Category Archives: field news

The National Dialogue Network Begins Its Public Analysis Phase

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We are pleased to highlight the post below, which came from NCDD Sustaining Member and 2012 NCDD Catalyst Award winner John Spady of the National Dialogue Network. Do you have news you want to share with the NCDD network? Just click here to submit your news post for the NCDD Blog!

Hello to all our NCDD friends,

NDN logo

The National Dialogue Network (NDN) — recipient of the 2012 NCDD Catalyst Award in “Civic Infrastructure” — has entered “Cycle 4″ of its original 5-cycle process to design and demonstrate a system for coordinated and collaborative conversations on important national issues. The first issue selected for national conversations was Poverty & Wealth in America.

I am asking readers of this NCDD blog to make a small contribution of time during this brief public analysis phase. Click on both of the links below and just focus on what interests you. Try to understand “what the data is saying.” Then add a comment at the end of this post with any insights you are able to glean from the preliminary report or Excel file. In this current phase, the general public is urged to help interpret the preliminary results received and to submit insights for review and inclusion in the 2013 Summary Report. All assistance will be acknowledged.

If you want a special “cross tab” for analysis, or have any other questions, just let me know — leave a comment below or call our toll free message line: 800-369-2342

Thanks for your help… and now here are the links you’ll need:

Number of self-selected participants who answered the national Opinionnaire® Survey as of Nov. 23, 2013: 105

Preliminary graphic report: http://is.gd/2013NDNPrelimReport.

Excel data (XLS) download: http://is.gd/2013NDN105XLS.

Lessons Learned from a Statewide Gathering of NCDD Members in VA

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On November 19th, Nancy Gansneder at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia and I teamed up to host a 3-hour gathering and knowledge exchange for Virginians working in the fields of dialogue and deliberation. The event was held at UVA in Charlottesville, VA.

Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service      National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation

We’re posting the lessons we learned here for others who might be interested in hosting their own in-person gatherings in their state.

Outcomes

The results were good: 19 in-person attendees, 26 others who registered and indicated their availability for alternate days, sufficient interest to continue hosting statewide gatherings like this every six months, and one of the participants stepped up as the next organizer (success!!). There was consensus within the group that we should request a state-based email discussion list, hosted by NCDD; Sandy is setting this up for us.

Breakout Sessions Proposed during our Meeting

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  • How to bring in reluctant stakeholders?
  • What is a good “hook” to interest participants in dialogues?
  • What has failed miserably?
  • How to go from dialogue & deliberation to advocacy and long term maintenance of solutions?
  • Collaborative learning in dialogue and deliberation
  • What affect do modern communications platforms have on D&D?
  • Engaging the under-engaged
  • How to work with 2 or more communities with different identities when resources are limited and a the problem/solution involves both of them
  • Getting diversity at the table
  • Creative diversity in the community
  • Hosting dialogues with open topics
  • Who does and who should pay for D&D?
  • What does success look like?
  • General logistics and planning tips
  • Forums on mental health
  • Making the case for investment in process from within a government organization

Here’s What’s Needed to Make this Happen in Your State

  • One self-starter to get the ball rolling
  • A co-organizer to bounce ideas off (you can find this person with the initial invitation email)
  • A venue that can hold the participants (20-30 people is a great turnout); universities are a great place to start looking.
  • The NCDD Member Map and Member Directory will help you know who is in your area.
  • Office supplies (name tags, sharpies, pens, scrap paper, large notepads to brainstorm breakout sessions topics, and anything else you might find useful)
  • Funds for lunch or snacks/coffee for an afternoon meeting (we coordinated with Sandy Heierbacher prior to the event to secure $250 from NCDD for lunch; alternatively, you could charge $10 or $20 or ask a local organization to sponsor)
  • Basic familiarity with Google Docs, Excel, and Eventbrite.

