Peggy Holman Interview from NCDD Seattle

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Andy Fluke

At the 2012 NCDD national conference in Seattle, NCDD member and filmmaker Jeffrey Abelson sat down with over a dozen leaders in our community to ask them about their work and their hopes and concerns for our field and for democratic governance in our country.

Today we’re featuring the interview with Peggy Holman, co-founder of Journalism That Matters and author & co-editor of the Change Handbook. Peggy convenes and hosts conversations that matter, inviting people and systems to gather around the issues most important to them.

See the “NCDD 2012” tag for more videos from NCDD Seattle, which brought together 400 leaders and innovators in our field. You can also check out Jeffrey Abelson’s Song of a Citizen YouTube channel and our NCDD 2012 Seattle playlist on YouTube.

Amanda Kathryn Roman’s Interview from NCDD Seattle

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Andy Fluke

Today we’re featuring an interview with Amanda Kathryn Roman, co-creator of Living Room Conversations. Amanda embraced public engagement at the age of 12 when she began doing community organizing and has been involved in many forms of bridge-building or transpartisan work ever since.

Watch the blog over the next month or so for more videos from NCDD Seattle, which brought together 400 leaders and innovators in our field. You can also check out Jeffrey Abelson’s Song of a Citizen YouTube channel and in our NCDD 2012 Seattle playlist on YouTube.

Registration open for Nov 20th Confab call on Rockefeller’s GATHER

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Sandy Heierbacher

Want to build your toolkit as a convening designer? Join us for our next NCDD “Confab Call” on Wednesday, November 20th from 2:00 to 3:00 EST to speak with the authors of the Rockefeller Foundation publication GATHER: The Art & Science of Effective Convening.

Leading the conversation will be:

Rob Garris, Managing Director at Rockefeller Foundation. Rob oversees their Bellagio conference center, and oversaw the creation of GATHER
Noah Rimland Flower, Monitor Institute. Noah is one of GATHER’’s two co-authors and led the content creation

Earlier this year, Rockefeller Foundation and Monitor Institute released GATHER 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.

GATHER provides simple frameworks for the questions that are often ignored: whether convening is the right tool to use to advance a strategic agenda, and how a convening can be used to achieve a specific purpose. It then helps you understand how to customize the design to fit that purpose, laying out a clear series of steps for what is a naturally chaotic workflow. It then offers principles to use for each of the many tactical choices involved. GATHER and its accompanying workshop materials are designed for you to use in your own work, with a team, and with larger groups both inside and outside an organization.

On this Confab Call we’ll be discussing:

An introduction to how convening is a strategic tool for foundations
A case study of how convening can be used for social problem-solving
The top three mis-steps that convening designers make, and how to avoid them

A word on the format: NCDD’s Confab Calls are opportunities for members of the NCDD community to talk with innovators in our field about the work they’re doing and connect with each other around shared interests. Membership in NCDD is required to participate in this call, as space is limited and we suspect this one will fill up fast.

Dues-paying members (supporting, sustaining and org members) get first dibs on this one, but non-dues members may register starting next Wednesday (November 13th) as space allows. A max of 150 people will be able to participate on the call.

Steve Brigham Interview from NCDD Seattle

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Andy Fluke

Today we’re featuring the interview with Steve Brigham, President of AmericaSpeaks. An organizational member of NCDD and one of our founding members back in 2002, AmericaSpeaks supported NCDD Seattle by co-sponsoring the conference.

AmericaSpeaks is a Washington, D.C.-based non-partisan, non-profit organization whose mission is to “engage citizens in the public decisions that impact their lives.” AmericaSpeaks’ work is focused on trying to create opportunities for citizens to impact decisions and to encourage public officials to make informed, lasting decisions. AmericaSpeaks has developed and facilitated deliberative methods such as the 21st Century Town Hall Meeting, which enables facilitated discussion for 500 to 5,000 participants. Its partners have included regional planning groups, local, state, and national government bodies, national and international organizations. Issues have ranged from Social Security reform, the redevelopment of ground zero in New York and rebuilding New Orleans.

Join us for an overview of Harwood’s work on November 5th

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Sandy Heierbacher

It was clear during our August confab call with Rich Harwood that NCDD members are interested in learning more about the Harwood Institute’s approach to change. I recently attended a Harwood retreat in Park City, Utah with a number of leaders in our field, and it occurred to me there that the Harwood Institute’s concepts provide a nice framework for all of us to think about our work and how we might present it to others in meaningful ways.

