The National Issues Forums Institute has appointed Dawn Harfmann as Program Coordinator, bringing more than a decade of experience in nonpartisan deliberation, civic learning, and community-centered problem solving to support NIFI’s national network. Having previously served as a Program Associate, Harfmann brings deep familiarity with NIFI’s programs and partners, along with a background that spans research, education, facilitation, and curriculum design across community, higher education, and K–12 settings. In her new role, she will coordinate program logistics and partnerships, support the planning and delivery of initiatives, and contribute to the development of deliberative resources that help communities engage complex public issues collaboratively. Her work in bridge-building, including co-founding a Braver Angels alliance and completing formal moderator training, reflects NIFI’s commitment to strengthening civic infrastructure through practitioners who combine analytical rigor with relational skill.

Campus Compact and New America’s Political Reform Program have launched a pilot initiative to bring civic assemblies to community colleges nationwide, adapting a deliberative democracy model typically used by governments to higher education settings. Using representative sampling, these assemblies convene students, faculty, staff, and community members to learn from experts, deliberate on shared challenges, and develop actionable, consensus-based recommendations. The program provides end-to-end support—from topic selection and process design to facilitation and implementation—offering colleges an inclusive alternative to traditional feedback mechanisms. By embedding these structured, equity-centered processes into campus governance, the initiative positions community colleges as vital civic infrastructure while helping leaders address policy, resource, and student needs through genuine co-creation and trust-building.

​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.

​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.

The Dialogue and Deliberation Resources Hub and NCDD are offering a timely new training, Facilitating Shared Sensemaking in Complexity, focused on helping communities navigate decision-making when facts are contested and trust is fragile. Featuring practitioners from National Issues Forums Institute, the Federation for Innovation in Democracy, News Ambassadors, and Diapraxis, the session explores how dialogue, deliberation, and collective learning can be integrated to move groups from adversarial debate toward shared understanding. Participants will examine practical approaches to balancing expert knowledge with lived experience, designing transparent and inclusive processes, and supporting groups to reach “true enough” common ground for collective action amid uncertainty. For practitioners facing stalled conversations, polarized narratives, and information distrust, the training offers concrete strategies for facilitating learning together when complexity and disagreement are unavoidable.

Project Liberty Institute and Georgetown University's Tech and Public Policy program held a two-day Workshop on Deliberation, Governance and Decentralized Social Networks in November, exploring how AI-assisted deliberation can help online communities govern themselves democratically by enabling meaningful deliberative decision-making entirely online in hours or minutes at modest cost. McCourt Public Policy students tested three online deliberative tools—deliberation.io, Online Deliberation Platform, and Frankly—through mock content moderation deliberation, with survey results showing the process encouraged listening and understanding, followed by sessions examining legitimacy criteria for digital deliberation and self-governance needs of decentralized networks. Three key insights emerged: a robust ecosystem of deliberative tools already exists with the challenge being tailoring them for specific communities; deliberation must be inclusive, transparent, and yield binding decisions regardless of format; and deliberative tooling design must remain human-centered even when incorporating AI assistance, representing important progress for practitioners navigating how digital tools can extend rather than replace traditional deliberative values.

​The Global Citizens' Assembly—organized by Mediators Beyond Borders International and the Institute for Social and Environmental Transition—will bring together 105 randomly selected participants to deliberate on global food systems from January to March 2026, supported locally by newly recruited Community Hosts. These hosts, working from late October 2025 through early March 2026, will help ensure equitable participation by providing technological, logistical, and cultural support, especially in regions such as Moscow, Sevastopol, Jeddah, northern Honshu, eastern Uzbekistan, Weno, and select U.S. counties. Designed around 14 small-group sessions that foster deep dialogue and relationship-building, the Assembly aims to model more inclusive, globally connected democratic decision-making. Those interested in becoming Community Hosts are encouraged to contact [email protected] by 5 PM ET on Monday, December 8th.

​This article highlights lessons from three National Issues Forums Institute–connected research projects that examine how communities can effectively deliberate on environmental challenges in ways that lead to meaningful, locally guided action. Through examples from Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, and other Southern states, the piece shows that successful environmental deliberation requires centering participants’ lived experiences, responding flexibly to community needs, and ensuring discussions connect to real decision-making pathways. It emphasizes the importance of adapting processes—such as shifting from deliberation to dialogue when communities need more sensemaking—and underscores how building local leadership strengthens trust, accessibility, and long-term impact. Together, these insights point to the value of community-rooted, action-oriented deliberation that aligns with existing structures and amplifies local knowledge and leadership.

The National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation has welcomed Lara Schwartz to its board, recognizing her deep expertise in fostering constructive conversations across differences. As Founding Director of the American University Project on Civic Dialogue, Schwartz has spent over a decade teaching students practical skills for engaging meaningfully across political and social divides, work that reflects her broader career in coalition-building across the civil rights sector. Her philosophy—centered on moving from adversarial debate toward exploratory dialogue—aligns closely with NCDD’s mission, and her experience training facilitators, developing innovative dialogue programs, and navigating complex political environments positions her to help strengthen the field at a moment of rising polarization and democratic strain.

The National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD) proudly welcomes Eric Schmucker as its newest Board Member, bringing over 15 years of experience in program management and community-engaged dialogue. A dedicated practitioner who believes that democracy begins with listening across differences, Eric has led facilitation processes for public and nonprofit organizations through his work with the Institute for Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue at James Madison University. His background spans restorative justice, story exchange, and international community engagement in Indonesia and Uganda, reflecting his commitment to inclusive, context-sensitive dialogue. With deep experience in teaching, governance, and local democracy, Eric emphasizes the importance of sustained discussion, relationship-building, and participatory practices that strengthen communities. His addition to the NCDD Board reinforces the organization’s mission to advance dialogue, deliberation, and civic engagement rooted in equity and shared learning. Read more in the blog post below.