October 26, 2009
Posted in Civic Engagement Survey, Deliberative Dialogue, Programs of Interest, Publications of Interest at 2:05 pm by Taylor
Last July, Nancy Kranich, Joanne Griffin and Holly Sorenson presented a program at ALA Annual for the Association of College & Research Libraries Division. Somehow we neglected to post the podcast of their presentation that is now available for those who were unable to attend. Below is the e-mail message from Chad Kahl with the access information.
Enjoy!
From: Kahl, Chad
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 10:41 AM
Subject: 2009 LPSS ALA Annual Conference program follow-up message
I would like to thank you again for attending the 2009 Law and Political
Science Section ALA Annual Conference program, “Political Engagement:
Facilitating Greater Participation in Civil Society” featuring Elizabeth
Hollander, Nancy Kranich, Joanne Griffin and Holly Sorensen.
I am pleased to let you know that the program podcast is now available,
thanks to the work of program planning committee member, Amalia Monroe,
and David Free, a Marketing and Communication Specialist for the
Association of College & Research Libraries. It can be accessed at
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/podcasts/lpssac09.mp
3.
The presentations by Nancy Kranich, Joanne Griffin and Holly Sorensen
are also available at
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/about/sections/lpss/lpsshomepage.
cfm.
Based on feedback from your program evaluations, we revised the
bibliography/pathfinder so it now includes speaker biographies and a
number of resources recommended by the speakers. It is available
directly at
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/about/sections/lpss/bibliography2
009.pdf, as well as the aforementioned web page.
Thank you,
Chad Kahl, on behalf of the LPSS 2009 ALA Annual Conference Program
Planning Committee
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September 10, 2009
Posted in Deliberative Dialogue, Publications of Interest at 10:40 pm by Nancy Kranich
Local Governments Leading the Way in Developing New Forms of Civic Engagement
August 28, 2009
PACE , Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement and the National Civic League have teamed up to publish a special issue of the National Civic Review (NCR) on cutting edge forms of dialog, deliberation and public decision-making at the local government level.
Currently in its 98th year of publication, NCR is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious journals of civic affairs. Its audience includes mayors, city managers, community activists, academics and leaders within the nonprofit sector.
Released this week, “The New Laboratories of Democracy: How Local Government is Reinventing Civic Engagement” features essays, interviews, and case studies on cutting edge practices by villages, towns, cities and counties in the field of public participation and how nonprofits and foundations are aiding and assisting those efforts.
“Publication of the special NCR issue is particularly timely,” noted PACE Executive Director Christopher T. Gates. “The raucous debate over health care reform is a reminder of how difficult it is to deliberate on complex public policy issues in an environment of distrust and polarization, a lesson many local officials learned in the early 1990s when budgets were tightening and public skepticism about the role of government was growing.”
Not long ago, the main vehicle for local participation was the public hearing, an often frustrating and unsatisfactory means of engaging the community. “That began to change about 15 years ago,” added Gates, “when public managers and elected officials started looking for new and better forms of engagement so they could move forward on tough local challenges. The many examples of community success suggest that local government has become an important source of innovation and activity.”
What factors led to this flurry of experimentation? What forms did these new methods take? What have we learned about these new approaches? How do public officials ensure these new ways of doing civic engagement avoid the old trap of offering only the “illusion of inclusion?” And how will technology change the way citizens come together to solve problems?
These are a few of the questions raised and explored in a white paper issued by PACE in May. This special NCR issue includes examples, insights and recommendations contained in the earlier report as well as essays by leaders of public sector associations such as the International City/County Management Association and the National League of Cities, on-the-ground reports from practitioners and advocates of civic engagement who work in communities, and “lessons learned” from local government managers who work with neighborhood groups and public forums.
“We are very excited to publish this special issue with PACE,” says Gloria Rubio-Cortés, President of the National Civic League. “It explores from a number of new angles questions that are right at the center of our mission: how do we make democracy more inclusive and how do we tap the under-used resource of public knowledge and common wisdom.”
To receive a complimentary print edition of this issue (NCR 98:2), contact Kristin Seavey, kristins@ncl.org.
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May 7, 2009
Posted in Deliberative Dialogue, Grants, Publications of Interest at 8:14 pm by Nancy Kranich
“PACE Releases Guide on Deliberative Democracy and Democratic Governance”
April 30, 2009
As the philanthropic community grapples with the question of how to support innovative and effective forms of democratic governance, PACE (Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement) has released a guide that provides a detailed description of how local civic engagement has grown and developed over the past decade.
