Category Archives: public participation

Democratic-Renewal News Site Launches – TheFulcrum.US

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It’s a big week of website launches for the dialogue, deliberation, and engagement community! In case you missed it, Participedia launched their new Wikipedia-like website for resources related to civic engagement and democratic innovation earlier this week. A new site launched yesterday called The Fulcrum, a digital publication that will serve as a news source for national efforts going on that strengthen American democracy. Our field knows there is great work going on across the country to improve the quality and state of our democratic republic, and this site is a great amplifier to spread awareness for this work! Check out the press release below shared with us via the team at The Fulcrum and we encourage you to contribute to this premier news source.

News Release: TheFulcrum.US Launches

Today we are launching the only news site dedicated exclusively to covering the community of people and organizations seeking to improve American democracy.

The Fulcrum is a hub of original reporting, coverage from around the country, opinion and more for readers seeking to learn about efforts to strengthen American democracy.

The Fulcrum is staffed by award-winning journalists who report on the efforts to make our democratic republic less tribal, our elections more competitive, our politicians less beholden to moneyed interests, and our officials more attentive to real evidence in policy-making so Congress may become more effective, ethical and civil.

The Fulcrum follows these issues exclusively, like no other news site. We track efforts to help government be more responsive to the Americans who want these changes. Our team decodes behaviors threatening (or protecting) the principles of the Constitution. Most importantly, we explain how you can get involved and why our democracy depends on it.

“We’re thrilled to launch The Fulcrum during this time of intense interest in fixing our country’s political system,” says Publisher and Executive Editor David Meyers, who previously held a number of senior roles at CQ Roll Call. “The data clearly shows that people care about these issues and through The Fulcrum we will help them better understand what is happening, who is doing the work and how to better connect.”

The Fulcrum’s nonpartisan political reform coverage began in December 2018 with the email newsletter known as The Firewall. Its popularity has grown, and it is now available under The Fulcrum brand, as well as our robust website filled with the latest reform-related news and opinion pieces from leaders of the reform movement. The readership includes reformers, philanthropists, reporters, editors and the general public.

While rooting for the political system to strengthen, The Fulcrum’s journalistic role is to bring a clear and unbiased eye to the debates. Doing so requires freedom from partisanship and journalistic independence from those supporting our mission. So while we are incubated by Issue One, which describes itself as “the leading cross-partisan political reform group in Washington,” we are editorially independent of Issue One and its funders.

“American democracy has become fundamentally challenged since I started covering D.C. 30 years ago, decoding policy and politics for voters,” says Editor in Chief David Hawkings, most recently senior editor at CQ Roll Call. “I’m passionate about the need for more clear-eyed, unbiased reporting that boosts understanding of the dysfunction that is threatening our collective future. We’re working together to illuminate the efforts to help our government serve the people.”

The Fulcrum was conceptualized by Issue One Founder and CEO Nick Penniman who says, “Across the country, Americans are more eager than ever to fix our broken political system. The Fulcrum will highlight the people, organizations, and efforts that are doing this work. Renewing our republic for the next generation requires all hands on deck, and the Fulcrum will be the destination site for change-makers working to strengthen our democracy. Issue One has been proud to conceive and sponsor this project. We look forward to seeing it flourish under the leadership of veteran political journalists David Meyers and David Hawkings.”

The Fulcrum is funded by the Hewlett Foundation, the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, Arnold Ventures and the Lizzie and Jonathan M. Tisch Foundation.

You’re invited to visit our new website, and subscribe to our newsletter, on TheFulcrum.US.

Please connect with us:

Twitter – https://twitter.com/fulcrum_us

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheFulcrum.US

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/14036411

David Hawkings has been a reporter, editor and columnist focused on the policies, politics and people of Congress for three decades. Most recently he was the senior editor of CQ Roll Call, wrote the “Hawkings Here” column, and hosted a series of videos and podcasts dubbed “Roll Call Decoder.” He is a regular guest on Fox News, Federal News Radio and Newsy and has appeared as an analyst on CNN, MSNBC and NPR. Follow David Hawkings on Twitter.

David Meyers has spent the past two decades immersed in political media. He was most recently vice president of business operations for CQ Roll Call, and prior to that was the organization’s vice president of research and content development. Meyers served as director of StateTrack, managing editor for Roll Call, and ran the day-to-day newsroom operations and led development of RollCall.com. He served as president of the Washington Press Club Foundation from July 2013 through June 2015. Follow David Meyers on Twitter.

Nick Penniman is the founder and CEO of Issue One, the leading cross-partisan political reform group in Washington that unites Republicans, Democrats, and independents in the movement to fix our broken political system. He co-authored “Nation on the Take” in 2016 and was previously the founder and executive director of the Huffington Post Investigative Fund, Washington director of the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy and publisher of Washington Monthly.

You can check out The Fulcrum site at www.thefulcrum.us/.

Participedia.net Launches New Website – Contribute Now!

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The good folks at Participedia shared with us an exciting announcement – the launch of their newly revamped open collaboration website! The new Participedia.net site operates in a similar way as Wikipedia and is open for anyone to add resources related to civic engagement and democratic innovation. We encourage you to peruse the fresh site and contribute to it! You can read the announcement below and find the original version on Participedia’s Medium site here. And since we’re on the subject of collaborative efforts, we want to offer a final reminder to join for today’s free Confab call on using Slack for connecting and building a democratic movement – register here!

Crowdsourcing Participatory Democracy

Starting today, the @ParticipediaProject will use Medium as our primary news channel. We will share relevant content about participatory democracy around the world, generated by and for our community of academics, practitioners, and engaged citizens, and we invite you join us.

As our premiere Medium post we’re excited to announce the launch of our newly redesigned, open source, open edit website: Participedia.net! We’ll give you a sense of what the Participedia Project is all about and what makes it relevant in today’s global context, and how our open source and participatory approach to website design created new opportunities for collaboration and impact.

Known as ‘the Wikipedia of public participation’, Participedia content is created, edited, and accessed by anyone on the internet as part of the Creative Commons. Our new website is designed to inform and inspire policymakers, community organizers, and citizens. We are a resource for anyone interested in the new forms of civic engagement and democratic innovation being developed around the world.

The content published by our community of users reflects important global issues. The Citizens Assembly on Brexit case entry highlights the use of deliberative public engagement on a complex and polarizing issue, and Girls at Dhabas highlights a grassroots initiative that leverages social media to empower women and non-binary individuals in Pakistan. You too can help to collaboratively document the global phenomenon of public participation by joining the community at Participedia.net, where nearly 2000 entries have already been published and edited by close to 3000 users.

Our new website is being developed using open source, transparent, and participatory methods, and has created new opportunities for collaboration and experimentation that span political and geographic boundaries. For example, the Privy Council Office of Canada discovered and engaged with Participedia on Github, a platform for open source development where our new code and ongoing design process is available publicly. The resulting collaboration will use Participedia to document case studies of public engagement conducted by the Canadian Government. As well, student computer scientists in the UK connected with our developers while prototyping new tools for the platform using our open source API. In addition to other new features for the website that will soon be released, a tech-driven engagement plan for localization is in place that will connect and empower our community to translate site content into multiple languages, and share knowledge and resources in a more accessible and inclusive way.

Participedia is made possible by a Partnership Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The project was founded by principal investigator Dr Mark Warren of the University of British Columbia and co-investigator Dr Archon Fung of Harvard University’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. The new Participedia website was designed by the project’s Design & Technology Team, led by Amber Frid-Jimenez, Canada Research Chair in art and design technology and director of the Studio for Extensive Aesthetics at Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

Join Us!

Website: Participedia.net

Facebook: Facebook.com/Participedia

Twitter: @Participedia

Linkedin: Linkedin.com/company/Participedia

Github: Github.com/participedia

Medium: medium.com/@participediaproject

You can find the original version of this announcement on the Participedia Medium site at https://medium.com/@participediaproject/crowdsourcing-participatory-democracy-4ffe11116e84.

NCDD Confab Tomorrow and More D&D Events Upcoming

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Kicking off this Wednesday’s webinar roundup with an enthusiastic reminder to join our Confab call tomorrow! This free call is co-hosted with the Bridge Alliance and will explore using the collaborative platform, Slack, for D&D movement building. We’d love for folks who have used Slack or are still currently using it to join the call and share their experience. The call is tomorrow, June 6th from 2-3 pm Eastern, 11 am-12 pm Pacific. Learn more and register to save your spot here!

Make sure you check out these additional great learning opportunities related to dialogue, deliberation, and civic engagement work! This week’s roundup features events from NCDD sponsor org The Courageous Leadership Project, NCDD member organizations Living Room Conversations and MetroQuest, as well as, from the Tamarack Institute, International Association of Facilitators (IAF), International Associate for Public Participation (IAP2), and more.

NCDD’s online D&D event roundup is a weekly compilation of the upcoming events happening in the digital world related to dialogue, deliberation, civic tech, engagement work, and more! Do you have a webinar or other digital event coming up that you’d like to share with the NCDD network? Please let us know in the comments section below or by emailing me at keiva[at]ncdd[dot]org, because we’d love to add it to the list!

Upcoming Online D&D Events: NCDD June Confab, Courageous Leadership Project, MetroQuest, Living Room Conversations, Tamarack, IAF, IAP2, and more!

NCDD & Bridge Alliance June Confab on Using Slack for D&D Movement Building

Confab bubble image

Thursday, June 6th
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

We are excited to co-host another Confab Call at the beginning of June, this time with our friends at the Bridge Alliance to explore the use of the collaboration tool, Slack. On this free call, we will discuss the capabilities of the platform for movement building around civic action and learn more about the development of Bridge Alliance’s new joint project, the Democracy Movement Slack Forum.

REGISTER: http://ncdd.org/29763

Play-in-Action in the Public Sphere: Play, Development and Social Justice

Thursday, June 6th
9 am Pacific, 12 pm Eastern

In June, the Play, Development and Social Justice series will feature the work of practitioners and activists in the areas of afterschool development, civic engagement, and equity of access to the benefits of play. The conversation will explore how play is successfully creating grassroots cultures of creativity, inclusion and democracy. International play scholar and activist Carrie Lobman will be joined by Antoine Joyce, who creates environments for wealthy business people, elected officials, inner city youth and police officers to play together in Dallas; Don Waisanen who is pioneering the use of improvisation and play at the university and in the political arena; and Danielle Marshall who uses play as a vehicle to drive social-emotional learning, teach conflict negotiation, and build community in schools for 20,000 children in Maryland.

REGISTER: https://conta.cc/2GNuYXp?fbclid=IwAR2hGAp5D_ubwu9dKoLUKv8BbVI0rilRTv1u-zdUqnK5QFc_iAVA9ip7ZgY

Online Living Room Conversation – Women, Leadership and Power: 90-Minute Conversation w/ Optional 30-Minute Bonus Round!

Thursday, June 6th
4 pm Pacific, 7 pm Eastern

Women are increasingly sought out and encouraged to assume leadership positions in many walks of life, from business to community organizations to politics. While some call for further changes towards greater equality, others raise cautions about erasing any gender distinctions in an attempt to “make everything the same.” Are there ways the further expansion of women’s rights can complement traditional structures in society or are they destined to be at war? This broad topic on women and leadership can lead to many other conversations. Check out the conversation guide.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/women-leadership-and-power-90-minute-conversation-w-optional-30-minute-bonus-round/

Tamarack Webinar – Bridging the Gap: Repairing Relationships for Stronger Community Engagement

Tuesday, June 11th
10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern

Most of us recognize the need for and importance of engaging the communities we serve. Working to uphold the slogan, “nothing about us without us”, we might try to engage communities as much as possible. But engagement is a two-way street, and people who work in institutions and organizations sometimes find that the communities they hope to engage are hesitant or even resistant to engage. This can often be true when the relationship between institutions and communities is damaged, or where there is a lack of trust in the organization’s ability to engage in an open and honest way. With that in mind, what might those of us who work in institutions and organizations do? Through this webinar Lisa Attygalle and Galen MacLusky, Tamarack’s Directors of Community Engagement and Community Innovation will explore our thoughts on this issue, drawing upon our experiences in supporting community engagement across North America.

REGISTER: https://events.tamarackcommunity.ca/webinar-bridging-the-gap-repairing-relationships-stronger-community-engagement

IAP2 Monthly Webinar – Diversity and Inclusion in P2

Tuesday, June 11th
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

Carrie McIntosh’s session explores five key lessons learned from working with small communities on BC’s west coast. From closed Facebook groups that house rampant rumour mills, to client frustration that threatens to derail well-intentioned strategies, this session explores them all with a dose of humour. Participants will walk away with a list of practical steps they can take to create meaningful engagement outcomes for their clients and the communities they serve. Read the session description from the 2018 IAP2 North American Conference here.

REGISTER: https://iap2usa.org/event-3076943

The Courageous Leadership Project webinar – Brave, Honest Conversations™

Wednesday, June 12th
9 am Pacific, 12 pm Eastern

Some conversations are hard to have. Fear and discomfort build in your body and you avoid and procrastinate or pretend everything is fine. Sometimes you rush in with urgency, wanting to smooth things over, fix them, and make them better. Sometimes you go to battle stations, positioning the conversation so you have a higher chance of being on the “winning” side. NONE OF THIS WORKS. Instead, it usually makes a hard conversation harder; more divided, polarized, and disconnected from others. The more people involved, the harder the conversation can be. I believe that brave, honest conversations are how we solve the problems we face in our world – together.

In this webinar, we will cover: What is a Brave, Honest Conversation™? Why have one? What can change because of a brave, honest conversation? How do you have one? What do you need to think about and do? How do you prepare yourself for a brave, honest conversation?

REGISTER: www.bravelylead.com/events/bhcfreewebinar

MetroQuest webinar – Millennials to Boomers | How MDOT Involved 6,300 for Its LRTP

Wednesday, June 12th
11 am Pacific | 12 pm Mountain | 1 pm Central | 2 pm Eastern (1 hour)
Educational Credit Available (APA AICP CM)
Complimentary (FREE)

Is traditional public involvement getting old? While transportation matters to residents of all ages, few attend public meetings. That’s why Michigan DOT went online to engage the broader public when it began working on a completely new state long range transportation plan (SLRTP).

Times are changing. On June 12th, find out how Michigan DOT and WSP joined forces to engage 6,300 people to uncover their evolving transportation priorities for the Michigan Mobility 2045 SLRTP. Join Shane Peck, Anita Richardson, Brad Sharlow, and Kyle Haller as they share what they learned about public preferences for modal tradeoffs, infrastructure investments, intelligent technologies, and transit

REGISTER: http://go.metroquest.com/Millennials-to-Boomers-How-MDOTs-LRTP-Involved-6300.html

Training (free): The Nuts & Bolts of Living Room Conversations

Thursday, June 13th
2 pm Pacific, 5 pm Eastern

Join us for 60 minutes online to learn about Living Room Conversations. We’ll cover what a Living Room Conversation is, why we have them, and everything you need to know to get started hosting and/or participating in Living Room Conversations. This training is not required for participating in our conversations – we simply offer it for people who want to learn more about the Living Room Conversations practice. Space is limited to 12 people so that we can offer a more interactive experience. Please only RSVP if you are 100% certain that you can attend.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/training-free-the-nuts-bolts-of-living-room-conversations-11/

Online Living Room Conversation: The Power of Empathy: 90-Minute Conversation w/ Optional 30-Minute Bonus Round!

Thursday, June 13th
4 pm Pacific, 7 pm Eastern

Empathy goes beyond concern or sympathy. Empathy is stepping into the shoes of another with the intention to better understand and feel what they are experiencing. The power of empathy can bridge our “us vs. them” perceptions and lead to new solutions, improved relationships, better strategies for social change, reduction in loneliness, and realization of our shared human needs and oneness. This conversation is about sharing experiences giving, receiving, and observing empathy. Here is the conversation guide.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/the-power-of-empathy-90-minute-conversation-w-optional-30-minute-bonus-round/

International Association of Facilitators webinar – Sharing IAF Brand Best Practices

Friday, June 14th
9 am Pacific, 12 pm Eastern

Sharing IAF Brand Best Practices is a webinar to get inspired by the many ways members, chapters and events are branding their Facilitation Activities.

REGISTER: www.iaf-world.org/site/events/sharing-iaf-brand-best-practices-0

International Association of Facilitators webinar – Becoming a CPF with the IAF

Wednesday, June 19th
8 am Pacific, 11 am Eastern

Making the decision to seek the IAF Certified™ Professional Facilitator (CPF) accreditation can be hard. Common questions people ask are What’s involved? How much time will it take? Will I meet the requirements? and What if I don’t pass? In response to strong interest from members, we will be exploring these questions at a webinar with hosts that have years of experience as professional facilitators and as IAF Assessors.

REGISTER: www.iaf-world.org/site/events/webinar-becoming-cpf-iaf-9

Lots of New Jobs & Internships in Dialogue & Deliberation!

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Did you know that every week we compile the hottest new jobs and internships related to dialogue, deliberation, civic tech, and public engagement work?! We work to stay up on the most recent opportunities and send them out at the beginning of the week on our Making-A-Living listserv.

While the Making-A-Living listserv is a benefit of being an NCDD member, we have been finding such a robust line-up of jobs and internships that we wanted to lift these up here on the blog. If you’d like to receive these weekly updates and are an NCDD member, sign up for the Making-A-Living listserv here. If you are not a member of NCDD, then we strongly encourage you to join so you can receive the most up-to-date positions we find! Learn more about the additional benefits of being an NCDD member by clicking here.

Remember if your org is hiring or seeking interns, to let us know by sending the postings to keiva[at]ncdd[dot]org. Good luck to all applicants!

Weekly List of New D&D Job & Internship Opportunities – May 30, 2019

* NEW – National Civic League looking to hire Civic Engagement Program Director (in Denver office). Read more here.

* NEW – Participatory Budgeting Project is seeking a Development Manager (in New York City or Oakland). Read more: https://www.participatorybudgeting.org/jobs-and-internships/

* NEW – Ethelo Decisions is hiring for a Sales Manager (Vancouver, BC). Read more: https://ethelo.com/blog/sales-manager/

* NEW – Social Pinpoint seeking New Sales Coordinator – Canada/USA (Remote). Read more: https://www.socialpinpoint.com/sales-coordinator-us-ca/

Community Water Center hiring for several positions in their Visalia CA office. Read more: https://www.communitywatercenter.org/careers

  • * NEW – Water Leadership Strategist
  • Community Organizer
  • Administrative Assistant

Generation Citizen is hiring for several positions – read more: https://generationcitizen.org/join-us/careers-internships/

  • * NEW – Program Manager, Massachusetts
  • Senior Director of Development Strategy (in either San Francisco, New York, or Boston)
  • Associate of Finance & Operations
  • Development OneStar VISTA (in Austin, TX)
  • Social Media and Digital Marketing Fellow (in either San Francisco, New York, or Boston)

RepresentUS is hiring for several positions – read more: https://represent.us/careers/

  • * NEW – Campaign Director
  • * NEW – Senior Campaign Director
  • Associate Administrative Director
  • Data Analyst
  • National Media Strategist
  • Online Campaigner
  • Organizer
  • VP of Development
  • Organizing Intern (Summer 2019)

Ag Innovations seeking for two positions in Sebastopol, CA. Read more: http://www.aginnovations.org/about/careers

  • * NEW – Office Coordinator
  • Senior Facilitator

**ICYMI – below are the positions we shared recently!

Democracy Fund is hiring for several positions below (in DC) – read more: https://www.democracyfund.org/page/jobs

