Here at NCDD, we are in full-on conference planning mode, working closely with our incredible planning team to organize what we hope will be our best conference yet. (Learn more about NCDD 2014 here.)

One of my roles is to design the guidebooks, and I thought this would be a good time to share the guides from the previous conferences. If you’re thinking about joining us in October, these will give you a sense of the kinds of great programming, workshops, speakers, and networking we have in store for you!

2012 Guidebook — Seattle, WA

“The NCDD conference in Seattle was an extremely useful chance to meet others in the D&D field. Everybody makes the time to go, so everybody you could need to meet is there. I don’t know of another opportunity like it.”
– Amy Lee, Kettering Foundation

Learn more about the Seattle event • Download the 2012 Guidebook

2010 Resource Guide — Regional Events

“It was inspiring to connect with so many people working to bring authentic public engagement to the world through state of the art deliberative processes. I was heartened to see so many civic leaders and schools of public policy there, as well all of the grassroots, networked groups who are changing the face of democracy even as I write. Well done all!”
– Kathryn Thomson, PublicForums

Learn more about the Regional Events • Download the Resource Guide on Public Engagement

2008 Guidebook — Austin, TX

“I’m still coming back to earth after the amazing NCDD conference! It was packed so full of wonderful information, ideas, resources and people that I came away utterly inspired and energized. My heartiest congratulations to your team for pulling it off. What a monumental effort – and what tremendous results! Thank you for every minute.”
– Avril Orloff, Project Manager for Canada’s Philia Dialogue on Caring Citizenship

Learn more about the Austin event • Download the 2008 Guidebook

2006 Guidebook — San Francisco, CA

“I had an exceptional experience at the conference, learned so much, and made many good connections. As was true the first time around, you and all the teams did a remarkable job at collaboratively building an event that did a lot of things for a lot of people. As the organizer, I’m sure you didn’t get to see but a tiny fraction of all the good things, but rest assured there were many at every turn.”
– Pam Korza, Animating Democracy, Americans for the Arts

Learn more about the San Francisco event • Download the 2006 Guidebook

2004 Guidebook — Denver, CO

“I just wanted to let you know what an amazing conference it was in Denver. It deepened my understanding of D&D and I met many wonderful people. I believe events like this help strengthen and grow, not only the D&D community, but the work of conflict resolution and democracy world-wide. It was the best organized conference I have ever attended. You and those that helped you did an amazing job.”
– Stephan Gilchrist, Portland State University

Learn more about the Denver event • Download the 2004 Guidebook

2002 Guidebook — Washington, DC

The first National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation was a revelation to many attendees. It was a highly participatory, high-energy event which brought dialogue and deliberation practitioners, scholars and activists together across models, topics, regions, applications and philosophies. We prepared quite an extensive 3-ring binder for all attendees, full of lists of resources, a glossary, and full participant bios. Though more roughly designed than our latest conference guidebooks, people still talk about “the binder,” the contents of which formed the basis of what eventually grew into our extensive Resource Center.

Learn more about the DC event • Download the 2002 Conference Report

Another good way to get a sense of what NCDD 2014 will be like is to check out the videos from the last conference!

Just a sampling of the many great people involved in this year’s event!

Hands down the best part of planning and running our National Conferences on Dialogue & Deliberation is working with the people, both staff and volunteers, who come together to make these events amazing.  This year’s conference in the Washington, D.C. area is no different, with almost 50 members of our community offering their precious time and knowledge to make sure we bring you the best event we possibly can.

We have a page dedicated to this fantastic team, and the photo above only shows a sampling. Sandy Heierbacher is the conference director again this year and Courtney Breese is back as our unflappable and ultra-capable conference manager. These two work together to keep all kinds of plates balanced in the air.

Marla Crockett is heading up the local team this year, facilitating a great group of DC area volunteers who are handling local outreach, field trips, and arts at the conference. And Polly Riddims is back once again to manage logistics for the conference — something she has done beautifully since the first NCDD conference in 2002. Roshan Bliss is coordinating our on-site volunteers again this year, and is also serving as our youth outreach coordinator. Many others are coordinating different aspects of the conference planning, so do check out the team page.

I also want to look back at past events and thank again those who helped us get to where we are today.  We still have our planning team list from NCDD Seattle on the site.  It’s so great to see so many friends returning for our current event.  I wish I could share the list of volunteers and advisers from our 2010 regional events but there were just so many of them and, since they were working independently much of the time, no master list was collected.  But you know who you are!  Thanks for the crazy times!

As with our Seattle event, NCDD 2008 Austin’s planning team is still online, but for our 2006 San Francisco, 2004 Denver and 2002 Washington DC events you’ll need to dig into the guidebooks or reports from those conferences for the list.