“Funding and Fostering Local Democracy: What Philanthropy Should Know about the Emerging Field of Deliberation and Democratic Governance” is a free, downloadable publication designed to inform the field of philanthropy. The strategies described in the guide—and the stories of how communities have used them to break policy deadlock, reduce tension and galvanize volunteerism—can help funders, public officials and community activists better understand the possibilities, and limitations, of various approaches to working with the public.
“As more and more foundations are making civic engagement a part of their funding priorities, they are also being presented with a whole new set of approaches and tools for engaging citizens at the local level,” says Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, ‘This guide is an attempt to demystify the emerging field of deliberative democracy and help funders make more informed decisions about their support of this growing field.”
“Perhaps the most significant—and overlooked—recent development in the health of local democracy is the shift in citizen expectations, capacities and attitudes toward government,” argues Matt Leighninger, the director of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium and the author of this guide. “This guide illustrates how this shift is affecting public officials, foundations and nonprofit organizations, and how it has provoked a new generation of efforts to make local politics and local governance more participatory, deliberative and productive.”
The guide provides a list of some of the main organizations working in this field, describes some of the most influential models and processes, and provides examples of particularly significant democratic governance efforts. It also outlines some of the cutting-edge questions facing the field and provides a long list of resources to consult.
An electronic version of the guide is attached and we encourage you to share and forward.
PACE is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations, founded in 2005 to bring new philanthropic focus to the issues of civic engagement and democratic renewal.
For more information contact Chris Gates, Executive Director of PACE, at cgates@pacefunders.org or the author of the guide, Matt Leighninger, at mattleighninger@earthlink.net .
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June 5, 2008
Posted in Deliberative Dialogue, Publications of Interest, Uncategorized at 8:49 pm by Nancy Kranich
Primer on Public Engagement
The new Public Engagement Primer from Public Agenda is a valuable resource for those trying to better understand what public engagement is all about, and for those trying to explain it.
Public engagement creates conditions for average citizens to effectively get involved in deliberation, dialogue and action on public issues that they care about. In a few short pages, the primer explains how public engagement helps create civic capacity for public problem solving, offers 10 core principles of effective public engagement and enlists a few examples of key practices and strategies.
The primer also describes the power of “Citizen Choicework,” a critical element in many deliberative processes. Some other essentials covered in the primer:
- Authentic public engagement vs. business as usual
- Capacity-building vs. event-oriented approaches to engagement
- Responding thoughtfully and conscientiously to the public’s involvement
- Building long-term capacity
- Strengths and weaknesses of various engagement approaches and strategies
The PDF is available for free download at:
http://publicagenda.org/pubengage/pdfs/public_engagement_primer.pdf
More information is available through Public Agenda’s Center for
Advances in Public Engagement at:
http://publicagenda.org/pubengage/pe_cape.cfm
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May 5, 2008
Posted in Conference sessions, Deliberative Dialogue at 11:31 pm by Nancy Kranich
This year’s National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) is being held in Austin, Texas, October 3-5. This conference is for those dedicated to solving problems through honest talk, quality thinking, and collaborative action. NCDD’s biennial conferences, which are highly participatory, highly innovative and surprisingly affordable, bring together leaders and future leaders in public engagement and conflict resolution to share resources and strategies, build lasting relationships, increase the visibility and effectiveness of their work, tackle challenges facing this emerging field, and initiate collaborative projects.
In Austin, NCDD is offering more ways than ever for conference participants to contribute content, share their work, and make progress on issues they care about. Submit proposals now for:
1. Concurrent Workshops (unique, engaging sessions that highlight the best the dialogue and deliberation community has to offer)
2. Innovations (innovative projects/strategies that address some of the biggest challenges and issues we face in the field; we’ll match you up with other innovators with similar topics to organize joint collaborative sessions at the conference)
3. Networking Topics and Facilitators (topics you’re really into, so you can meet others who share your same interests during a fun, structured networking session) More details about these 3 opportunities, and the forms for submitting proposals and ideas are at www.thataway.org/events/?page_id=119
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April 18, 2008
Posted in Deliberative Dialogue at 11:37 am by Nancy Kranich
Paying for Health Care–National Issues Forum Issue Advisory
Excellent Care But Rising Costs: Is There a Better Balance?
A new issue book in the NIF series will be available later this spring for forums on the hard choices in health care. The book will look at some of the major concerns people have when they encounter the increasing costs of drugs, doctor fees, hospital visits, and insurance premiums. It will also look at some of the possible remedies being proposed to combat these costs. The purpose of the book is to stimulate serious public deliberation, not a discussion or debate. So each option for controlling costs will be balanced by an account of unwelcome consequences that might result.Attached is an Issue Advisory from the Kettering Foundation about the framework for this deliberative dialogue. For more information, visit the NIFI website at: www.nifi.org.
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