​The National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD) serves as the primary network connecting practitioners, researchers, and community leaders who advance democracy through meaningful conversation and collaborative problem-solving. NCDD brings together facilitators, mediators, educators, and civic innovators across sectors, fostering cross-pollination of diverse approaches to dialogue, deliberation, and participatory governance while providing practical tools and frameworks grounded in real-world experience. The organization supports practitioners in designing inclusive engagement processes that bridge big differences, reach traditionally excluded voices, and generate sustainable community solutions through collective action. By connecting practice with research and cultivating continuous learning across the dialogue and deliberation field, NCDD directly strengthens the capacity of communities and institutions to engage in the democratic renewal central to its mission.

​The Nevins Fellows program at Penn State's McCourtney Institute for Democracy addresses civic disengagement by offering students eight-week paid internships at organizations that bring people together to solve community problems, beginning with a Democratic Leadership course that reframes democracy as collaborative practice rather than electoral politics. The program intentionally recruits students from diverse fields, including engineering, sciences, and business, demonstrating that democratic renewal requires all citizens' skills while teaching facilitation techniques and connecting participants to hyper-local problem-solving work that restores individual agency and proves meaningful change is achievable. With a vision to create a collaborative national network of similar campus programs, the initiative counters isolation and cynicism by showing that small local actions contribute to broader democratic renewal, supported by funding that removes financial barriers to participation. By shifting focus from abstract despair to concrete action and affirming the necessity of engagement itself, this work directly supports NCDD's mission of strengthening democracy through inclusive dialogue, developing civic leadership capacity, and fostering collaborative community problem-solving across diverse populations.

​The Spring 2026 NCDD Intern Cohort offers students and emerging professionals a learning-centered, fully remote internship opportunity with applications due Friday, January 30, across roles in Communications, Democracy Engagement, Digital Systems, Grant Writing, Membership Engagement, and Program Development. The flexible program, requiring one to fifteen hours weekly, treats interns as collaborators on meaningful projects while providing hands-on nonprofit experience, mentorship from experienced practitioners, training in dialogue and facilitation, and professional networking opportunities in a culture that emphasizes transparency, sustainability, and meeting people where they are. Through a cohort model blending independent work with optional weekly calls and peer connection, participants gain clarity on how their interests intersect with community work and civic engagement while developing skills in collaborative leadership and democratic practice. By offering structured learning combined with genuine flexibility and care for interns' wellbeing, this opportunity directly supports NCDD's mission of developing the next generation of dialogue and deliberation practitioners.

​When the Map Is Useless, a multi-year initiative led by Simon Fraser University's Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, strengthens public sense-making and civic discourse by cultivating capacities to navigate social, political, and ecological uncertainty. Through Conversations for a World in Transition—an interdisciplinary dialogue series exploring what is unfolding, how to understand it, and how to sustain ourselves through change—and Bridging the Political Divide—facilitated conversations among public leaders modeling rigorous yet respectful disagreement—the program creates reflective spaces for engaging complexity without resorting to simplification or despair. The initiative equips communities and leaders with practices for sustaining democratic relationships and collective decision-making amid polarization, demonstrating how dialogue can foster critical optimism and broader participation in public life. By bringing together diverse voices to make sense of profound transition, this work directly advances NCDD's commitment to strengthening democracy through meaningful conversation and collaborative engagement across difference.

Democracy needs better stories. On January 22, the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at Harvard’s Ash Center hosts an online webinar exploring how creators and artists make democracy feel vivid, relevant, and worth caring about—especially for younger audiences. Drawing lessons from television, podcasts, science fiction, and online creator communities, the session looks beyond alarm bells and academic frames to ask what actually captures attention and moves people to engage. The webinar takes place online on January 22 (time listed on the registration page) and is hosted by the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at Harvard University. Registration is open now at https://ash.harvard.edu/events/making-democracy-interesting-tips-from-tv-podcasts-science-fiction-and-online-creators/

