What is going on in the world of deliberative democracy?

For those of us that are into this kind of stuff, you might find this listing of "what is going on in the worlds of deliberative democracy" interesting... The author - and keeper - of the list is Matt Leighninger, Executive Director of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium (Washington, DC) http://www.deliberative-democracy.net/

Using Online Tools to Engage the Public – How can online tools help you engage citizens in public decision-making and problem-solving? What are the most common mistakes being made by public managers and other leaders as they try to work with the public online? In a given scenario, which tools and tactics seem most appropriate and effective? Using Online Tools to Engage – and be Engaged by – the Public, Matt Leighninger’s report for the IBM Center for the Business of Government, delves into these questions, describes a range of scenarios and tactics, and gives real-world examples of online engagement. It highlights over 40 different technologies in use today to support various kinds of public participation. It is available free of charge at http://www.businessofgovernment.org/report/using-online-tools-engage-public

Citizenship DRC concludes its work – The Citizenship Development Research Centre in the UK, which has worked on issues of democracy and development for ten years, is closing its doors. But not without releasing a huge volume of helpful materials: their new website that contains all of the written outputs produced over the last ten years. You can search by keyword or browse the thematic areas, including a section on "Overarching lessons" where you can find their most definitive articles, including that last round of synthesis papers, which look at overarching and cross-cutting themes in the work. "DRC Worldwide" also features their research by country, easily accessible via an interactive map. http://www.drc-citizenship.org/

New LogoLink newsletter – LogoLink, the Learning Initiative on Citizen Participation and Local Governance, is a global network of practitioners from civil society organizations, research institutions and governments created to deepen democracy and social justice through greater citizen participation and engagement in local governance. Read the latest news from the LogoLink network on their newsletter, available in English and Spanish. http://www.logolink.org/index.php/news/logolinks-newsletter-march-2011-issue-online

American Speaks launches American Square – AmericaSpeaks has just launched The American Square, an experiment designed to bridge the online political gap and provide a safe space for civil, multi-partisan conversations about public policy and politics. The huge disparity between left and right in our current political environment is magnified on the web. This new effort is a deliberate, idealistic attempt to build a community of people who, while believing passionately in their ideals, also believe that our democracy requires respectful discourse and willingness to compromise. http://americaspeaks.org/blog/the-american-square-is-here-2/

Citizens’ Initiative Review passes in Oregon – The Oregon Senate passed legislation to establish the Citizens’ Initiative Review Commission, a new agency inspired by a successful deliberative democracy pilot project. In 2010, CIR citizen’s juries were organized to discuss two key ballot measures and generate nonpartisan statements for the Oregon’s voter guide. http://www.leg.state.or.us/press_releases/sdo_060111.html

NLC has new site – The National League of Cities has completely revamped its web-site. It is easier than ever to find the many resources and publications they offer on democratic governance at http://www.nlc.org/find-city-solutions/research-innovation/governance-civic-engagement. www.nlc.org

Video from Springfield Participatory Budgeting event – A recent event in Springfield, MA brought together Participatory Budgeting practitioners and researchers to talk about how it could be improved and implemented. A short video provides highlights of the presentations. http://www.springfieldinstitute.org/?p=4602

“Democracy Exchange” conference calls – The Campaign for Stronger Democracy will host a series of conversations this summer, called Democracy Exchanges, in order to explore important issues that impact the democracy reform community. Each month, they'll spotlight a different topic and ask key leaders to share their experiences working on it during a one hour conference call. Additionally, 10 minutes will be set aside in order to give a few other organizations a chance to provide a quick briefing on an important new project or campaign that the community should know about. Here are the topics and dates:
- How Can We More Effectively Appeal to New Audiences? – June 7 at 2pm Eastern
- How Can We Better Involve New Immigrants in our Civic Life? – July 7 at 2pm Eastern
- How Can We Fight Budget Cuts that Threaten Our Democracy? – August 2 at 1pm Eastern
More info at: http://strongerdemocracy.org/2011/05/09/dont-miss-this-summers-democracy-exchanges/


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