  • Accounting Manager
  • DEI Fellow
  • Director of Partnerships
  • Director of People
  • Grant Associate
  • Program Associate, Elections and Voting
  • Senior Advisor Government Accountability
  • Senior Associate, Public Square Program
  • Staff Accountant
  • Communications and Network Internship (Summer 2019)
  • Elections Program Internship (Summer 2019)
  • Governance Program Internship (Summer 2019)
  • Legal Fellow (Summer 2019)
  • Public Square Program Internship (Summer 2019)
  • Strategy, Impact, and Learning Internship (Summer 2019)

Democracy Works has several positions and internships available (various locations). Read more: https://www.democracy.works/current-openings

  • Engineering Manager
  • Chief Technology Officer

BetaNYC is looking to hire a full-time Public Interest Technologist / Civic Hacker. Read more: https://beta.nyc/2019/05/13/job-opening-public-interest-technologist-civic-hacker/

CivicStory is hiring for a News Project Manager (in New Jersey). Read more: https://www.civicstory.org/press-release-srh-project-manager

EnviroIssues is seeking Project Coordinator candidates to support projects at their Seattle and Portland offices. Read more here

Knight Foundation looking to hire for several positions. Read more: https://knightfoundation.org/about/employment/

  • Detriot Director
  • Executive Assistant to VP of Journalism (Miami)

Change Research is seeking a part-time Operations and Sales Support Specialist in their Berkeley, CA office. Read more here.

JLA Public Involvement is looking to hire for two positions in their Portland office:

Net Impact runs a jobs-internship board at https://www.netimpact.org/jobs.

Democracy Fund’s electiononline has LOTS of positions in various cities across the country. Read more: https://electionline.org/jobs-marketplace/

Careers in Government has several engagement & communication-related opportunities. Use the keyword search at https://www.careersingovernment.com/.

Find value in what you see here? Please consider supporting our work through a tax-deductible donation and/or becoming an NCDD member (see more benefits here!).  We appreciate any contributions offered. Thank you for your support!

Wednesday Webinar Roundup Ft June Confab & Many More!

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There are a lot of fantastic online events happening related to dialogue, deliberation, and civic engagement work; so moving forward we are going to start sharing the events happening two weeks out to give folks extra time to plan! This week’s roundup features events from NCDD sponsor org The Courageous Leadership Project, NCDD member organizations Living Room Conversations, National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI), and MetroQuest, as well as, from the Tamarack Institute, International Association of Facilitators (IAF) and International Associate for Public Participation (IAP2).

As we mentioned last week, we have a great upcoming Confab planned with Bridge Alliance to explore how Slack can be used for collaboration and network building in the Democratic movement. Join us next Thursday, June 6th from 2-3 pm Eastern, 11 am-12 pm Pacific for this free call! We’d love for folks who have used Slack or are still currently using it to join the call and share their experience. Learn more and register to save your spot here!

NCDD’s online D&D event roundup is a weekly compilation of the upcoming events happening in the digital world related to dialogue, deliberation, civic tech, engagement work, and more! Do you have a webinar or other digital event coming up that you’d like to share with the NCDD network? Please let us know in the comments section below or by emailing me at keiva[at]ncdd[dot]org, because we’d love to add it to the list!

Upcoming Online D&D Events: NCDD June Confab, Courageous Leadership Project, MetroQuest, Living Room Conversations, NIFI, IAF, Tamarack, IAP2, and more!

NCDD & Bridge Alliance June Confab on Using Slack for D&D Movement Building

Confab bubble image

Thursday, June 6th
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

We are excited to co-host another Confab Call at the beginning of June, this time with our friends at the Bridge Alliance to explore the use of the collaboration tool, Slack. On this free call, we will discuss the capabilities of the platform for movement building around civic action and learn more about the development of Bridge Alliance’s new joint project, the Democracy Movement Slack Forum.

REGISTER: http://ncdd.org/29763

Online Living Room Conversation – Food: 90-Minute Conversation with Optional 30-Minute Bonus Round!

Thursday, May 30th
4 pm Pacific, 7 pm Eastern

Food is life itself. Food is sensual. Food can be used to manipulate. Food can be used to shame. Food can be used to show love. Food can be a sign of status. Food can be political. Does this make you hungry for more? In this conversation, we explore our personal relationship with food and the societal implications from individual choices. Check out the conversation guide.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/food-90-minute-conversation-with-optional-30-minute-bonus-round/

NIFI June CGA Forum Series: A House Divided

Tuesday, June 4th
11:30 am Pacific, 2:30 pm Eastern

We’ll be talking about how to fix our broken political system in three different options: (1) Reduce dangerous, toxic talk: The problem is that the way we talk is poisoning public life. The “outrage industry” rewards people for saying and doing the most extreme things; (2) Make fairer rules for politics and follow them: The problem is that wealthy, powerful special interests game the political system, making it impossible to find compromise; (3) Take control and make decisions closer to home: The problem is that our most important decisions are being made too far away from home.

REGISTER: www.nifi.org/en/events

International Association of Facilitators webinar – Social Inclusion Facilitators online meet-up

Wednesday, June 5th
6 am Pacific, 9 am Eastern

The Social Inclusion Facilitators Special Interest Group would like to invite all facilitators who are engaged in Diversity and Inclusion  or Social Inclusion work to our first virtual meet-up in order to share experiences, challenges and good practices. For more information about the group, please check our page on the website – https://www.iaf-world.org/site/chapters/social-inclusion-facilitators

REGISTER: www.iaf-world.org/site/events/social-inclusion-facilitators-online-meet

Play-in-Action in the Public Sphere: Play, Development and Social Justice

Thursday, June 6th
9 am Pacific, 12 pm Eastern

In June, the Play, Development and Social Justice series will feature the work of practitioners and activists in the areas of afterschool development, civic engagement, and equity of access to the benefits of play. The conversation will explore how play is successfully creating grassroots cultures of creativity, inclusion and democracy. International play scholar and activist Carrie Lobman will be joined by Antoine Joyce, who creates environments for wealthy business people, elected officials, inner city youth and police officers to play together in Dallas; Don Waisanen who is pioneering the use of improvisation and play at the university and in the political arena; and Danielle Marshall who uses play as a vehicle to drive social-emotional learning, teach conflict negotiation, and build community in schools for 20,000 children in Maryland.

REGISTER: https://conta.cc/2GNuYXp?fbclid=IwAR2hGAp5D_ubwu9dKoLUKv8BbVI0rilRTv1u-zdUqnK5QFc_iAVA9ip7ZgY

Online Living Room Conversation – Women, Leadership and Power: 90-Minute Conversation w/ Optional 30-Minute Bonus Round!