Pointers for Setting Up a Statewide Gathering, Step by Step

  • Two months prior to the event: Create the invitation (2 hours)
    • Copy & paste email addresses from NCDD members in your state from the member map or directory into an email, or request a member chart from your state from Joy.
    • Draft the body of the initial invitation email (use this previous example as a starting point).  The purpose is to gauge interest, to find a co-organizer that has a venue, and to receive suggestions.
    • Let NCDD know what you’re planning, and have Joy send you some NCDD postcards to hand out and perhaps other materials that are available.
  • Collect feedback from invitees when they respond via email.  Decide whether or not to go forward.  Choose 3-4 dates that work for both organizers (1 hour)
  • The organizer with the venue reserves the space (0.5 hours)
  • One month prior to the event:
    • Set up the document for the meeting notes (see this template for meeting notes that you can copy) prior to sending out the invitation. (1 hour)
    • Create the Eventbrite invitation; see this previous example (there are probably several online tools that you can use for invitations, but Eventbrite seems to be one of the best invitation tools for free events).  Be sure to create a custom multiple-choice question for invitees to indicate which of the 3-4 possible dates you are offering is best for them (in Eventbrite after you create the event, this is under “Manage” and then “Order Form” and scroll down to “Add Question”.  Example text for the question: “Which days can you attend from 11am-2pm? Please choose all that apply.”). (2 hours)
    • Announce the event on the NCDD main discussion list and/or this blog (1 hour)
    • Ask Sandy Heierbacher to forward the invitation by email to all NCDD contacts (members and others) in your state with a note of support. (0.5 hours)
  • One week prior to the event: Pre-order lunch (0.5 hours).
  • Day of the event:
    • Print out the list of attendees so you can take attendance (from Eventbrite you can download attendees in an Excel file by going to “Manage” and then “Event Reports”).
    • Show up 1-2 hours early to verify that the furniture is arranged how you want it (1.5 hours).  It was important that the tables and chairs were mobile.  During the opening plenary discussion, chairs were oriented toward the center of the room.  We moved to small-group circles when the breakout sessions began.
  • After the Event: Write up a blog post detailing what went well and what could be improved (1.5 hours).  Clean up the Excel file of attendee contact information and distribute it to the attendees (if they requested it) and send it to NCDD to help them get a sense of the energy for these regional events (1.5 hours).

General Suggestions and Lessons Learned

20131119_123603

  • Greet each individual at the door to create a welcoming environment.
  • Set ground rules for the event when it begins.  For example, “If you don’t want something in the notes, please state that it is off the record.”
  • 11am-2pm was convenient for people who had to drive a long distance.  Some drove 2.5 hours each way.
  • With a group size of 20, we had breakout groups ranging from 2-8 people in size.  We had 4 separate small-group discussions during the breakouts on 3 different topics + 1 “open topic”.
  • During the plenary session we dove right into proposing breakout session topics.  Often the group picked up the topic for a moment and people built on each other’s ideas and the framing of the problem.  We didn’t interrupt when there was energy around any particular topic.
  • Keeping everything on time was important so that people could get back on the road for their long drives.  Rather than coming up with a perfect solution for grouping the breakout topics or allowing for a full-blown open space process for selecting the breakouts (there were more than we had time to discuss), instead we told participants, “Given that you see all these topics on the board and that we want to do this as efficiently as possible, we’re going to choose topics in the following manner.  If you are moved to host a topic, stand up, announce it and move to a corner of the room.  You will be the facilitator; it’s a group discussion rather than a presentation.  We’ll choose 4 breakout sessions in this manner right now and we’ll choose a few of the ones which will take place after lunch.  If you want to propose combining two topics in a session, please make the suggestion to the person who stepped forward to facilitate that topic.” After all, the group only needs to choose 6-8 topics, so this doesn’t need to be much more complicated than this.  In a three-hour workshop, time goes quickly, and if sessions are 30 or 45 minutes each, then it’s important to minimize this “process overhead” as much as possible without causing the participants to feel rushed.  Have fun with it!!
  • Give “5 min” notice with a piece of paper so that you don’t have to verbally interrupt the groups.
  • Rather than herding everyone towards lunch at the same time, let people flow through the lunch area organically after their breakout session comes to a natural conclusion; if they keep talking and they see everyone else with lunch, they’ll get the idea that lunch is served and they’ll be able to make the call as to whether they should continue speaking or finish the conversation and eat.  Some breakout sessions might reconvene informally through lunch.
  • Folks at our event took the stairs to get lunch and brought it back downstairs to continue the meeting; this enabled the participants to mingle.  The second breakout session began while some folks were still eating/drinking; they brought their food with them, and there was no problem.
  • If the breakout sessions run longer than expected (we blocked off 30 minutes per breakout, but there was energy for 40 minutes), then be prepare to have a shorter closing plenary discussion.  We chose to have a 20 minute closing and that worked for us.  The group came to consensus quickly about the need for requesting that NCDD set up an email discussion so that we can continue to stay in touch, and everyone was happy to have the organizers release their contact information to the other participants.
  • During sessions, recommend but do not require folks to take notes during their session.  If they don’t want to write them on the doc themselves, offer to transcribe the notes for them onto the meeting notes (in our template for meeting notes, we used a Google doc that anyone can edit).
  • Be sure to thank the host and any sponsors of the event at the closing plenary.  It can’t happen without them!

Of course, these are just methods that worked for us in Virginia, and we welcome your suggestions for improvement in the comments below.

Announcing the New Journal of Dialogue Studies

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JDS_bigWe were pleased to learn recently about the creation of the Journal of Dialogue Studies, a brand new academic publication dedicated to the theory and practice of dialogue. The JDS will be published by the Institute for Dialogue Studies, which is the academic platform of England’s Dialogue Society.

For us non-academics, this journal presents a great opportunity to engage on a deeper level with dialogue theory. For you NCDD members who are doing scholarly work on dialogue to reach a broader audience with your work. We highly encourage you to consider submitting your work to the Journal of Dialogue Studies by emailing your paper to journal@dialoguesociety.org. You can find more information on submissions here.

To understand a bit more about the new journal, check out the overview provided by its creators:

The Journal of Dialogue Studies is a multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed academic journal published twice a year. Its aim is to study the theory and practice of dialogue, understood provisionally as: meaningful interaction and exchange between people (often of different social, cultural, political, religious or professional groups) who come together through various kinds of conversations or activities with a view to increased understanding. The Editors welcome vigorous discussion of this provisional description, of dialogue’s effectiveness as a means of increasing understanding, and of other fundamental questions. The Journal brings together a body of original scholarship on the theory and practice of dialogue that can be critically appraised and debated. It publishes conceptual, research, and/or case-based works on both theory and practice, and papers that discuss wider social, cultural or political issues as these relate to the evaluation of dialogue. In this way, the Journal aims to contribute towards establishing ‘dialogue studies’ as a distinct academic field (or perhaps even emerging discipline).

The new journal will be published twice a year, and the first issue is already available online, and is focused on questions such as:

  • What arguments might there be for (or against) developing ‘dialogue studies’ as a distinct academic field (or perhaps even emerging discipline)?
  • What are the implications of doing so?
  • How might ‘dialogue studies’ be of use to academics, policy-makers and practitioners?
  • What do we mean by dialogue, dialogue theories and dialogue practices?
  • Where along the spectrum of fields is this field best placed?

We are encouraged to see the dialogue field continue to grow and deepen, and will definitely be keeping an eye on this new publication.

You can find out more about the Journal of Dialogue Studies by visiting www.dialoguesociety.org/publications/academia/829-journal-of-dialogue-studies.html.

Developing “Text, Talk, and Act”: A new strategy for combining ‘thick’ and ‘thin’ engagement

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NCDD members may be interested in contributing to the development of a new public engagement process that will roll out in December as part of the National Dialogue on Mental Health. “Text, Talk, and Act” has been developed by Matt Leighninger of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium (DDC), the other members of the National Dialogue’s Creating Community Solutions partnership, and the directors of two civic technology nonprofits: Michelle Lee of Textizen and Michael Smith of United Americans. Sandy Heierbacher of NCDD, Raquel Goodrich of the National Institute for Civil Discourse, and Mary Jacksteit and Sue McCormack of CCS have been instrumental in making this happen.

We developed this process because we were looking for a way to involve more young people, with the technology they use most, in a way that captures national excitement and produces meaningful small-group dialogue.

Essentially, what we are doing is combining the strengths of ‘thick’ and ‘thin’ engagement. Thick engagement has been a key element of public participation for a long time, though it has proliferated dramatically in the last twenty years; it happens mainly in groups, either face-to-face, online, or both, and features various forms of dialogue, deliberation, action planning, and policy choicework. Thin engagement has developed more recently; it happens mainly online, and is easier, faster, and potentially more viral – it is done by individuals, who are often motivated by feeling a part of some larger movement or cause.

Both thin and thick engagement have their merits – and their limitations. We wanted to find better ways to weave together these two strands, thickening the thin forms and thinning out the thick. “Text, Talk, and Act” resulted directly from this conversation.

Like most kinds of thin engagement, “Text, Talk, and Act” is easy to organize. You don’t need moderators, discussion materials, computers, or screens: just participants with text-capable cellphones. (If not everyone has a cellphone, you need only ensure that there is one cellphone per small group.)

  • Participants form into groups of 4-6 people, then start the 60-minute process by texting ‘START’ to 89800.
  • They receive a welcome text, followed quickly by a few polling questions about mental health, such as “1 in 5 people experience mental illness each year. Take a guess: Half of all mental health problems begin at age: A) 14, B) 24, C) 30”
  • Each time the participant texts in a response, they receive a text with the next question.
  • Aggregated results of the polling can be viewed online in real time.
  • Participants are asked to accept some guidelines: “Let’s talk guidelines: 1. Listen w/ respect, 2. It’s OK to disagree but don’t make it personal, 3. What’s said here stays here. Is this OK?”
  • The participants then receive the first of several dialogue questions, including: “Without naming names, talk about how mental health issues have affected you or people you know (Take 15 mins to discuss in groups & reply NEXT to go on.)”
  • Responses to these dialogue questions are not recorded. (And phone numbers are not kept in the system after the process has ended.)
  • Next in the sequence are polling and dialogue questions on the best ways to “make a difference” on mental health issues.
  • One of the final questions asks participants to “commit to 1 action to help make a difference” – participants can text in their ideas, which can then be viewed online along with other ideas from their school, university, or community.

The process is designed to last one hour, but the technology allows people to start any time they like (on December 5th), and take as long as they like. Participants will also be able to organize a “Text, Talk, and Act” event after the 5th.

We used the Textizen platform for the high school pilot of “Text, Talk, and Act,” held at Rex Putnam High School in Milwaukie, Oregon. “This exercise has created a more trusting environment in our class,” one student said. “We understand each other better now.” Our college pilot, at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island, used the United Americans platform. Please contact either Textizen or United Americans if you are interested in using this process.

Meanwhile, please join us on December 5th in trying out this new process! There are three easy steps:

  1. Bring some people together on the 5th
  2. Have them form into groups of 4-5, with at least one cellphone per group
  3. Ask them to text “START” to 89800

Learn more and sign up for updates at www.creatingcommunitysolutions.org/texttalkact, and see Sandy’s previous post about the project at www.ncdd.org/13369 (including the infographic NCDD’s Andy Fluke created for the project!).