To everybody — past and present — to those who joined us for just one event, and those who’ve worked with us over the years, and, yes, even those crazy enough to stick with us from the very beginning…

Thank You!

We’re excited to announce that we’ll once again be holding our popular “D&D Showcase” at this year’s National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation. The Showcase is a high-energy networking activity that provides a way for about 25 people in our field to introduce their work and their ideas to the majority of conference participants. The Showcase takes place during the reception on the first night of the conference (Friday, October 17th, from 4:30 to 6:00 pm).

It’s a fun way for conference-goers to meet some of the movers-and-shakers in our field, and hear about some of their latest projects, programs and tools.

Here is a slideshow of images from our Showcase at NCDD 2012 in Seattle…

Here’s how the Showcase will work…

During this 90-minute session, conference participants will stroll around the ballroom, chatting with presenters, listening to their brief spiels, checking out their posters and picking up handouts. We’ll also have finger foods and beverages available (and a cash bar), adding to the social atmosphere of the session.

The conference planning team is selecting people to present during the D&D Showcase who are passionate about sharing tools and programs we know will interest our attendees. Contact conference manager Courtney Breese at courtney@ncdd.org if you are interested in being featured in the Showcase — but please note these slots are very competitive!

The presenters, who will be prepared to give short spiels on their Showcase topic, will strike up conversations with participants who are strolling around the room, perusing the “wares.” No timers or buzzers are involved.

Here’s a great video of Kai Degner (former mayor of Harrisonburg, VA) giving his “spiel” at the well-received Showcase event at NCDD 2008 in Austin…

Also see Janette Hartz-Karp and Brian Sullivan presenting at the 2008 Showcase event (we called it the “D&D Marketplace”) here, and check out the video of Noam Shore, Lucas Cioffi, and Wayne Burke presenting their online tools here.

Presenters are asked to display simple “posters” during the Showcase (more on this below), and to provide handouts and business cards for participants who are interested in learning more or following up. Showcase presenters should be ready to succinctly express what’s important for conference participants to know about their resource, method, research, program, etc. and to elaborate and answer any questions people may have.

The Showcase will take place in a different ballroom than the one our plenary sessions are held in. Showcase presenters will be stationed at high-ball tables (tall cocktail tables) that will be set up in a large U-shape for optimal flow. Reception food will be presented in the center of the room. Presenters will use their tables to display their posters as well as handouts, any giveaway items, and laptops if they have something to share online or on their computers.

What we ask of Showcase presenters…

• Prepare a quick spiel or “elevator speech” about your Showcase topic that will get people interested in learning more. Practice it until it comes out naturally. We suggest you prepare several spiels of different lengths (30 seconds, 1 minute, etc.) so you can adjust quickly to different circumstances during the Showcase.
• Prepare a simple, visually interesting poster and bring it with you to the conference (details and options below).
• Bring handouts about your program, method, online tool, publication, etc. that include further details. Include your contact information and web address on your handouts, or provide a stack of your business cards.
• Show up for the Showcase session about 20 minutes early (by 4:10pm) so we have time to make sure everyone is set up and has everything they need by 4:30.

More about the Posters…

D&D Showcase presenters are asked to prepare simple posters to help people visualize the program, tool, concept, or project they’re presenting. Watch the video above to get a sense of what has been created for past Showcase events. Note that we would prefer Showcase presenters to pare down and simplify their posters this year if possible, as participants don’t do much reading during the Showcase!

You can purchase a bi-fold foam board like this one at Amazon ($13), which is 15″ by 20″ closed, and 30″ by 20″ open. This fits in most suitcases, and you can always cut off an inch or so from the ends if you’re just bringing a carry-on and it’s snug.

If you’re local or willing to ship the board, you may want to purchase a larger tri-fold foam display board like this one at Staples ($15).

Prepare your poster in advance of the conference on the display board. If you choose a board that’s too large for your suitcase, you can ship it to yourself at the hotel so it arrives no later than October 16th.

Your poster content may consist of one large sheet of paper, or you can tack up multiple sheets of smaller paper, photos, diagrams, and cut-outs. The text on your poster should be kept simple, with very large type and very short phrases. Your poster should NOT consist mainly of pasted-up pages of small type! The main purpose of your poster is to let people know at a glance what your Showcase topic is. People should be able to quickly discern your message and determine whether they need to learn more or move on.

If you want, the poster can be a visual map that helps you walk through the story of your tool, concept or program. But still, try to keep it visually simple.

All D&D Showcase presenters are conference attendees, so must register for the conference.