A Message from NCDD Board Chair Martín Carcasson

For the past seven years, I have had the honor of serving on the Board of Directors of the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation, the last four as the chair. My term is officially over at the end of the year. NCDD serves as an umbrella organization for academics, practitioners, artists, and volunteers committed to improving how we all talk to each other and address our shared problems. They are a network of networks, a bridging organization dedicated to helping individuals, organizations, and communities build capacity for quality democratic engagement.

I still vividly remember my first NCDD conference in San Francisco in 2006. I remember because it was the first time I ever got that wonderful, overwhelming feeling of finding my people. I was passionate about community, democracy, and improving the world, but the world of politics was incredibly frustrating to me, and seemed mostly counterproductive. I had strong views about how things needed to change, but politics did not seem to be a useful route. People seemed to just talk past each other, assume horrible motives for those that disagreed, and while they sometimes won elections and sometimes lost, not much seemed to really change about the issues I cared about. It was a game people loved playing that to me seemed at best a distraction and at worst something that undermined everything democracy requires to function well (trust, mutual respect, the ability to have tough conversations, etc.).

NCDD was a whole other world. People that shared my passions for community and democracy, but recognized that what we were doing wasn’t working. They realized we needed to work together, to bridge differences, and get past simple narratives, but also knew that was not going to be easy. We needed a lot of new ideas, tools, and organizations. They also recognized that we didn’t just need a simple “both sides” or an abstract balance, but deeper explorations of what it would mean to work together across perspectives.

I greatly looked forward to NCDD’s conferences every other year, to learn new tools, meet new people, and engage deeper with others that shared my concerns. I started doing everything I could to get more of my students to attend, and with a lot of help from a lot of people, managed to take groups of 10-25 to conferences in Seattle, Washington DC, and Boston. In 2014, I accepted the call to join the board of directors of NCDD, and in 2016, became the board chair.

I’ll be honest, it has been tougher than I thought. NCDD does incredible work on a very tight and tiny budget. The board is all volunteer, and we survive with essentially three part time employees (sometimes just 2). We spend too much time thinking about money and not enough time thinking about the actual work. It is difficult to fund organizations like NCDD that serve more as a connector and a resource to other individuals and organizations rather than as a direct service provider. We literally spend billions on election campaigns, but struggle to raise hundreds for an organization truly dedicated to make democracy work.

As I exit my role — but still plan to be heavily involved with NCDD moving forward, I very much plan to serve again once I retire from my day job so I can really focus on elevating the organization — I ask you all to consider a NCDD membership (either for yourself or as a gift to a friend you think may be interested in what I’ve described) or consider NCDD in your end of year giving. I know you have a lot of options, and with the pandemic, an incredible amount of immediate needs. NCDD is much more of a long term investment. I truly believe the most pressing issue we have in our communities is the inability to talk with each other and work together on our shared problems. I think it will be difficult to move forward on any issue unless we first make some progress on that. In many ways, the pandemic has shown us that even a global crisis caused more polarization and distrust, rather than sparking the collaborative efforts that we know we are capable of as humans. Even a $10 or $20 donation can make a big difference to NCDD having the resources to help communities across the country build capacity for the kind of engagement democracies need to thrive.
More information about membership is here (https://ncdd.org/community/join), gifting memberships here (https://act.myngp.com/Forms/1424112249932744704), and donations here (https://act.myngp.com/Forms/-8754304382901286912).

Lastly, as I leave the board, I want to thank all the exceptional people I have had the pleasure to work with these past seven years (too many to mention), and I am particularly excited about the incoming chair, Lori Britt, and the strength of the board moving forward. I’ve known Professor Britt since her Ph.D. days at CU-Boulder, when she assisted with CPD events, and have been incredibly impressed with what she has built up at James Madison University. NCDD is in wonderful hands with her, the board, and Courtney Breese’s exceptional leadership as our executive director (who very very much deserves a higher salary and full time job!). We aren’t quite sure when we will all be able to gather together again — and may end up with more of a virtual conference this year — but I do know I can’t wait to gather with my people once again.

