Happy Facilitation Week! In honor of this week recognizing the importance of facilitation practice (read more about it a facilitationweek.org), our friend Jason Diceman at Feedback Frames is offering our network an amazing deal on this tool for in person meetings! Learn more below. 

​To help support the important facilitation work of NCDD members, Feedback Frames is offering a 40% discount this week only.  ​

Join MetroQuest on Wednesday, October 19th for a webinar titled Optimizing Online Surveys for Diverse and Equitable Public Engagement. The webinar will be hosted by Dave Biggs, Emily Margitan, and Gerard Penalosa, all three from our very own MetroQuest. This webinar brings together experts on virtual public engagement to discuss the most effective strategies for designing surveys that support diverse and equitable participation. They will unpack how planners can utilize online surveys as part of a deliberate effort to build diversity, equity and inclusion.

Dave Biggs, Chief Engagement Officer at MetroQuest, will share some of his research on how diversity and inclusion are distinct and necessary elements for developing equity in the public participation and planning process. Emily Margitan and Gerard Penalosa, Customer Success Managers at MetroQuest, will discuss the tactics and strategies behind several online public engagement surveys that have been effective at supporting diverse and equitable participation. They’ll use exceptional examples from agencies such as Minnesota Department of Transportation, Virginia Department of Transportation, Oregon Metro, Texas Department of Transportation, and firms including WSP and Michael Baker International.

In this webinar, we will explore:

• Great survey design that supports diverse and equitable public engagement
• The differences between equity, diversity and inclusion
• Tactics for optimizing outreach into diverse or hard-to-reach communities
• Real life examples from top agencies and firms

The National Civic League, an NCDD member organization, is hosting an event called Promising Practices Webinar: The ABCs of Inclusive and Equitable Engagement. 

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2:00 pm ET (1:00 pm CT, 12:00 pm MT, 11:00 am PT)

Webinar Description: 

The process of civic engagement ensures that the many parts of a community— residents, government, business, nonprofit agencies, faith-based organizations and others—work together to address public needs and desires. Whether it’s economic development, safety, health, environmental quality or other matters, civic engagement can lead to lasting solutions that best represent the values and desires of communities. However, if inclusivity and equity are not prioritized as a part of engagement efforts from the very beginning, then resulting information, solutions, and decisions will fail to benefit from or serve the entire community.

During this webinar we will discuss the myriad of considerations–convener, time, location, language, etc.–that need to be addressed to ensure engagement efforts are inclusive and equitable. Registrants will also learn about strategies and best practices for equitable and inclusive engagement, with a few examples from communities successfully doing this work.

​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. 

NCDD member, Martín Carcasson of the Center for Public Deliberation at Colorado State University was interviewed by NPR about their collaborative journalism project. From the episode details:

Today on Colorado Edition: We hear about the Northern Colorado Deliberative Journalism Project, a collaborative of area newsrooms, journalists, and media scholars aiming to strengthen local journalism. And we hear from two songwriters in rural northeast Colorado about how rural living inspires them and their art.

To learn more about the Center for Public Deliberation and the Northern Colorado Deliberative Journalism Project, visit their website here. 

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

​​Our friends at MetroQuest are hosting a webinar next week - Wednesday, February 23 at 2pm EST/11am PST. Below is the description of the event and a link to register. 

The National Civic League, an NCDD member organization, released the National Civic Review (NCR) Summer 2021 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!
Friendly reminder that the League is always seeking articles for NCR on community-based examples of civic engagement, public deliberation, co-production, and democratic innovation – more info here.

​NCDD Member Michael Freedman of Practical Academics shared the following blog post with us. In the post, Michael shares best practices for your online meetings – a timely topic for this moment! We encourage you to check out the article below, or over at the Practical Academics site here.

​Online Meeting Best Practices
The advantages of online meetings are to save travel time, convenience, and flexibility while retaining or augmenting the benefits of group interactivity. For interactivity, we need engagement; for engagement, we need encouragement and trust.  A one-way webinar is not a lot better than a video or a one-to-many lecture. Here are some points to consider in developing and running an interactive online meeting.