Reminder about tomorrow’s NCDD Confab on Rockefeller’s GATHER

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Confab bubble imageDon’t forget to register for tomorrow’s confab call! From 2:00 to 3:00 pm Eastern on November 20th, we’ll be talking with Rob Garris and Noah Rimland Flower about the Rockefeller Foundation’s new publication GATHER: The Art & Science of Effective Convening.

The Rockefeller Foundation and Monitor Institute released GATHER earlier this year as a free hands-on guidebook for all convening designers and social change leaders who want to tap into a group’s collective intelligence and make substantial progress on a shared challenge.

The call will provide a great opportunity to learn more about how foundations are thinking about their role as convenors, and think through your own role and strategies as a convenor.  Our featured speakers tomorrow are Rob Garris, Managing Director at Rockefeller Foundation (Rob oversees their Bellagio conference center, and oversaw the creation of GATHER) and Noah Rimland Flower of the Monitor Institute (one of GATHER’s two co-authors). NCDD’s Board Chair, Marla Crockett, will be facilitating tomorrow’s call.

Join us for “Text, Talk, Act” on Mental Health

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On December 5th, we encourage all NCDD members to participate in the first-ever, nationwide text-enabled dialogue on mental health. All you need is 1 hour, 4 people, and at least 1 phone.

TXTTLKACT_Infographic

This is a project of Creating Community Solutions – a collaborative effort led by the National Institute for Civil Discourse, the Deliberative Democracy Consortium, AmericaSpeaks, Everyday Democracy, National Issues Forums Institute, and the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (with many, many partner organizations signed on — including some of you!). We’re excited to be experimenting with the use of text messaging technology to help groups of young people and adults, all over the country, get together in small groups for one-hour discussions on mental health.

Sign up today at bit.ly/texttalkact, and think about whether you can get your university, your classroom, your community group, your neighbors, or others involved in Text Talk Act!

And please share this infographic widely to help us promote the event! The infographic was created by Andy Fluke — NCDD’s Creative Director.

Small groups of 4-5 people will gather together for the event. Each group will need a cell phone and will receive polling & discussion questions and process suggestions via text message.

Results from the live polling questions will be tabulated almost instantly, so that people will be able to see how participants across the country responded. The discussion questions will provide a safe space for candid dialogue on mental health, one of the most critical and misunderstood public issues we face. The process will also provide an opportunity for participants to discuss actions they can take to strengthen mental health on their campuses and in their communities.

Announcing the new Penn State Democracy Medal

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Starting this year, Penn State University’s Democracy Institute will be awarding a Democracy Medal for exceptional innovations that advance the design and practice of democracy. The medal comes with a $5,000 award and tremendous publicity for the recipient, who will accept the medal and give a speech in the Fall of 2014. The medal celebrates the best work being done to advance democracy in the United States or around the globe. This year’s competition focuses on practical innovations, such as new institutions, laws, technologies, or movements that advance democracy.

The first medal will be given in 2014 for the best innovation in the practice of democracy. Nominations will be accepted through December 10, 2013, and the awardee will be announced in the spring of 2014. The winner will give a talk at Penn State in September, 2014, when they also receive their medal and $5,000 award. Between the spring announcement of the winner and the on-campus event in the fall, the Institute will provide the recipient with editorial assistance toward completing a short (20-25 page) essay describing the innovation for a general audience. The Institute will publish the essay electronically, possibly in collaboration with an independent press, and make it available to the general public at a very low price (e.g., $1-2), along with a similarly-affordable audio version. These print and audio distillations of the innovation are designed to aid its diffusion.

We encourage NCDD members to nominate themselves or others for this award!!!

It is important to act quickly, as the nomination period last just one month this year. Nomination letters must be emailed by December 10, 2013 to democracyinst@psu.edu. Initial nomination letters are simply that, a one-to-two page letter that describes how the nominee’s work meets the criteria for this award and what distinguishes it from other work on democracy. Both self-nominations and nominations of others are welcomed. The call for nominations is described in detail at http://cdd.la.psu.edu/research/penn-state-democracy-medal.