We’ve arranged for Harwood to run a one-hour webinar for NCDD members on Tuesday, November 5 at 2pm Eastern (11am Pacific).

Turning Outward: An Overview of The Harwood Institute’s Approach to Change

The Harwood Institute helps people and organizations address community challenges, improve their own effectiveness, and do their work in a way that makes communities stronger. They teach and coach people how to develop a deep understanding of their communities and then use that knowledge to fundamentally change the way they approach their work. They call this “turning outward” – using the community as the main reference point for both day-to-day and strategic decisions.

During this webinar, we will explore what it means to turn outward and Harwood staff will provide an overview of the Institute’s key frameworks that can help you accelerate your efforts to engage your community. Presenters will also talk about the upcoming Harwood Public Innovators Lab – a 3-day immersion into the Institute’s core concepts. The Lab will take place Dec. 10-12 in Alexandria, VA, and we’ve arranged a discounted rate for NCDD members.

Register now at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/119419411383244546

After registering, you’ll receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the webinar. (View System Requirements)

2013 Gathering of Dialogue and Deliberation Practitioners in Virginia

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Lucas Cioffi

Nancy Gansneder at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia and Lucas Cioffi, board member for the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation, have teamed up to host a 3-hour gathering and knowledge exchange for Virginians working in the fields of dialogue and deliberation, and… you’re invited!!

RSVP here by October 27th: https://www.eventbrite.com/event/8882256067

Purpose: This will be a fun and productive opportunity for us to connect with and share lessons learned with others doing great work in the region.

Agenda: All participants will have a chance to choose which topics we discuss. We will have a mixture of large-group discussions and small-group breakouts to cover the topics that everyone is interested in.

Time: 11am-2pm (lunch provided by the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation, and everyone is welcome to stay after the program to continue their conversations)

Date: November 7, 8, 12, 14, or 19 — you indicate which day you are available when you sign up; we’ll choose the one date that works for the most people, with a minimum of 10 people.

Location: Charlottesville, VA (specific location at the University of Virginia is TBA)

Cost: Free

RSVP here by October 27th: https://www.eventbrite.com/event/8882256067

Important: Please feel free to extend this invitation to others who may not have received it!

The Martin Carcasson Crew at NCDD Seattle

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Andy Fluke

With Candace Karlin, Kacey Bull, Jack Becker, Carina Mullen, Dilan Sutliff, and Mar Parsaye

Today we’re switching gears with an interview featuring a group of past and present Colorado State University students and their advisor Martín Carcasson, founder and director of the CSU Center for Public Deliberation (CPD). The group ran a pre-conference “Deliberation Bootcamp” at NCDD Seattle, offering an introduction to the world of dialogue and deliberation. In the video, the group discusses the work of CPD and the impact it has on both the programs’ participants and the community they engage with.

Eric Lui’s Plenary Keynote from NCDD Seattle

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Andy Fluke

Today we’re featuring something a little different — one of the live recordings Jeffrey made during the conference. This plenary talk was given by author, educator and civic entrepreneur Eric Lui during our “Framing & Welcoming” plenary. Eric is founder of the Guiding Lights Network, which promotes and teaches the art of creative citizenship. Eric served as a White House speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and later as the President’s deputy domestic policy advisor.

Jeffrey also caught up with Eric a little later and asked him about the impact of dialogue and deliberation on our civic infrastructure…

Amy Lee Interview from NCDD Seattle

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Andy Fluke

Today we’re featuring the interview with Amy Lee, Program Officer at the Kettering Foundation. Amy handles media projects for the foundation, and is involved in foundation research in the areas of civic education and citizens and public choice. Before working at Kettering, Amy worked as a reporter and news director at WYSO, the NPR station serving the Dayton area, and as an associate producer at ThinkTV, Dayton’s PBS station. She has also freelanced for the New York Times.

Joan Blades Interview from NCDD Seattle

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Andy Fluke

Today we’re featuring the interview with Joan Blades, who is well-known for her roles as co-founder of MoveOn.org and MomsRising.org. Joan is also the co-creator of Living Room Conversations.

Watch the blog over the next couple of months for more videos from NCDD Seattle, which brought together 400 leaders and innovators in our field. You can also check out Jeffrey Abelson’s Song of a Citizen YouTube channel and in our NCDD 2012 Seattle playlist on YouTube.

Civic Studies

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

Category Archives: NCDD Events