We are thrilled to announce a leadership transition at NCDD. After five years of dedicated service, Courtney Breese will step down as NCDD's Executive Director to become the Director of Community Mediation Programs at the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration. Keiva Hummel, who has been with NCDD for nearly a decade, will take over as the new Executive Director starting next week. 

In the coming months, our focus will be on strengthening our coalition, growing the membership, and securing major funding to ensure NCDD's continued growth and success. We are grateful to share that Courtney will continue to work with NCDD on ongoing projects and to ensure this smooth transition. Please read our full announcement in the blog post below!

Thank you to everyone who participated and provided feedback on NCDD's response to the White House Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) recent Request for Information on developing a Federal framework for Public Participation and Community Engagement (PPCE). The final response, reflecting input from our coalition, is now available on the Federal government's site. Additionally, several NCDD members submitted their own comments, which are linked in the blog post below.

TODAY - May 29th from 1-3 PM Eastern, will be a virtual event hosted by The Open Government Secretariat titled "Strengthening Democracy and Improving Our Communities Across All Levels of Government: The United States Experience". This session will explore open government approaches and their impact on democracy and communities across the United States. Learn more in the post and register to join here.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is soliciting input from the public on best practices for public participation and community engagement (PPCE) activities, aiming to make government interactions more inclusive, transparent, and accountable. Americans are encouraged to share their experiences, suggest content for a federal framework, propose ways to improve the process, and provide feedback through public comments, online forms, or attending virtual listening sessions by May 17th. The initiative seeks to enhance government consultations with the public to inform policies, regulations, and services, addressing concerns about accessibility and stakeholder engagement. NCDD is working on generating a response and we will follow up with our network in the near future. Learn more in the post below and on GSA's site here.

We are excited to announce the new NCDD Job & Internship Board! 

Our job and internship board connects individuals and organizations committed to driving positive change through meaningful conversations and collaboration. Whether you're a seasoned practitioner or a newcomer to the field, our job and internship board offers a wide array of opportunities tailored to your skills and interests. 
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• Employers: Showcase your job or internship openings here to reach a diverse pool of candidates dedicated to advancing dialogue and deliberation in their communities. Share new roles via "Post a Job or Internship" feature.
• Job/internship seekers: Explore our listings to find opportunities where you can apply your skills to promote understanding, bridge divides, and create lasting impact through dialogue and deliberation.

We'll share new positions via the Job-Internship Board regularly, so make sure you bookmark the page and check back when you're looking for new opportunities. You'll notice at the top of the NCDD site, under the "News" tab, there is link to the new "NCDD Job-Internship Board". Jump to the NCDD Job & Internship Board here: www.ncdd.org/dd-jobs-internship-board.

The Making A Living List (D&D Jobs List) will still remain active and we encourage members to continue sharing job/internships in that space if that is your preference. Opportunities shared on the Jobs list will be reshared on the Jobs Board to help further boost announcements in a public-facing place on the NCDD site for easier access. 

At the beginning of 2024, NCDD began to roll out our new media collaborative working group and higher education exchange. In April, we are launching two new working groups - Fundraising and Philanthropy & Emerging Leaders (people 35 and under)! We are looking to schedule the calls for those groups and convene this month. If you are interested in joining either of the new working groups, please fill out the scheduling polls linked below. If you are interested in joining the two other groups - Media Collaborative and or Higher Education - find the call information below and join us on the next call!

Fundraising and Philanthropy: Join this working group to explore opportunities for fundraising for NCDD and beyond.

• Take the scheduling poll to join the first call in April - whenisgood.net/NCDDFundraising

Emerging Leaders: This group is for people 35 years and under to explore ways that the NCDD network can support and lift-up our new and emerging practitioners.

• Take the scheduling poll to join the first call in April - whenisgood.net/NCDD.ELI

Media Collaborative: Join this working group to collaborate on strengthening the connection between D&D and journalism.

• Join the next Media Collaborative working group call on Friday, April 12th from 1-2:30pm Eastern, 10-11:30am Pacific. It's okay to come late or leave early. Find call details here!
• Want to catch up? Watch recording from the last Media Collaborative meeting on March 29th.

Higher Education Exchange:

• Join the next session on April 24th at 3pm ET, 12pm PT - where we will dive deep on plans for Fall. Find call details here!
• Want to catch up? Watch recording from the March exchange.

Have you heard the news?! NCDD is thrilled to announce the launch of our NCDD Working Groups and Exchanges - and you're invited to join!

2024 is already looking to be an important year and there is a lot of energy for dialogue, deliberation, and engagement work. NCDD is uniquely positioned to bring together our collective wisdom, experiences, and passion for change to reflect and collaborate together.

