Many thanks always to those who contributed to this edition of the eBulletin.

A few quick announcements from the DDC Steering Committee:

- "Research & Practitioner" Project Updates
Mapping Group. Thus far the team has conducted a brief survey of other mapping efforts in Australia, UK, and the US. The process was used to collect questions that appear to be getting at unique and common concerns of researchers doing this work. Next step is to develop criteria that help define what the map will capture. The team has developed basic administrative tools to track hours and hard costs related to the project. The team also developed a rough work plan that will evolve over the coming weeks before being submitted to DDC.

The Measurement Toolbox group has begun to develop a conceptual framework for classifying the types of research questions that deliberative practitioners and researchers may have. They have also begun to look for psychological scales to address some of these research questions and constructed questions of my own to address others. The next step after the framework is in place will be to contact researchers to obtain suggestions and questions.

More updates from the Journal, Norms and Advocacy teams will be sent in the next eBulletin.

-deliberative-democracy.net under construction
The DDC web site is under construction. Our goal is to create a space for each of the DDC task groups so that visitors can more easily stay up to date on DDC activities. The Knowledge Building task group, which designed and facilitated the R&P meeting, will include on their page a report on the proceedings from the meeting along with follow-on efforts and progress reports from research teams that received grants, a blog for R&Ps and links to the wiki to help promote continued collaboration within the network. Please forgive any difficulties you experience in using the site as we make this transition.

-DDC is the new US partner for LogoLink!
DDC is the new US partner for LogoLink and is working to co-convene a South-North learning event that will either take place in the US or in the UK. The meeting will allow us a chance to share some approaches between South-North on participatory and deliberative approaches, as well as provide an opportunity to get a sense about the key areas for future South-North collaboration and interchange, and the role that LogoLink through a northern partner might play. It might also be a chance to bring in other US folks who are working on local governance and participation/deliberation/advocacy, but who are not currently part of DDC. We will keep all of you posted as planning moves forward.

LogoLink is is a global network of practitioners from civil society organisations, research institutions and governments working to deepen democracy through greater citizen participation in local governance. LogoLink encourages learning from field-based innovations and expressions of democracy which contribute to social justice. On the web at http://www.ids.ac.uk/logolink/index.htm

~editor

1 | New Book: Civil Society
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Is civil society the big idea for the 21st century? Or will the idea of civil society - confused, conflated and co-opted by elites - prove another false horizon in the search for a better world? By illuminating the uses and abuses of different theories and traditions in clear and engaging prose, Michael Edwards, author and Governance and Civil Society Program Director at the Ford Foundation, will guide readers of all persuasions to answer this question for themselves.

Drawing inspiration and examples from history and contemporary experience, Islam and Christianity, South and North, and activists and academics, this ok gives voice to a rich and diverse account of civil society in its many different guises. In moving systematically through theories of associational life, the good society and the public sphere, exploring the neglected connections that exist between them, and clarifying their implications for policy and practice, Michael Edwards provides a comprehensive, accessible and often humorous overview of one of the most important debates of our times.

Available online from Polity Press at http://www.polity.co.uk

2 | New Resource: Collaborative Policy Network
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The Center for Collaborative Policy at California State University Sacramento is coordinating a network of international and multi-disciplinary scholars interested in the application of collaborative policy to improve the capacity of democratic governance. Scholars from the disciplines of collaborative policy/planning, public administration, and political science are included. Panels and round tables are planned in 2004 for conferences of the American Society for Public Administration, International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, American Political Science Association, Association for Conflict Resolution, Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, and the Association for Policy Analysis and Management. A book project is also being planned.

For more information contact the CCP Research Director, Dr. William Leach, at bleach@ccp.csus.edu

3 | Community Dialogues on Globalization
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Preview Forum is looking for local partners in their latest national media and dialogue initiative Preview Forum http://www.previewforum.com/demo , Spring 2004. This project will bring together journalists and the communities they cover for deliberative and forthcoming conversations on "Globalization: Making the Local Connection."