Martín Carcasson, Ph.D., is a professor in the Communication Studies department of Colorado State University, and the founder and director of the CSU Center for Public Deliberation (CPD, www.cpd.colostate.edu). We thank him for his service to the NCDD network and all he does to help advance efforts for dialogue and deliberation in communities and higher education!

All Are Welcome at NCDD

First of all, thank you to everyone in this community for sticking with the work in a tough year.

NCDD’s staff and board have been talking a lot over the last nine months of the pandemic about what this year has shown us about this network’s necessity in the world, and where we can most support you all. It’s been encouraging to see that much of what we’ve always offered – news and resources, and opportunities to connect and collaborate – are still highly valued and needed, especially when times are tough.

There are also some areas we can work on – expanding our network, for one, in an inclusive way to welcome everyone who is committed to helping their communities have better conversations. It doesn’t matter whether you are a professional doing this work as your career, or a volunteer doing this to better your own community – all are welcome at NCDD.

And, there are some real opportunities for NCDD’s community of practice to embrace. The opportunity to look at how privilege shows up in our work and to address it, and to increase community access to dialogue and deliberation opportunities. This year has brought both of these opportunities to the forefront and it’s time to address them. There is plenty more for us to work towards together, and to discuss this and more, we will be announcing a call for early January. More on that soon.

But today, I’m reaching out to let you know that NCDD is launching an effort to boost our membership as we continue our end of year fundraising. This starts today with new options for membership and opportunities to invite others in.

First, NCDD has decided to make a few adjustments to our membership levels. For individuals, we have added a “pay-what-you-can” option to the membership form. This allows us to remove the primary barrier to membership and welcome everyone in.

For our organizational members, we’ve expanded our membership levels to better reflect the reality of many of our small organizations working on a limited budget. Those with budgets under $150,000 a year now have lower priced options.

Finally, we’ve launched a gift-a-membership option! That means two things: First, that members of our community have the option to invite others in with a gift of a year’s membership. And second, that you can gift a membership to those who need a subsidized member rate. These gifts are offered at a special reduced rate!

As 2020 comes to a close, we hope you will renew your commitment to the work by renewing or gifting a membership today! As always, membership and donations are tax-deductible!

Thank you for all you do to keep this community of practice vibrant. Here’s to getting through 2020, and to the work ahead in 2021!

ConversationCafe Recording and Resources

Last week NCDD held our first virtual Conversation Cafe session, and we were blown away by the turnout – thank you to the 125+ of you who joined us to learn about how to host Cafes online and participated in one on the call!

The level of interest and enthusiasm was overwhelming, and so we wanted to make sure that anyone who is interested in this simple, open-source model for dialogue has the information and resources to do so! The following is a list of links to new and existing materials that everyone is welcome to utilize:

  • NCDD’s current director Courtney Breese, co-founder Sandy Heierbacher, and Conversation Cafe co-founder Susan Partnow, created a bunch of resources for hosting Conversation Cafes online during this pandemic: http://www.conversationcafe.org/for-hosts/resources-cafes-online/. Resources include a guide for hosts, the mini guide for use in the cafe, topics and questions for cafes, and an instructional on using Zoom for Cafes.
  • Beyond Conversation Cafe, NCDD’s Communications Coordinator Keiva Hummel has helped curate resources for responding to this pandemic. They are available (and can be added to!) over in Google Docs.

The recording of the virtual Conversation Cafe session is available at this link. Please note: the recording includes an overview of Conversation Cafe, the set-up for the cafe, and then the Q&A and wrap-up at the end. It does not include the breakout group conversations. Additionally, numerous resources and lots of information was shared in the chat.

NCDD is excited to see all the enthusiasm for what’s possible. We’ll continue to support these efforts as best we can, particularly by continuing to share resources and events. We’ve created a new Events Calendar to start sharing upcoming events, and a simple form for posting your event.

