We are thrilled for what the upcoming year has in store for NCDD, both at the conference and with the wider coalition - and we want to hear from you! 

In case you hadn't heard yet, NCDD will be hosting the 9th National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation (#NCDD2023), October 13-15 in Atlanta, Georgia! We would love to hear your thoughts on what you want to experience at the conference. In addition to hearing your visions for the conference, we want to check in with our community on where you are at now and how you would like to get involved with the wider coalition. 

Please fill out this short survey - linked here. