed quarterly journal offers insights and examples of civic engagement and deliberative governance from around the country.

Friendly reminder that the League is always seeking articles for NCR on community-based examples of civic engagement, public deliberation, co-production, and democratic innovation – more info here! Submissions for the Spring 2021 edition of NCR are due March 15th, and Summer edition submissions are due by July 15th. You can read about NCR in the post below and find it on NCL’s site here.


National Civic Review Winter Edition — Access Code: NCDD21

With a deadly pandemic, an economic crisis, events highlighting racial inequity and a political crisis, 2020 was a year of hardship and turmoil for America’s communities. As we begin a new year, the National Civic Review offers these unique perspectives on how the public, private, and nonprofit sectors can work together on innovative strategies to promote civic renewal, community resilience, and individual well-being.

You can access this edition by going directly to the table of contents and entering your access code (NCDD21) when prompted.

One of the Nation’s Oldest and Most Respected Journals of Civic Affairs

Its cases studies, reports, interviews and essays help communities learn about the latest developments in collaborative problem-solving, civic engagement, local government innovation and democratic governance. Some of the country’s leading doers and thinkers have contributed articles to this invaluable resource for elected officials, public managers, nonprofit leaders, grassroots activists, and public administration scholars seeking to make America’s communities more inclusive, participatory, innovative and successful.