NCDD can also definitely use your help! If you want to help with social media, blog posts (share your stories of Cafes!), helping to create a stronger community of hosts, or something else you’d like to offer, send Courtney an email at courtney@ncdd.org. We will convene a team if there is enough interest to support Conversation Cafes in this unique moment. If you are not in a position to give your time right now, perhaps you might consider making a contribution to help support Conversation Cafe: www.ncdd.org/donate. NCDD is a small nonprofit and we steward Conversation Cafe without any dedicated funding support, so any and all contributions are greatly appreciated.

We are all juggling a lot right now, no doubt, but it is so heartening to see you, connect with you, and talk about what we can do for our communities during these difficult times. NCDD looks forward to continuing to work with you all!

Join us in #WeavingCommunity during crisis

NCDD is partnering once again with numerous organizations in our field to encourage a national conversation – this time around the importance of weaving community during times of crisis. We hope you can take part!

The National Conversation Project is a coalition of partner organizations inviting Americans into online conversations and mutual support to weave a stronger community even now–especially now. Together, we’re promoting conversations and community amidst fear and isolation. We seek to serve our neighbors and nation in a moment of acute social crisis.

This pandemic can drive us apart or it can drive us together. Americans often rise to common challenges like this with kindness, love, mutual support, and shared responsibility to endure together. We need community now more than ever. Although our nation’s social fabric is badly frayed by distance and division, together we can weave a strong social fabric and emerge healthy and united.

Though we may avoid gathering in person, we can support each other in many ways online, via phone, and through acts of kindness for neighbors. By #WeavingCommunity now, we will be a stronger, more genuinely connected society on the other side of the pandemic.

We invite you to…

  1. Check out the Weaving2020 website now.
  2. Use the hashtag #WeavingCommunity whenever you invite people to your own online conversations or talk about your work.
  3. Host a video or phone conversation, spark a social media or text conversation, or do an act of kindness for a neighbor.
  4. Become a partner by contacting pearce@weaving2020.org.

Check back at www.weaving2020.com, where we’ll soon be adding lots of resources for online dialogue, dialogues you and others can participate in, and more.

Join NCDD for a Network Call about COVID-19

With the declaration yesterday of a global pandemic, it’s clear that everyone’s way of life will be impacted. Public events are being cancelled or postponed, and people are being asked not to come together in person. Social distancing is being recommended to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

This social distancing has impacts on individuals and our communities, for certain. But it also impacts the very way in which many of us conduct our work. For the dialogue and deliberation field, the work we do happens most often in public spaces and with people face to face. In the wake of COVID-19, how can we adapt to ensure that this important work proceeds?

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NCDD is convening a conference call next Thursday, March 19th at 1pm Eastern/10am Pacific to allow our network to discuss this issue and share ideas for how to continue our work in ways which address the health and safety issues that currently exist. We’ll discuss how each of us are adapting our approach to the work, and consider what best practices we may want to adopt as we move forward. Everyone will be invited to share tools and resources they are utilizing. We hope this call will be a helpful opportunity for everyone to tap into our collective wisdom, and collaborate on plans to continue to assist communities in engaging and making decisions together. NCDD will compile what emerges from the call – the practices, resources, and tools that can be shared with our wider network and the public.

To join the call, which will take place via Zoom, please register here.

We are wishing you all the best.

A Big THANK YOU to our Contributors!

We’d love to start off the new year sharing our sincerest appreciation to everyone who supported NCDD during our End-of-Year Fund Drive, either by donating, renewing their memberships or by officially joining the Coalition for the first time as a dues-paying member!

With all of your support, we were able to raise nearly $4,500 to help support this amazing network of movers and shakers. We are only one week into 2020 and it is already shaping up to be a profound and pivotal year, for this country and the world. This powerful network has many tools, experiences, and connections, necessary to address the challenges of our era and positively impact the course of our future. We have a lot of exciting ideas in store that we hope to implement using these funds and continue to nourish this vital coalition. Thank you so much to all who contributed to making this possible!

Please join us in offering a deep and immensely grateful THANK YOU to our contributors!

