Most of the laws that govern public participation in the U.S. are over thirty years old. They do not match the expectations and capacities of citizens today, they pre-date the Internet, and they do not reflect the lessons learned in the last two decades about how citizens and governments can work together. Increasingly, public administratorsRead… Read more »

As part of the Online Facilitation Unconference that’s going on right now in the midst of IAF’s International Facilitation Week, I’d like to engage people around a compelling report produced by our friends at AmericaSpeaks, an NCDD organizational member. The report is nice and short (just 5 pages long!), and focuses on how we mightRead… Read more »

We are excited to share with you today an innovative project that is an interesting twist on connecting communities through shared conversations. The project is led by Evan Weissman, a teacher, actor, and civic entrepreneur who has been working for over a year now to found a “civic health club” in Denver, Colorado called WarmRead… Read more »

Tired of tense, unproductive public meetings? Want to embed better online and face-to-face processes in the way governments work? Making Public Participation Legal, a new publication of the National Civic League, presents a valuable set of tools, including a model ordinance, set of policy options, and resource list, to help communities improve public participation. TheRead… Read more »

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

We have another post today submittedvia our Submit-to-Blog Form, this time by NCDD member Sam Kaner of Community At Work. Do you have field news you want to share with the rest of us? Just click here to submit your news post for the NCDD Blog! Community At Work is pleased to be of aRead… Read more »

We wanted to share the post below from our partners at the Davenport Institute’s Gov 2.0 Watch blog about an exciting chance to win $5,000 in the Ideation Nation Contest. Find out more, and good luck in the contest! MindMixer and Code for America are hosting a nationwide contest for ideas of how to improveRead… Read more »

NCDD is proud to be collaborating as a Media Partner in next week’s Online Facilitation Unconference! The Unconference is a free, fully digital convergence of folks from around the world interested in sharing and learning about virtual facilitation (i.e. facilitating and moderating online). You can read the event description below or find out more andRead… Read more »

This post was submitted by NCDD member Hina Pendle of New Economy Coalition via our Submit-to-Blog Form. Do you have field news you want to share with the rest of us? Just click here to submit your news post for the NCDD Blog! NCDD members are invited to join the New Economy Coalition’s Hina PendleRead… Read more »

At the 2012 NCDD national conference in Seattle, NCDD member and filmmaker Jeffrey Abelson sat down with over a dozen leaders in our community to ask them about their work and their hopes and concerns for our field and for democratic governance in our country. Today we’re featuring the interview with Amy Lee, Program OfficerRead… Read more »