Thursday, June 6th
4 pm Pacific, 7 pm Eastern

Women are increasingly sought out and encouraged to assume leadership positions in many walks of life, from business to community organizations to politics. While some call for further changes towards greater equality, others raise cautions about erasing any gender distinctions in an attempt to “make everything the same.” Are there ways the further expansion of women’s rights can complement traditional structures in society or are they destined to be at war? This broad topic on women and leadership can lead to many other conversations. Check out the conversation guide.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/women-leadership-and-power-90-minute-conversation-w-optional-30-minute-bonus-round/

Tamarack Webinar – Bridging the Gap: Repairing Relationships for Stronger Community Engagement

Tuesday, June 11th
10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern

Most of us recognize the need for and importance of engaging the communities we serve. Working to uphold the slogan, “nothing about us without us”, we might try to engage communities as much as possible. But engagement is a two-way street, and people who work in institutions and organizations sometimes find that the communities they hope to engage are hesitant or even resistant to engage. This can often be true when the relationship between institutions and communities is damaged, or where there is a lack of trust in the organization’s ability to engage in an open and honest way. With that in mind, what might those of us who work in institutions and organizations do? Through this webinar Lisa Attygalle and Galen MacLusky, Tamarack’s Directors of Community Engagement and Community Innovation will explore our thoughts on this issue, drawing upon our experiences in supporting community engagement across North America.

REGISTER: https://events.tamarackcommunity.ca/webinar-bridging-the-gap-repairing-relationships-stronger-community-engagement

IAP2 Monthly Webinar – Diversity and Inclusion in P2

Tuesday, June 11th
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

Carrie McIntosh’s session explores five key lessons learned from working with small communities on BC’s west coast. From closed Facebook groups that house rampant rumour mills, to client frustration that threatens to derail well-intentioned strategies, this session explores them all with a dose of humour. Participants will walk away with a list of practical steps they can take to create meaningful engagement outcomes for their clients and the communities they serve. Read the session description from the 2018 IAP2 North American Conference here.

REGISTER: https://iap2usa.org/event-3076943

The Courageous Leadership Project webinar – Brave, Honest Conversations™

Wednesday, June 12th
9 am Pacific, 12 pm Eastern

Some conversations are hard to have. Fear and discomfort build in your body and you avoid and procrastinate or pretend everything is fine. Sometimes you rush in with urgency, wanting to smooth things over, fix them, and make them better. Sometimes you go to battle stations, positioning the conversation so you have a higher chance of being on the “winning” side. NONE OF THIS WORKS. Instead, it usually makes a hard conversation harder; more divided, polarized, and disconnected from others. The more people involved, the harder the conversation can be. I believe that brave, honest conversations are how we solve the problems we face in our world – together.

In this webinar, we will cover: What is a Brave, Honest Conversation™? Why have one? What can change because of a brave, honest conversation? How do you have one? What do you need to think about and do? How do you prepare yourself for a brave, honest conversation?

REGISTER: www.bravelylead.com/events/bhcfreewebinar

MetroQuest webinar – Millennials to Boomers | How MDOT Involved 6,300 for Its LRTP

Wednesday, June 12th
11 am Pacific | 12 pm Mountain | 1 pm Central | 2 pm Eastern (1 hour)
Educational Credit Available (APA AICP CM)
Complimentary (FREE)

Is traditional public involvement getting old? While transportation matters to residents of all ages, few attend public meetings. That’s why Michigan DOT went online to engage the broader public when it began working on a completely new state long range transportation plan (SLRTP).

Times are changing. On June 12th, find out how Michigan DOT and WSP joined forces to engage 6,300 people to uncover their evolving transportation priorities for the Michigan Mobility 2045 SLRTP. Join Shane Peck, Anita Richardson, Brad Sharlow, and Kyle Haller as they share what they learned about public preferences for modal tradeoffs, infrastructure investments, intelligent technologies, and transit

REGISTER: http://go.metroquest.com/Millennials-to-Boomers-How-MDOTs-LRTP-Involved-6300.html

Jefferson Center Launches New Series on Citizen Juries

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Our friends at The Jefferson Center, an NCDD Sponsoring member organization, recently shared an article on their site which offers a fantastic overview of Citizen Juries, that we wanted to repost here. The piece by Annie Pottroff answers some of the most frequently asked questions about the public engagement method, which was started in 1971 by Jefferson Center founder Ned Crosby. This is the initial post in the new blog series by The Jefferson Center to continue to dive into the Citizen Jury process – so stay tuned for more! You can read the article below and find the original piece here.

What exactly is a Citizens Jury, anyway?

We talk a lot about Citizens Juries at the Jefferson Center. After all, they were invented by our founder, Ned Crosby, in 1971. We believe they can help restore trust in democracy around the world. And they give everyday people the knowledge, resources, and time they need to create powerful solutions to our biggest challenges.

But what is a Citizens Jury? How do they work? Who’s involved? In this blog series, we’ll explore some of our most frequently asked questions, starting with Citizens Jury basics.

What is a Citizens Jury?

A Citizens Jury is a public engagement method that provides individuals with the opportunity to learn about an issue, deliberate together with a diverse group of their peers, and develop well-informed solutions to the given issue.

Juries also allows decision makers and the broader public to know what people really think once they have the opportunity to study an issue closely and weigh different options and perspectives.

Citizens Juries are typically composed of around 18-24 citizens who have been randomly selected to represent the demographics of the larger community.

Over a number of weekends, one week, or a few days, we provide the group with background information from expert speakers and stakeholders to inform their conversations. With this information in mind, Jurors deliberate and craft recommendations through dialogue and voting, which are then published and delivered to the public and decision makers.

Who are the “citizens?”

Citizen Jury participants are randomly selected to represent a specific population. For example, in the Willmar Community Assembly, participants represented their community of Willmar, Minnesota.

We invite citizens to apply to participate in the Jury via postcards, posters, direct community outreach, social media, local employment websites, and more. Citizens are selected to participate through stratified random sampling, often based on the age, race, gender, education, and socioeconomic background statistics of the target population. These criteria can slightly vary depending on the Jury. The population a Citizens Jury represents can range anywhere from a small town to an entire country.

Why might a Citizens Jury be used on an issue?

Citizens Juries are an important tool for decision-makers, organizations, and communities to use when faced with a particularly challenging issue. Often these issues are complex, technical, divisive, and can’t be resolved in a short amount of time, such as nuclear storage or climate change adaptation. Most individuals don’t have the opportunity, time, or energy in their daily lives to study these tough issues, understand the nuances, and form a strong opinion, making it difficult for decision-makers to know how the public really thinks. As a result, officials often make decisions based on their own assessment and the loudest voices in the room.