Contributed $1,000:
Simone Talma Flowers

Contributed $500:
Ele Munjeli, Devopracy

Contributed $100 or more:
Cobie deLespinasse
Linda Ellinor, Sr. Partner & Founder, Action Dialogue Group; co-author of “Dialogue: Rediscover the Transforming Power of Conversation”
Hawaii State Senator Les Ihara
Betty Knighton

Contributed $75:
Carrie Bennett
Douglas Black
Jim Chamness
Russ Charvonia
Stan Deetz
Sara Drury
Kyla Epstein
Kelsey Foster
Richard Frieder
Seva Gandhi
Mary Gelinas
Diane Goodman
Jeff Hasenfratz
Peggy Holman
Kathleen Knight-Abowitz
Sharon Kniss
Joseph McIntyre
Premysl Pergler
Charles Pillsbury
Raquel Ramos
Dr. Sandor Schuman
Lori Shontz
Arjun Singh

Contributed $50:
Roshan Bliss, Organizing Director, Project VOYCE
Richard Burg
Elizabeth Traubman
April Struthers, Consultant, Wit Works Ltd, Canada

Contributed $25 or more:
Caroline Lee
Caroline Mellor
Ruthy Rosenberg
Dr. Carolyn Shadle, Owner, Interpersonal Communication Services, Inc.

Contributed up to $20:
Nicole Farkouh
Wade Hudson
Judith Mounty
Andrew Russell

Your contributions mean so much to NCDD and our staff! Thank you for your continued support of our network and its work!

Best Wishes for A Happy New Year!

NCDD’s Staff wish you all a joyous and happy New Year! We know 2020 will be a busy year for all of us in the coalition, but we also know the work will be as important as ever. We’re committed to continuing to work with all of you to help spread the stories of how dialogue, deliberation, and public engagement can help our communities, nation, and world connect across differences and make decisions together.

We know the work will be at times challenging, and so NCDD is committed to helping this coalition continue to raise the visibility of this work for the benefit of us all. We will also continue to help connect members of this network, provide opportunities for learning and reflection, and share the latest news and information. In order to continue this work together, we continue to need your support. Help us finish out the year and our yearly fundraiser by making a donation today! We’ve raised close to $5,000 this season through donations and membership enrollments and renewals. Any amount is appreciated and goes directly to assisting our staff with supporting this network.

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Thank you for keeping NCDD vibrant for 17 years – we look forward to year 18!

With all our appreciation,

Courtney Breese – Executive Director
Keiva Hummel – Communications Coordinator
Joy Williams – Office Manager

Setting Our Sights on 2020

As 2019 draws to a close, the NCDD staff and board are setting our sights on the year ahead and making plans for what we would like to do together in 2020. Suffice it to say 2020 will be an important year for our country and our world. It will be a year where dialogue & deliberation are even more essential to helping people and communities build connections, increase understanding, and reach decisions together. This may feel like a real challenge for the public in the year ahead, but we all know the benefits of quality dialogue and NCDD will work hard to help share this message.

Keiva &Courtney believe what you do matters!

We will help spread the word about the work you all do every day, the impact that work has, and how more people can bring these tools to their communities. We will work with our network to teach more people to convene conversations. We will support our collective work through opportunities for shared learning and collaboration. And we will continue to look for the next steps we can take to advance our field together.

We, of course, can’t do this without all of you. NCDD is a coalition, and we are only as strong as our network. Our staff is made up of only three – myself, Joy, and Keiva, and we all work part-time. We continue to do this work because we are passionate about the potential that dialogue & deliberation offers our world, and know that this network harnesses the knowledge and skills to help see that potential achieved. With your help, we will get there.

Therefore, today we are launching our annual end-of-year fund drive. Our hope is to raise $10,000 before January 1 in order to support NCDD’s goals for 2020. On Giving Tuesday we were able to raise $1,400 to start this drive off, and we would love to raise double this amount in the next few days. Can you help us? If you believe in NCDD’s mission and find value in the resources, connections, and opportunities we provide, we urge you to show your support by making a donation. All contributions are welcome, whether they are $5 or $500. And your contributions are tax deductible! Please share the fund drive with your networks and consider asking your favorite angel donor to contribute as well. Help us reach our $10,000 goal, and thank you so much, in advance, for supporting NCDD!

