Tzofnat Peleg-Baker, PhD, an applied social psychologist and developer of the 4⁴ Structured Reflective Instrument (4⁴SRI), is opening a new cohort of her international certificate program for mediators, facilitators, ombuds, and other conflict professionals beginning September 30, 2026. The program is grounded in the idea that many of the dynamics driving conflict operate beneath conscious awareness, and it trains practitioners to use a structured, four-layered reflective framework to notice and address those hidden dynamics rather than relying on instinct alone. Over seven monthly sessions, participants apply the framework to their own real cases within a supportive peer community, building a reflective practice they can carry into their work long after the program ends. Early-bird registration closes on August 31, 2026, offering a 20 percent discount on tuition. The program reflects NCDD's ongoing commitment to strengthening the skills and self-awareness of practitioners working at the front lines of dialogue and deliberation.

​FIDE — North America and We Do Democracy are hosting a three-day Lead Facilitator Masterclass this October, with sessions in Washington, D.C. (October 15–17) and San Francisco (October 22–24), designed to train experienced facilitators to lead citizens' assemblies from start to finish. The training draws on instructors from Denmark, Germany, and Canada and centers on hands-on practice, with participants spending half their time actively facilitating rather than listening to lectures. Attendees leave with concrete skills in process design, group facilitation, mediation, and managing dysfunction within deliberative settings, along with direct feedback from an international team of trainers. The masterclass reflects the kind of rigorous, practice-based skill-building NCDD's network relies on to sustain high-quality dialogue and deliberation work across the country.

iCivics and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation are co-hosting the 2027 Civic Learning Week National Forum on March 11–12, 2027, in Charlotte, North Carolina, under the theme Civic Education in the Digital Age, and are now accepting proposals from presenters. The Forum brings together researchers, educators, policymakers, and public- and private-sector leaders to strengthen the national movement for civic education, with this year's call seeking sessions on digital tools in civic learning, how young people learn, trust in civic institutions, and field adoption and assessment. Prospective presenters can join an optional webinar on August 28, 2026, and must submit proposals by September 18, 2026. This call offers NCDD's network of educators and practitioners a direct avenue to shape national conversations about civic education, reinforcing NCDD's mission to strengthen democratic participation through informed, engaged citizenship.

Civics Unplugged is accepting applications for the 2026–2027 Civic Innovators Fellowship, a free, virtual, 16-week program that prepares high school students to take action in their communities. Running from September through April, the Fellowship combines interactive, discussion-based weekly sessions on history, democracy, technology, and culture with skill-building, purpose exploration, and hands-on community projects, all within a regional cohort supported by alumni mentors. Its admissions approach is deliberately non-traditional, setting aside GPA, test scores, and resumes in favor of assessing applicants on who they are and what they hope to build, with the stated aim of finding potential rather than prior achievement. The application deadline is September 4, 2026, at 11:59 PM PST, and the program is open to current high school students and those on a first gap year begun in June 2026, including international applicants for its U.S.-focused, English-language content. For the NCDD network, the Fellowship is a notable youth civic-engagement pipeline and a resource practitioners can pass along to young people ready to start doing community work now.

Utah State University's Environmental Dispute Resolution (EDR) Program, in partnership with the USU School of Social Sciences and Heravi Peace Institute, is offering its 2026 Collaboration Certificate Course, a seven-session online training in the art and science of collaborative problem-solving and conflict resolution. Led by EDR Director Danya Rumore and Associate Director Emily Gaines-Crockett, the course combines lectures, case studies, peer sharing, and simulation exercises to build practical skills in convening, facilitating, and sustaining multi-party collaborative processes. Participants gain techniques for identifying when a situation is ready for collaboration and for leading stakeholders through conflict toward shared solutions, with graduates invited into an ongoing Collaborative Leadership Network. For dialogue and deliberation practitioners, the course offers a rigorous, hands-on path to strengthening the facilitation and consensus-building capacities at the heart of NCDD's mission.

​Project Pericles' Deliberative Dialogue Module is a set of open, adaptable teaching tools that help college faculty connect course content to real civic questions and guide students through structured deliberation on public issues. Built on the Kettering Foundation's understanding of deliberative dialogue as a way to think together rather than to debate or force consensus, the module frames classroom conversation as preparation for civic and electoral participation. It includes a faculty facilitator guide, a library of sixteen discussion topics spanning disciplines from computer science to public health, and guidance on crafting non-partisan issue stances that open multiple perspectives rather than collapsing into an us-versus-them split. The approach draws on evaluated workshop models and centers skills the dialogue field values, including active listening, critical thinking, and finding common ground across difference. By treating every discipline as a doorway to public questions, the module extends deliberative practice into higher education in a way that speaks directly to NCDD's mission of strengthening democracy through better public conversation.

​"Facilitation 101: A Beginner's Guide to Dialogue and Deliberation" distills a Democracy Resource Hub training led by Keiva Hummel, Executive Director of the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation, into a practical resource for people hosting community conversations across difference. The guide draws a clear working distinction between dialogue, which builds understanding through listening, and deliberation, which weighs options and tradeoffs to inform decisions, and it treats facilitation as the craft of guiding either process well. It is organized around NCDD's Engagement Streams Framework, helping organizers match their purpose, whether exploration, conflict transformation, decision making, or collaborative action, to the right kind of conversation, and it offers concrete tools including a simple opening-to-closing dialogue structure, question-crafting guidance, and a preparation checklist. Written for civic hub builders, librarians, local leaders, and first-time facilitators, it lowers the barrier to entry without pretending facilitation is simple. Its emphasis on inclusive design, impartiality over false neutrality, and follow-through connects squarely to NCDD's mission of strengthening democracy through better public conversation.

The Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies is accepting interest applications for its 2026 Fellowship for Nonprofit and Civic Professionals, an intensive in-person program beginning in October 2026 that brings together Baltimore-area civic and nonprofit leaders to engage in interreligious dialogue and explore how religious pluralism can strengthen their efforts to build a more just and democratic community. Directed by Molly Silverstein and supported by ICJS resident scholars, the fellowship engages participants across Muslim, Christian, and Jewish perspectives — along with non-religious participants — equipping them with dialogue-across-difference skills, a peer network of cross-sector leaders, a community project, and a completion stipend. The program directly advances NCDD's mission by modeling how sustained interreligious dialogue can build the relational capacity, mutual understanding, and civic leadership that democratic community life requires.

The National Issues Forums Institute provides a comprehensive suite of free resources, training opportunities, and coaching support to help community organizers bring "What's Next, America?" deliberative conversations to their local contexts — from neighborhoods and libraries to campuses and faith communities. The initiative's three-part deliberative framework guides participants from community assessment through priority-setting to action planning, with an optional action summit model for translating conversation into concrete projects, drawing on a decade of successful state-based precedents in West Virginia and Alabama that produced tangible local outcomes. NIFI supports organizers through monthly intro sessions, facilitation workshops, a Community of Practice, intensive team coaching, and one-on-one staff consultations — all available at no cost. This practitioner-focused resource directly advances NCDD's mission by equipping dialogue and deliberation practitioners with an immediately deployable framework for community-centered civic engagement.