​The People Powered 2026 Convening, taking place March 2–5 in Nairobi, Kenya, will bring together democracy practitioners from around the world to advance people-powered democracy under the theme Global Challenges, Participatory Solutions. Designed as a collaborative, co-created gathering, the convening combines hands-on learning, site visits to local participatory initiatives, and strategic conversations about power, inclusion, and systemic change. Sessions will address both practical implementation—such as evaluating participatory programs and designing inclusive digital engagement—and urgent global challenges including climate democracy, decolonizing practice, equitable participation, and narrative change. For practitioners in dialogue and deliberation, the convening offers a rare opportunity to connect with global peers, learn from innovations across contexts, and help shape shared strategies and resources for strengthening participatory democracy worldwide.

​Essential Partners is demonstrating how structured dialogue can revitalize civic learning and rebuild students’ capacity to engage across deep differences, as illustrated by sociology professor Catherine Simpson Bueker’s experience at Emmanuel College. After participating in an Essential Partners training, Bueker integrated Reflective Structured Dialogue into her classroom, enabling students to discuss contentious issues with honesty, empathy, and mutual respect—an experience students consistently identified as the most impactful part of the course. By pairing civic knowledge and skills with the development of “civic muscle,” students practiced listening, sharing lived experience, and understanding opposing perspectives without pressure to change their views. Bueker’s cross-campus dialogues with students in politically contrasting regions further show how this approach counters polarization and siloing, offering a powerful model for educators and practitioners seeking to strengthen democratic engagement through dialogue.

NCDD and the Democracy Resource Hub invite you to join two upcoming free, virtual trainings designed for facilitators, civic practitioners, organizers, and community leaders. "Using Civic Technology to Facilitate Meaningful Engagement" takes place Thursday, January 22 (12–2 pm ET / 9–11 am PT), followed by "Facilitating Shared Sensemaking in Complexity" on Tuesday, February 3 (2–4 pm ET / 11 am–1 pm PT). These sessions feature experienced practitioners sharing real-world insights, patterns across practice, and skills participants can apply in their own work. Special thanks to SHIFT Action Lab for generously sponsoring these opportunities. Read more in the blog post below.

​​The Kettering Foundation is deepening its work to strengthen democracy amid rising authoritarianism and declining public trust by expanding its leadership, elevating diverse perspectives, and investing in robust public-facing content. With the appointment of senior fellows Stacey Abrams and David French, Kettering signals a commitment to cross-ideological dialogue grounded in shared democratic values, using blogs, podcasts, videos, and public conversations to explore democracy’s challenges and possibilities. Through platforms like From Many, We, Resilience & Resistance, The Context podcast, and its support of PBS’s America at a Crossroads, the Foundation documents both the threats facing democratic systems and the local and global efforts working to renew them. Together, this multi-platform approach offers practitioners timely analysis, practical insights, and hopeful examples of civic resilience, reinforcing Kettering’s role as a key hub for democratic learning and renewal.

​Everyday Democracy convened youth organizing leaders Hannah Botts of Campus Compact and Zoë Jenkins of Civics Unplugged to explore Gen Z's relationship with democracy, revealing that only 16% believe democracy is working well for them—a disconnect rooted not in apathy but in earned distrust of institutions that have failed to deliver on promises. The conversation illuminated how young people are practicing discernment rather than disengagement, shifting civic energy from national politics to local communities where 77% trust neighbors and 65% trust nonprofits, while rejecting transactional engagement that only surfaces during elections. Panelists identified critical barriers including the search for belonging that conservative movements have successfully addressed by building community before politics, the chilling effect of constant digital surveillance on civic courage, and the need to create entirely new participatory structures rather than adding youth to existing adult tables. By listening to, trusting, and co-creating with a generation demanding institutions earn their participation, this work directly supports NCDD's mission of strengthening democracy through inclusive dialogue, fostering genuine civic engagement, and building collaborative pathways that center diverse voices in democratic renewal.