Join Confab TODAY Feat Purple Project for Democracy

Join us in just a few hours for our September Confab call featuring the new initiative about to launch called Purple Project for Democracy. Purple is a non-partisan coalition, campaign and movement to rediscover and recommit to democratic values and institutions.  The folks behind the project are building momentum for their November launch, and on this Confab we’ll learn more about how dialogue and deliberation can play a role in it.

This free call will be today, September 30th from 1-2 pm Eastern, 10-11 am PacificRegister today so you don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity!

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Purple is aiming to help people recommit to democratic values, but also to stimulate civic engagement. This is where the dialogue and deliberation field might be able to help most!

It begins this November with a media and education campaign that will “illuminate and dramatize the many glories of American democracy.” Participants in this campaign will include media outlets, schools, libraries, and other organizations committed to sharing the message of the importance of democracy and our participation in it. Their vision is to gain visibility and build a movement for civic participation and democracy across differences, that then leads to increased action, including volunteering, voting, serving, and participating in civic life.

During the month of November, Purple hopes to have local conversations which can help to stimulate the national effort. The hope of the organizers is that members of NCDD will participate in this effort by hosting conversations in their communities. To learn more about this aspect of the project, please take a look at this document from Purple.

On the call, we will be joined by Bob Garfield, one of the key organizers for this movement. Bob is co-host of public radio’s On the Media. He is also the founding co-host of Slate’s podcast on language, Lexicon Valley, and Amazon Channels’ The Genius Dialogues. Bob will share with us the vision for Purple, and discuss opportunities for the dialogue and deliberation field to contribute to the November campaign and the next phases following this launch.

Please be sure to check out the Purple Project for Democracy website, and bring your questions and ideas for how dialogue & deliberation can contribute to this effort. Make sure you register ASAP  to secure your spot!

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. Confabs are free and open to all. Register ASAP if you’d like to join us!

Join September Confab about Purple Project for Democracy

We are excited to announce our September Confab Call, featuring a new initiative that is preparing for  November launch – Purple Project for Democracy. Purple is a non-partisan coalition, campaign and movement to rediscover and recommit to democratic values and institutions.  The folks behind the project are building momentum for their November launch, and on this Confab we’ll learn more about how dialogue and deliberation can play a role in it.

This free call will be on Monday, September 30th from 1-2 pm Eastern, 10- 11 am Pacific. Register today so you don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity!

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Purple is aiming to help people recommit to democratic values, but also to stimulate civic engagement. This is where the dialogue and deliberation field might be able to help most!

It begins this November with a media and education campaign that will “illuminate and dramatize the many glories of American democracy.” Participants in this campaign will include media outlets, schools, libraries, and other organizations committed to sharing the message of the importance of democracy and our participation in it. Their vision is to gain visibility and build a movement for civic participation and democracy across differences, that then leads to increased action, including volunteering, voting, serving, and participating in civic life.

During the month of November, Purple hopes to have local conversations which can help to stimulate the national effort. The hope of the organizers is that members of NCDD will participate in this effort by hosting conversations in their communities. To learn more about this aspect of the project, please take a look at this document from Purple.

On the call, we will be joined by Bob Garfield, one of the key organizers for this movement. Bob is co-host of public radio’s On the Media. He is also the founding co-host of Slate’s podcast on language, Lexicon Valley, and Amazon Channels’ The Genius Dialogues. Bob will share with us the vision for Purple, and discuss opportunities for the dialogue and deliberation field to contribute to the November campaign and the next phases following this launch.

Please be sure to check out the Purple Project for Democracy website, and bring your questions and ideas for how dialogue & deliberation can contribute to this effort. Make sure you register today to secure your spot!

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. Confabs are free and open to all. Register today if you’d like to join us!