But at a Citizens Jury, participants learn more about the issue from experts and stakeholders, discuss different perspectives and considerations with their peers, and work together to create recommendations. This gives individuals the chance to confront the big challenges usually left to decision makers. Their conversations surface new ideas and overlooked problems, leading to more representative, informed, and powerful solutions.

How do you evaluate the success of a Citizens Jury?

Are Citizens Juries all the same?

Juries are specifically designed for the issue or problem at hand, and they can vary according to:

  • Number of Jury participants
  • Number of actual Juries per project
  • Jury topic
  • Target Jury community
  • Final report audience

Want to learn more about how to conduct a Citizens Jury and how to collaborate with us? Let us know below or contact us!

You can find the original version of this article on The Jefferson Center blog at www.jefferson-center.org/2019/05/what-exactly-is-a-citizens-jury-anyway/.

Weekly Online D&D Roundup – June Confab Announced!

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This week’s roundup features webinars from NCDD member organizations MetroQuest, National Civic League, Living Room Conversations, and National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI), as well as, from the International Association of Facilitators and Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC).

We’re excited to include the announcement of our upcoming Confab call on Thursday, June 6th, where we’ve teamed up with Bridge Alliance to explore how Slack can be used for collaboration and network building in the Democratic movement. We’d love for folks who have used Slack or are still currently using it to join the call and share their experience. Learn more and register to save your spot for this free call here!

NCDD’s online D&D event roundup is a weekly compilation of the upcoming events happening in the digital world related to dialogue, deliberation, civic tech, engagement work, and more! Do you have a webinar or other digital event coming up that you’d like to share with the NCDD network? Please let us know in the comments section below or by emailing me at keiva[at]ncdd[dot]org, because we’d love to add it to the list!

Upcoming Online D&D Events: Nat’l Civic League, MetroQuest, Living Room Conversations, NIFI, GPPAC

MetroQuest webinar – Cleaning Up Toxic Public Discourse for Meaningful Engagement

Wednesday, May 22nd
11 am Pacific | 12 pm Mountain | 1 pm Central | 2 pm Eastern (1 hour)
Educational Credit Available (APA AICP CM)
Complimentary (FREE)

Are you facing increasing contention in your public engagement processes? You’re not alone. Planners and public engagement practitioners across the country increasingly find themselves on the front lines of highly polarized debates and misinformation campaigns. There’s a fix! You’re invited to this special webinar with James Hoggan – a world leading authority on the topic. James will share what’s causing increased polarization and offer ways to detoxify public engagement. A renowned author and speaker, James literally wrote the book on it.

REGISTER: http://go.metroquest.com/james-hoggan-on-cleaning-up-toxic-public-discourse-for-meaningful-engagement.html

International Association of Facilitators webinar – Becoming a CPF with the IAF

Wednesday, May 22nd
1:30 pm Pacific, 4:30 pm Eastern

Making the decision to seek the IAF Certified™ Professional Facilitator (CPF) accreditation can be hard. Common questions people ask are What’s involved? How much time will it take? Will I meet the requirements? and What if I don’t pass? In response to strong interest from members, we will be exploring these questions at a webinar with hosts that have years of experience as professional facilitators and as IAF Assessors.

REGISTER: www.iaf-world.org/site/events/webinar-becoming-cpf-iaf-8

National Civic League AAC Promising Practices Webinar – Equitable and Collaborative Economic Development

Thursday, May 23rd
10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern

Join the National Civic League to learn about two communities that are being mindful about collaboration and equity in their economic development projects. Ubax Gardheere, Equity Strategies Manager at the City of Seattle’s Office of Planning & Community Development will speak about Seattle’s approach to equitable development. Kevin Mitchell, Town Engineer in the Town of Mount Pleasant’s Planning and Engineering Department will talk about the town’s collaborative Shem Creek Revitalization project which ensured that the waterfront was accessible to all residents.

REGISTER: www.nationalcivicleague.org/resource-center/promising-practices/

Online Living Room Conversation: Peace Building in the United States

Thursday, May 23rd
12:30 pm Pacific, 3:30 pm Eastern

The US has in many ways always been a divided society, but what is causing fierce political, social and ethnic divides in the United States today? Hate crimes and hate groups are increasingly visible, and political leaders are using ethnic identity, socio-economic identity — and an “us v. them” mentality — to create fear and increase polarization. How did we get here and what are the peacebuilding solutions for a country that has long been considered the world’s most stable democracy? Check out the conversation guide.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-peace-building-in-the-united-states-2/

Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) webinar – Peace Education: Experiences on 13 years of “Peace School”, Mexico

Thursday, May 23rd
7 am Pacific, 10 am Eastern

In this webinar, peace education expert Diana Lepe Sanchez will share lessons learned from the project Escuela de Paz (Peace School). As part of the project, workshops were given for activists and human rights defenders from all over Mexico on a method for conflict analysis and conflict transformation.

REGISTER: www.gppac.net/peace-education-webinar-series

CGA Forum on Americas Energy Future: How Can We Take Charge?

Monday, May 27th
10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern

Please join us for a Common Ground for Action (CGA) online deliberative forum on Monday May 27th @ 1:00pm ET/10:00am PST on ” Americas Energy Future: How Can We Take Charge?” If you’ve never participated in a CGA forum, please watch the “How To Participate” video before joining. If you haven’t had a chance to review the issue guide, you can find a downloadable PDF copy at the NIF website: https://www.nifi.org/es/issue-guide/americas-energy-future

REGISTER: www.nifi.org/en/events/cga-forum-americas-energy-future-how-can-we-take-charge

NCDD June Confab on Using Slack for D&D Movement Building

Confab bubble image

Thursday, June 6th
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

We are excited to co-host another Confab Call at the beginning of June, this time with our friends at the Bridge Alliance to explore the use of the collaboration tool, Slack. On this free call, we will discuss the capabilities of the platform for movement building around civic action and learn more about the development of Bridge Alliance’s new joint project, the Democracy Movement Slack Forum.

REGISTER: http://ncdd.org/29763

D&D Online Events Feat NCL, MetroQuest, NIFI & more!

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This week’s roundup features webinars from NCDD member orgs National Civic League, MetroQuest, National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI), and Living Room Conversations, as well as, from the International Association of Facilitators, NonprofitVOTE, and Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC).

NCDD’s online D&D event roundup is a weekly compilation of the upcoming events happening in the digital world related to dialogue, deliberation, civic tech, engagement work, and more! Do you have a webinar or other digital event coming up that you’d like to share with the NCDD network? Please let us know in the comments section below or by emailing me at keiva[at]ncdd[dot]org, because we’d love to add it to the list!

Upcoming Online D&D Events: Nat’l Civic League, Living Room Conversations, MetroQuest, NIFI, IAF, NonprofitVOTE, GPPAC

Online Living Room Conversation: Power of Empathy

Wednesday, May 15th
7:30 pm Pacific, 4:30 pm Eastern

Empathy goes beyond concern or sympathy. Empathy is stepping into the shoes of another with the intention to better understand and feel what they are experiencing. The power of empathy can bridge our “us vs. them” perceptions and lead to new solutions, improved relationships, better strategies for social change, reduction in loneliness, and realization of our shared human needs and oneness. This conversation is about sharing experiences giving, receiving, and observing empathy.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-power-of-empathy/

International Association of Facilitators webinar – Reflecting Towards our Future

Thursday, May 16th
6:30 am Pacific, 9:30 am Eastern

Led by Lawrence Philbrook. In this webinar, we will explore a way to examine options and look for trends to help open the image of “futures” thinking. My own work with futures started many years ago with using scenarios in our facilitation work. ICA Taiwan and our colleagues across Asia based our research on Schwartz, P. (1996), The Art of the Long View and Peter Senge’s 5th Discipline to explore the work on the use by Shell Oil and others to help managers and leaders place themselves into several future options to prepare for whatever happens.

REGISTER: www.iaf-world.org/site/events/reflecting-towards-our-future-webinar-lawrence-philbrook-cpfctf

Living Room Conversations Training (free): The Nuts & Bolts of Living Room Conversations

Thursday, May 16th
2 pm Pacific, 5 pm Eastern

Join us for 60 minutes online to learn about Living Room Conversations. We’ll cover what a Living Room Conversation is, why we have them, and everything you need to know to get started hosting and/or participating in Living Room Conversations. This training is not required for participating in our conversations – we simply offer it for people who want to learn more about the Living Room Conversations practice.

Space is limited to 12 people so that we can offer a more interactive experience. Please only RSVP if you are 100% certain that you can attend. This training will take place using Zoom video conferencing. A link to join the conversation will be sent to participants by the Wednesday before this training.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/training-free-the-nuts-bolts-of-living-room-conversations-9/

Online Living Room Conversation: Money in Politics

Saturday, May 18th
12 pm Pacific, 3 pm Eastern

Is there a problem with money influencing our elections and then influencing the actions of elected officials? And if so, are there solutions that we can all agree upon? Increasing numbers express concern at the influence of big money in elections, especially since the supreme court’s Citizens United ruling in 2010, which allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on our elections. From another perspective, money was always heavily involved in elections — and the voice of everyone in America (including leaders of corporations) should not be restricted in the free marketplace of ideas. What do you think? Watch our high-profile conversation on Politics & Money with Robert Reich and Debbie Dooley here! Check out the conversation guide.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-money-in-politics-2/

CGA Forum on “A House Divided: What Would We Have to Give Up to Get the Political System We Want?”

Saturday, May 18th
3 pm Pacific, 6 pm Eastern

Join us after the 2019 A Public Voice broadcast for a Common Ground for Action forum on “A House Divided: What Would We Have to Give Up to Get the Political System We Want?” We’ll be talking about how to fix our broken political system in three different options: (1) Reduce dangerous, toxic talk: The problem is that the way we talk is poisoning public life. The “outrage industry” rewards people for saying and doing the most extreme things; (2) Make fairer rules for politics and follow them: The problem is that wealthy, powerful special interests game the political system, making it impossible to find compromise; (3) Take control and make decisions closer to home: The problem is that our most important decisions are being made too far away from home. Find the issue guide here.

REGISTER: www.nifi.org/en/events/2019-public-voice-cga-forum-house-dividedwhat-would-we-have-give-get-political-system-we-1

NonprofitVOTE webinar: Better Voter Engagement Strategies for People with Disabilities

Tuesday, May 21st
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

People with disabilities face unique challenges in registering to vote and casting a ballot. Nonprofits can support voters with disabilities through advocacy, awareness, and making their efforts more accessible. Join us for this one hour webinar with Michelle Bishop, Disability Advocacy Specialist for Voting Rights at National Disability Rights Network. We’ll cover why accessibility matters, the myriad of challenges voters with disabilities encounter, and how nonprofits can help.

REGISTER HERE

SPECIAL Online Living Room Conversation: Race and Ethnicity Conversation Series

Tuesday, May 21st
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

Check Out this four-minute video from a previous Race & Ethnicity Conversation Series to get a taste of this conversation! In this series of three in-depth conversations, participants explore the complexities of the concepts of Race, Ethnicity, and their impacts on people from all walks of life. We will cover new questions from the three Race & Ethnicity conversation guides found here.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/special-online-living-room-conversation-race-and-ethnicity-conversation-series/

MetroQuest webinar – Cleaning Up Toxic Public Discourse for Meaningful Engagement

Wednesday, May 22nd
11 am Pacific | 12 pm Mountain | 1 pm Central | 2 pm Eastern (1 hour)
Educational Credit Available (APA AICP CM)
Complimentary (FREE)

Are you facing increasing contention in your public engagement processes? You’re not alone. Planners and public engagement practitioners across the country increasingly find themselves on the front lines of highly polarized debates and misinformation campaigns. There’s a fix! You’re invited to this special webinar with James Hoggan – a world leading authority on the topic. James will share what’s causing increased polarization and offer ways to detoxify public engagement. A renowned author and speaker, James literally wrote the book on it.

REGISTER: http://go.metroquest.com/james-hoggan-on-cleaning-up-toxic-public-discourse-for-meaningful-engagement.html

National Civic League AAC Promising Practices Webinar – Equitable and Collaborative Economic Development

Thursday, May 23rd
10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern

Join the National Civic League to learn about two communities that are being mindful about collaboration and equity in their economic development projects. Ubax Gardheere, Equity Strategies Manager at the City of Seattle’s Office of Planning & Community Development will speak about Seattle’s approach to equitable development. Kevin Mitchell, Town Engineer in the Town of Mount Pleasant’s Planning and Engineering Department will talk about the town’s collaborative Shem Creek Revitalization project which ensured that the waterfront was accessible to all residents.

