The DDC has a number of key priorities, which we pursue as collaboratively and opportunistically as we can. The chart of "DDC activities, 2007-11" will be updated quarterly to reflect the latest developments in our work. It is now available on the
Participedia
The DDC is proud to be one of several organizations collaborating to create Participedia - www.participedia.net - the world’s primary repository of information on citizen participation, public deliberation, and collaborative governance. The development of Participedia is led by Archon Fung of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard and Mark Warren at the University of British Colmbia. Participedia is an open-source, Internet-based “participatory knowledge tool” that will allow hundreds of researchers and practitioners not only to catalogue, but also to compare the performance of participatory political processes.
Democracy Helpline
The growth of democratic governance has been a grassroots phenomenon, but most of these efforts to mobilize citizens have been initiated by traditional kinds of leaders. The promise of the Democracy Helpline, a project of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium and its Partners, is to enable a broader array of people to make use of these powerful democratic strategies and principles.
The Democracy Helpline will be an unprecedented resource that people will be able to access by phone or on the Internet. Community stories will be the essence of the Helpline: the most valuable way to inspire and prepare new organizers is to give them narratives of existing projects that give them inspiration and useful lessons.
Read more...Teaching Democracy in Public Administration
Why should public administration educators be rethinking their approach to democracy? Is “collaborative governance” broadening to include (or evolving into?) “democratic governance?” How should PA schools teach democratic principles and strategies? Find out how some of your colleagues answered these questions, and add your own thoughts to the mix.
An article by Matt Leighninger called "Teaching Democracy in Public Administration: A roundtable discussion on trends and future prospects," is included in the latest issue of the Journal of Public Deliberation. The issue, a symposium on the ways in which higher education can contribute to democratic governance, was guest-edited by Nancy Thomas of the Democracy Imperative and Martin Carcasson of Colorado State.
Find it at http://services.bepress.com/jpd
Read more...Projects
Much of the work of the DDC is accomplished by four Task Groups:- Knowledge Building
- Online Deliberation
- FedNet
- Democratic Governance
The DDC is embarking on a new set of activities, each of which is aligned with one of four key priorities:
Read more...G1000: Deliberative democracy in Belgium
by Peter VermeerschFor more than 500 days Belgium has been without a government. Responding to this political crisis, an independent group of Belgian citizens - from various walks of life and different parts of the country, none of them politicians, but all passionate defenders of democracy – launched the idea of organizing a large citizens’ summit called G1000. It will be the largest exercise in deliberative democracy in Belgium so far.
On 11 November 2011, the G1000 will bring together a random sample of 1000 Belgian citizens to discuss the future of Belgium. This will be done by inviting 100 tables of 10 people to talk about a number of topics that have been identified as major concerns (the identification of topics has happened through an extensive survey). The discussions will be facilitated by moderators and translators. In a later phase, 24 randomly chosen citizens will meet at regular occasions to develop the initial decisions into concrete policy proposals.
Belgium has no clear ...
Read more...Next Steps for Rebuilding Democracy
By Hank Topper
It may be a good time for us, the various and diverse individuals and organizations working consciously in some way to strengthen democracy, to rethink our message and our strategy. The far reaching events of the last two years warrant this reexamination. The following are some thoughts to contribute to this reexamination. Let’s start with the first years of the Obama administration and their meaning for our work. It is, unfortunately, safe to say that our politics are in more disarray than two years ago.
No Taxation Without Deliberation
by John Gastil
Take note, fellow deliberationistas. The value of deliberation has become more widely apparent, finding its way into its first rallying cry. And it comes from the right, which some have wondered might be more skeptical about the deliberative democracy movement. The anti-tax protests organized for April 15 were the site of the "no taxation without deliberation" slogan, shown here on one protestor's sign .
As in this brief letter from an Indianan , you can see the gist of the argument.
Read more...Community Engagement and Economic Growth
There is a strong connection between the way people feel about their community and the economic vitality of that city or town - this is one of the key findings of an important new study, "Soul of the Community," conducted by Gallup for the Knight Foundation. The researchers surveyed people in the 26 communities served by the Knight Foundation, which range from big cities like Detroit and Miami to smaller places such as Milledgeville, GA, and State College, PA. In almost every case, there was a statistically viable relationship between "community-citizen engagement" and economic growth. You can find out more here . Read more...Welcome
The Deliberative Democracy Consortium (DDC) is a network of practitioners and researchers representing more than 50 organizations and universities, collaborating to strengthen the field of deliberative democracy. The Consortium seeks to support research activities and to advance practice at all levels of government, in North America and around the world.
JPD
The Journal of Public Deliberation is a collaboration between the DDC, the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2), and the Center for Civic Discourse and Democracy at Kansas State University. An online, refereed journal, JPD is the flagship publication in its field, and an important catalyst for the rapid growth of interest in democracy, citizenship, and participation. Find it at http://services.bepress.com/jpd.
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For news, resources, and updates on deliberation, participation, and democratic governance around the world, join the DDC Facebook group! Find it at http://bit.ly/DDCgroup and click “Join this group” at the top of the page.
Deliberative Democracy Handbook
The Deliberative Democracy Handbook is the first book to bring together the best practices and thinkin on deliberative citizen participation processes. Deliberative democracy is the nationwide movement to make citizen participation meaningful and effective. Learn more...
The Next Form of Democracy
Beneath the national radar, the relationship between citizens and government is undergoing a dramatic shift. The stories of civic experiments in "The Next Form of Democracy: How Expert Rule Is Giving Way to Shared Governance -- and Why Politics Will Never Be the Same" by DDC Executive Director Matt Leighninger show us the realpolitik of deliberative democracy, and illustrate how the evolution of democracy is already reshaping politics. Learn more...
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Democracy Helpline
The growth of democratic governance has been a grassroots phenomenon. The promise of the Democracy Helpline, a project of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium and its Partners, is to enable a broader array of people to make use of these powerful democratic strategies and principles. Learn more...