Coming out of the 2023 conference, NCDD is excited to be harnessing the collective energy and capacity of this coalition through the formation of working groups that align with key priority areas for the organization, as well as exchanges that will allow the membership to deepen connections. These groups are intended to provide our members with focused opportunities to connect, collaborate, build capacity, and invest in our shared coalition.

Current NCDD Working Groups
A number of potential focus areas were suggested at the 2023 conference. The NCDD staff and board have determined that these following groups are best aligned with current organization priorities and can also play a key role in building and sustaining NCDD as an inclusive coalition and a thriving organization. 

• Emerging Leaders: This group is for people 35 years and under to explore ways that the NCDD network can support and lift-up our new and emerging practitioners.
• Fundraising and Philanthropy: Join this working group to explore opportunities for fundraising for NCDD and beyond.
• Media Collaborative: Join this working group to collaborate on strengthening the connection between D&D and journalism. This group has started to meet; and the next call is this Friday, February 2nd from 1-2:30pm Eastern, 10-11:30am Pacific. Here is the link to the call notes doc and the zoom call information is provided at the top. Please join us!
• Network Building and Partnerships: Join this working group to help expand NCDD’s reach to new sectors, organizations, and more.

​Joining a Working Group
Working groups open to all, please fill out this form. While you are not required to be an NCDD member, your support helps make these groups possible - become one today!

Current NCDD Exchanges

• Higher Education Exchange: Tailored for faculty and staff in higher education engaged in dialogue and deliberation work, this monthly 60-minute session offers a unique platform to form a community of practice. Share insights, learn from peers, and stay informed about current trends in a relaxed environment. Each meeting features a brief thematic presentation, followed by an engaging Q/A session. 
  Agenda Doc available here. Sessions are scheduled for Wednesdays, February 28, March 27, and April 24 at 3pm Eastern/Noon Pacific.

Joining the Exchange
Express your interest in this exchange by filling out this brief form. The form asks for ways you would like to communicate around the exchange, as well as opportunities to present and lead the group.

Want to Start a New Exchange?
NCDD is excited to support additional exchanges focused on bringing our network together around specific sectors, areas of interest, etc. If you would like to discuss starting a new exchange, reach out to NCDD’s Executive Director, Courtney Breese, at [email protected]. 

Additional Questions?
Please contact NCDD’s Communications Coordinator, Keiva Hummel, at [email protected]. 

​PACE (Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement) is a member-centric philanthropic laboratory for funders seeking to maximize their impact on democracy and civic life in the United States.  Our members share a belief that America will be healthier and more successful, resilient, and productive, if democracy is strong and the office of citizen is treated as central to how it functions.  We believe that American democracy will thrive when all of its people are informed and engaged in the process of creating it. 

PACE’s Civic Language Perceptions Project seeks to understand peoples’ perceptions of the language associated with civic engagement and democracy work. PACE believes all Americans should be  informed and empowered to contribute to civic life. PACE conducted a nationally representative survey of 5,000 Americans to understand their perceptions of civic language. 

The National Civic League, an NCDD member organization, released the National Civic Review (NCR) Spring 2022 edition and  NCDD members receive a digital copy of NCR for free! (Find the access code below.). This esteemed quarterly journal offers insights and examples of civic engagement and deliberative governance from around the country. Thanks to Rebecca Trout, NCL’s Program Director for All-America City Award & Communications, for sharing this announcement with the NCDD network!

National Civic Review Spring Edition 2022 – Access Code: NCDD22

A NCDD Listserv synopsis of the conversation entitled: How to pick stakeholders for a stakeholder dialogue

Listserv Contributors: Tom Altee, Adrian Segar, Peter Jones, Marjo Curgus, Peggy Holman, Chris Santos-Lang, Betsy Morris, Eric Simley, and Sally Theilacker

Synopsis by: Annie Rappeport, NCDD Intern

“The approach to stakeholder selection is the most critical step in the design of fair and inclusive dialogues that reflect a community’s contributions and perspectives” ~ Peter Jones, NCDD Member

​In your dialogue and deliberation work do you find yourself struggling as much about who to invite to a dialogue as how to set the agenda?

In part one of We Are All Catalysts, the focus was on examples of groups in dialogue in deliberation who showcase how our powerful inner sparks can be used to transform conversations and communities. In part two, we want to follow up and have all of you help guide our continued conversations!

“It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much.” ~ Yogi Berra

​We live in a world of noise. Many of us lament at the current environment of ideological polarization that hinders respectful and productive conversation. We have the power to break through this noise and create spaces for listening and thoughtful dialogue. It can seem daunting in the current ways of the world, but the tools are accessible and the need critical.