REGISTER: www.nationalcivicleague.org/resource-center/promising-practices/

Online Living Room Conversation: Peace Building in the United States

Thursday, May 23rd
12:30 pm Pacific, 3:30 pm Eastern

The US has in many ways always been a divided society, but what is causing fierce political, social and ethnic divides in the United States today? Hate crimes and hate groups are increasingly visible, and political leaders are using ethnic identity, socio-economic identity — and an “us v. them” mentality — to create fear and increase polarization. How did we get here and what are the peacebuilding solutions for a country that has long been considered the world’s most stable democracy? Check out the conversation guide.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-peace-building-in-the-united-states-2/

Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) webinar – Peace Education: Experiences on 13 years of “Peace School”, Mexico

Thursday, May 23rd
7 am Pacific, 10 am Eastern

In this webinar, peace education expert Diana Lepe Sanchez will share lessons learned from the project Escuela de Paz (Peace School). As part of the project, workshops were given for activists and human rights defenders from all over Mexico on a method for conflict analysis and conflict transformation.

REGISTER: www.gppac.net/peace-education-webinar-series

National Civic League Publishes New Edition of Civic Index

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One of the nation’s oldest civic engagement organizations, The National Civic League – also an NCDD member org, recently released the fourth edition of The Civic Index, a set of guidelines developed over the last 30 years to measure the civic capital of a community. Civic capital measures, “the formal and informal relationships, networks and capacities that communities use to make decisions collaboratively and solve problems” and The Civic Index offers the framework for assessing these factors and relationships to determine a community’s civic strength. You can download a free version of the NCL Civic Index by clicking here. Read more in the announcement below and find the original version on the NCL site here.

The League’s Civic Index: Measuring Your Community’s Capacity to Solve Problems and Thrive

What makes some communities better able than others to solve the tough social, political, economic or physical challenges they face? This was a question the National Civic League set out to answer over 30 years ago. On-the-ground research revealed a set of factors that we call civic capital — the formal and informal relationships, networks and capacities that communities use to make decisions collaboratively and solve problems.

Somewhat like social capital, but not to be confused with financial capital, civic capital can be found in all sorts of communities, not just the most affluent, educated or advantaged. While myriad other factors contribute to community progress, civic capital is the core factor identified by the National Civic League as the primary explanation for long-term community success.

At the National Civic League, we know of many communities with an abundant supply of civic capital. The All-America City program has recognized over 500 of these communities during the past 69 years. All have varying degrees of civic engagement, collaboration and leadership, and have been able to tackle tough issues in a sustainable manner–by bringing everyone to the table and creating equity.

Earlier this year the National Civic League released the fourth edition of the Civic Index, a self-assessment tool consisting of a set of questions that provide a framework for discussing and measuring a community’s civic capital. Since it was first developed in 1986, many communities have used the Civic Index to better understand their civic strengths and to identify gaps or areas in need of further attention, soliciting community input to create a baseline measure of their civic capital and monitor progress over time as they work to enhance their internal capacity.

The Seven Components of Civic Capital

The Civic Index describes the seven components of civic capital, provides examples of each, lists the 32 questions that are used to gauge each component and provides ideas on how to use the index. Here’s a synopsis of these seven components.

  1. Engaged Residents: Residents play an active role in making decisions and civic affairs.
  2. Inclusive Community Leadership: The community actively cultivates and supports leaders from diverse backgrounds and with diverse perspectives
  3. Collaborative Institutions: Communities with good civic capital have regular collaboration among the government, business, nonprofit and other sectors, as well as structures in place that facilitate such collaboration.
  4. Embracing Diversity and Equity: Communities with healthy civic capital recognize and celebrate their diversity. They strive for equity in services, support and engagement.
  5. Authentic Communication: Healthy communities need credible, civic-minded sources of information presented in a way that residents can use.
  6. Culture of Engagement: Involvement by residents, businesses, nonprofits and other stakeholders in every aspect of civic affairs should be part of local culture—an expectation, not an afterthought.
  7. Shared Vision and Values: Communities with shared values and civic pride have a common foundation for addressing public matters.

Summary 

Nearly a hundred years ago, Justice Louis Brandeis, a one-time member of the League’s executive committee, called states “laboratories of democracy.” That mantle has now been passed to the local level, as cities, counties, towns and other local communities create innovations and regional or national networks to tackle such issues as climate change, health, education and economic prosperity.

At the same time, local governments cannot solve problems on their own. As Bruce Katz points out in The New Localism, community problem-solving depends on “multi-sectoral relationships,” with government often serving as a convener or catalyst. What happens next depends on the civic capacity of the particular locality. It is the communities with civic capital — the full engagement and collaboration of its residents, businesses, nonprofits and other stakeholders–that have the resources and persistence to successfully address difficult issues and build a sustainable future.

For a free copy of the National Civic League’s Civic Index, please visit www.nationalcivicleague.org/resource-center.

You can find the original version of this announcement on the National Civic League site at www.nationalcivicleague.org/the-leagues-civic-index-measuring-your-communitys-capacity-to-solve-problems-and-thrive/.

NCDD Discount on Davenport Institute Local Gov’t Certificate

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We’re excited to share that NCDD member org, the Davenport Institute, in partnership with the Pepperdine School of Public Policy, is offering their next professional Certificate in Advanced Public Engagement for Local Government [non-academic] from July 19-21, 2019 in Malibu, CA. Excellent for anyone involved or working with local government, or in graduate school for local government/public policy. NCDD members receive a 20% discount off the tuition, so make sure you register ASAP to receive this great benefit. They are accepting applications until the class is full, so sign up while you still can! You can read the announcement below or on the Pepperdine School of Public Policy’s website here.

Professional Certificate in Advanced Public Engagement: Three-Day Intensive Workshop for Local Government Practitioners

In an age where trust in government (and indeed in all institutions) is at an all time low, and indifference toward local government is at an all time high, the very future of local representative democracy requires leaders with a new skill – an ability to break through cynicism and mistrust and engage residents in local policy. From public safety, to city budgets and spending, to planning and environmental policies, today’s challenges need leaders who can re-vitalize public involvement and lead residents engaged in the difficult work of self-government.

Over this long weekend at the Villa Graziadio on the Pepperdine Malibu campus, mid-career professionals are prepared to lead a publicly-engaged organization by gaining a deep understanding of the context, purpose, and best practices for engaging residents in the decisions that affect their lives and communities. 

Next Certificate Offering
July 19-21, 2019: Malibu, CA

The cost of the Professional Certificate is $1990, which includes instruction, materials, and meals. Many participants secure funds for training from their employer to support their participation in this program. Limited financial aid may be available.

Apply now! https://publicpolicy.pepperdine.edu/certificate-public-engagement/

Applicants who are accepted to the program can receive a 20% discount when they use the code “NCDD” during registration.

You can read the announcement on the Pepperdine School of Public Policy’s website at www.publicpolicy.pepperdine.edu/certificate-public-engagement.