Preview Forums are held twice a year, each focusing on a different societal topic, such as elections, the economy, education, science and technology, health care, youth, race and ethnicity, emerging technology and international issues.

For more information write to Julia John jjohn@roundtablemedia.com

4 | Whistler Forum: North American Summit on Citizen Engagement -- ------------------------
The Whistler Forum for Dialogue, inspired by the experience and contribution of the Aspen Institute in Colorado, will convene a "North American Summit on Citizen Engagement" November 10,11 and 12 this year. The conference will be held at the Chateau Fairmont in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.

For more information contact William Roberts at whistlerforum@whooshnet.com

5 | ICMA to Convene Collaboration Webcast
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The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) will conduct a webcast, "Collaborative Problem Solving and Consensus Building: Effective Approaches for Watershed Protection and Restoration," on April 21, 2004. The webcast will feature Tanya Denckla, Senior Associate, Institute for Environmental Negotiation, University of Virginia, who will provide an introduction to consensus building techniques, and watershed organization and local government representatives who will provide case studies demonstrating improved watershed management through collaborative problem solving and consensus building.

For more information and to register, visit http://www.lgean.org/html/webcast/ . Information is also available toll-free at 877/ 865-4326. The cost of the webcast is $125 per site.

6 | NCDD Will Host Second National Conference
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The National Coalition for Dialogue and Delibe ration's 2004 conference will take place in Denver, Colorado, October 23 through 25 at Regis University. The Conference will provide numerous learning, networking and skill-building opportunities.

The 2004 conference will be planned as collaboratively and creatively as possible, and input and involvement in the planning of the event is welcome.. NCDD requests that those who are considering attending the conference take a few minutes to complete their online needs assessment. Visit NCDD on the web at http://www.thataway.org

7 | Journal of Speculative Philosophy
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The current issue of the Journal of Speculative Philosophy (18.1), guest edited by Robert Talisse, is devoted to pragmatism and deliberative democracy with articles by noted scholars Cheryl Misak, James Bohman, Noelle McAfee, Judith Green, and John Dryzek.

View the Journal online at http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_speculative_philosophy/toc/jsp18.1.html

8 | SmartConnect: Sheffield's eConsultation Frontrunner
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SmartConnect is an e-consultation project executed in partnership with Accenture for Sheffield City Council. SmartConnect is an innovative e-consultation application designed to promote informed and deliberative consultation on local social/political issues.

The application trials a number of unique participation and deliberation techniques and is the first in a series of pilot projects the clever folks at DELIB are running to test new, deliberative e-consultation tools.

Visit SmartConnect at http://www.delib.co.uk/smartconnect

9 | ARNOVA Conference Invites Papers
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The Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) invites participation in its 33rd annual conference, to be held November 18-20 in Los Angeles, Calif. The special focus area this year will be, "The Meaning and Motives of Philanthropy: Responding to the Needs of a Diverse Society." Among the proposed panels at this year's conference are "Technology in the Promotion of Civic and Political Participation: Advocacy, Deliberation and Governance."

To participate in a technology panel, contact John McNutt at mcnuttjg@netzero.com. For more information about the conference visit http://www.arnova.org/call_4_participation_news.php

10 | Three In Ten Voters Open to Persuasion, Pew Report Finds
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Heading into an eight-month marathon to Election Day, President Bush and Sen. John Kerry command strong support from their respective parties and will now try to win over the estimated three-in-ten voters who have not yet fully committed to either candidate. Overall, 38% of voters support Kerry and say they have definitely decided not to vote for Bush. A third of voters support Bush and say there is no chance they will vote for Kerry. The remaining portion of the electorate (29% of all voters) have either expressed a preference for one of the candidates yet say they still could change their mind, or are truly undecided.

2004 may prove an excellent year for deliberative democrats to flex some political influence by helping to "decide" the election through wide-spread citizen deliberation on the issues and the candidates. View the Pew Report at http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=205

To learn more about deliberative elections, visit http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/8947.html.