The Pennsylvania State University Democracy Institute promotes rigorous scholarship and practical innovations to advance the democratic process in the United States and abroad. The Institute pursues this mission, in part, through supporting the work of the Center for Democratic Deliberation (CDD) and the Center for American Political Responsiveness (CAPR).  The CDD studies and advances public deliberation, whereas CAPR attends to the relationship between the public’s priorities and the actions of elected bodies.

Nominations Open for IAP2 USA Board

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IAP2 logo

NCDD is a powerful network of some of the most active and innovative public engagement professionals and practitioners out there, and we are excited to have the opportunity to use the power of our network to find a new board member for our partners at the International Association for Public Participation’s US branch (IAP2 USA).

IAP2 USA just announced today on their blog that the organization is accepting nominations for new board members, and we would be thrilled to see some of our great NCDD members being nominated. Do you have a friend, colleague, or mentor who is dedicated to growing the public participation field? Then submit your nomination today! You can read the IAP2 USA announcement in full below or find the original post on their blog here.

Help us fill the IAP2 USA Board

The 2013 Board of IAP2 USA is seeking nominations for our 2014 board. Who do you know that will help our organization fulfill its potential? A professional colleague? A respected co-worker? Maybe it’s YOU!

Our Board is a working board that continues to expand the services and offerings to our IAP2 USA members. We work both with U.S. members and internationally on initiatives to advance the practice. In our third year as an affiliate of our international organization, we continue to evolve collaborating with our members and other organizations as the preeminent organization in this field. To realize our aspirations to remain a vibrant new organization, we invite you to consider the following attributes for new Board members:

  • Geographic and ethnic diversity
  • Diverse professional backgrounds, from government, academia, non-profits, private sectors, including those who work in the field, and those in related fields
  • Strong work ethic and willingness to bring their full talents and energies to the work of IAP2 USA
  • Public participation experience in private, public, non-profits, and grassroots volunteer work

We hope for a pool of candidates for the Board with institutional memory and new ideas and experiences — a diverse pool from which members will elect a new Board responsive to their needs.

Board Nomination Timeline 

Deadline for nominations: November 30th 

Voting will take place: December 4-15th  

Announcement of new IAP2 USA Board: December 20th 

Click here for the nomination form.

If you have questions about the board, nominations or application, please contact Doug Zenn, Zenn Associates, 503-256 -7222, dzenn@zennassociates.com

Bouncing Back with Style and Grace

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It isn’t often that we get to share wedding pictures on the NCDD blog, but this is a very special occasion.

I’m thrilled to share the news that two of our long-time members and supporters, Terry Amsler and Lisa Bingham, were wed on October 28th. Lisa sent me this photo to share with the community.

Lisa & Terry Amsler's Wedding Portrait

Many of you will remember that back in February, I shared the devastating news that Terry and Lisa were both struck by a bus during a trip to London they had been looking forward to taking together.  They were taken to separate hospitals in a city far from frienda and family, and though information was spotty, we did our best to keep the community updated via the comments thread at www.ncdd.org/10967 whenever we heard news of their progress or transport.

Support and encouragement poured in from our community, in the comments thread and elsewhere, and after the first alarming reports, news about Terry and Lisa’s recovery became more and more hopeful.  Their recovery has actually been quite amazing, and now they’ve surpassed all our hopes for them and gotten married!  Terry has moved to Bloomington, Indiana to live with Lisa.

Lisa is back to work at Indiana University (she’s Keller-Runden Professor of Public Service at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs), and as of October 1st, Terry is back on a part-time basis at the Institute for Local Government’s Public Engagement Program (check out the site at www.ca-ilg.org if you haven’t yet seen all the great resources Terry created for them!).

In an email to me the other day, Terry wrote “Nothing like a brush with mortality to help one focus on and consider what is most important in the lifetime we’re given or have left.”  Please join me in congratulating Terry and Lisa on their wedding and on their amazing recovery!