​A new analysis from SFU's Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue examines the real-world impacts of climate deliberation processes, drawing on case studies from the UK, Canada, and France to challenge the view that citizen assemblies produce little tangible change. The evidence reviewed shows that deliberative processes consistently transform participants — increasing climate literacy, shifting behavior, and in some cases inspiring civic leadership — while also enabling policy consensus across deep value disagreements. Notably, more than 70% of France's Citizens' Convention for Climate recommendations were adopted in some form, including landmark climate legislation. For NCDD's network, the analysis reinforces a core deliberative principle: that well-designed processes can move people from passivity or division toward informed, collective action — even on some of the most contested issues of our time.

A Kettering–Gallup study of 20,000+ Americans finds widespread doubt about whether citizens have real influence in democracy, but shows that community involvement and civic education strongly increase civic confidence and participation. Most Americans want to engage but face major barriers—especially time constraints, lack of invitation, and uncertainty about how to participate—disproportionately affecting low-income people and young adults. Those with strong civic education or regular community involvement are far more likely to volunteer and believe citizens can drive change. Heavy social media use has mixed effects, increasing feelings of empowerment but also correlating with lower democratic support and greater acceptance of political violence.

Survey data from Democracy Fund and PACE shows near-universal pessimism among democracy funders—almost all see U.S. democracy as threatened and 88% say it is “broken”—yet 75% still plan to maintain or increase giving in 2026. Funders are skeptical of their own effectiveness, citing weak strategies rather than poor coordination. Funding is shifting toward defensive priorities such as election protection, civil-society safeguards, and counter-authoritarian work, with less support for grassroots organizing. While two-thirds are open to collaboration, barriers include institutional misalignment, strategic rigidity, and limited collaboration skills. Experts urge grant-seekers to show strong analysis, tap regional and family foundations, and use bridge-building language—guidance directly relevant to NCDD practitioners navigating the current funder landscape. 

​The David and Lucile Packard Foundation’s report, “AI and Democracy: Perspectives from an Emerging Field,” synthesizes insights from various stakeholders on how AI disrupts democratic institutions, elections, government, information ecosystems, civic participation, labor markets, and the economy. It positions AI as an accelerant that amplifies strengths and weaknesses across existing systems, with democratic futures dependent on rapid adaptation to ensure technological change doesn’t outpace democratic governance. The report includes an appendix mapping over 130 organizations working at the intersection of AI and democracy, offering systems-level analysis and a focus on how funders must respond to AI’s democratic implications. This work advances NCDD’s mission by providing a framework for understanding how AI shapes conditions for democratic participation, civic engagement, and institutional trust, emphasizing the importance of collective capacity to respond to accelerated change through coordinated action addressing election integrity, information ecosystem health, algorithmic accountability, and democratic adaptation across multiple domains.

The National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation welcomes Don Waisanen, a communication scholar and practitioner, to its board. He’s a Professor at Baruch College’s Marxe School, adjunct faculty at Columbia and NYU, and founder of Communication Upward. Waisanen’s seven books include Improv for Democracy, Leadership Standpoints, and States of Confusion. He’s also published extensively in journals like Rhetoric & Public Affairs and Communication Monographs. His work emphasizes thoughtful communication practices that normalize conflict, establish peer-to-peer discussion agreements, check silences for authentic participation, and develop facilitative leadership. Waisanen’s addition strengthens NCDD’s capacity to connect scholarly research with practitioner needs, bridge academic and applied perspectives, and advance dialogue and deliberation as essential democratic infrastructure.

The Democracy Narratives Alliance, a global initiative led by People Powered with over 30 organizations, will release research on March 24, 2026. The research synthesizes nearly 400 publications and evidence from 150+ studies on how narratives strengthen democracy and increase public engagement beyond electoral framing. The webinar features speakers from People Powered, Fundación Corona, Global Democracy Coalition, and Busara discussing which narratives foster democratic support, how framing and values invoke participation, and practical recommendations for practitioners and storytellers. The alliance responds to citizens’ frustration with electoral politics and global questioning of democracy by translating fragmented behavioral science and communications research into coordinated action through shared narratives, tools, and strategies tested at global, national, and local levels. This work advances NCDD’s mission by providing dialogue practitioners with evidence-based guidance on framing participatory processes to resonate with diverse publics, overcome institutional cynicism, and help people see democracy as active participation in shaping collective futures.

​More in Common US released focus group findings with “Reluctant Right” voters, the least ideological and most ambivalent fifth of Trump’s 2024 coalition, revealing nuanced perspectives on immigration enforcement. These voters criticize extreme tactics while supporting restrictive approaches and distinguish between Trump and ICE accountability. The research identifies four themes: losing faith in enforcement tactics while supporting Trump, trusting bipartisanship, advocating for reforming ICE due to concerns about hiring standards and training, and pervasive low trust in media and institutions creating uncertainty about competing narratives. This research positions the Reluctant Right as a signal for Trump coalition stability and demonstrates how qualitative methods reveal complexity often missed by polling. It advances NCDD’s mission by helping Americans understand perspectives across partisan divides, identifying potential areas for bipartisan solutions, and modeling research approaches that surface nuance, ambivalence, and complexity essential for bridging divides and developing democratic solutions grounded in diverse voter thinking.

The National Civic League’s Center for Democracy Innovation, led by Matt Leighninger, released an update on local democracy initiatives, including the expanded Community Foundations for Civic Health program supporting planning, learning cohorts, and funding. Progress includes the Healthy Democracy Ecosystem Map spanning 12,500 organizations, a national survey showing support for civic reforms, and research demonstrating local reforms can strengthen trust. Examples include Decatur, Georgia’s civic lottery charter revision, the Better Public Meetings expansion, leadership partnerships in Tennessee and Texas, Colorado’s Civic Health Action Guide, and the CyberSim cybersecurity project. These efforts advance NCDD’s mission by building local civic infrastructure, fostering community-led democratic innovation, and giving residents an authentic voice in public decision-making.

​Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) is releasing new findings from its 2025 Civic Language Perceptions Project during a national webinar on February 27, 2026, presenting multi-year research on how Americans across political, demographic, and geographic divides understand civic and democratic language. The project surveys thousands of voters to examine which terms have "bridgeyness" potential to unite diverse audiences and which inadvertently signal exclusion or partisan allegiance, providing evidence-based guidance for practitioners seeking to engage broad communities without triggering defensive reactions. The webinar will introduce an updated interactive dashboard with approximately 500 data visualizations, a refreshed guide on strategic language use, and new research on how people make sense of democracy and perceived threats to it in a high-stakes political moment. This work advances NCDD's mission by illuminating how word choices shape who feels invited into civic conversation, offering dialogue practitioners and organizers practical tools to prioritize connection and inclusivity through strategic communication that builds bridges rather than reinforcing division.

​The SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University is accepting applications for its 2026–2027 Visiting Fellows program, a year-long, project-based fellowship for practitioners and scholars from fields such as civil society, government, media, academia, industry, and the arts who are working to strengthen democracy. The non-residential program supports projects aligned with the institute’s mission of advancing civic engagement and inclusive, informed dialogue, with particular interest in proposals focused on democracy and the media and the changing forces shaping public discourse. Approximately ten fellows are selected based on project relevance, leadership capacity, collaborative openness, and contribution to a diverse cohort, and receive modest stipends (typically up to $25,000), shared office space, research and administrative support, and access to Johns Hopkins resources. Fellows are expected to spend time on the Baltimore campus participating in seminars, workshops, debates, and conferences, with applications due March 2, 2026, and selections announced in late April.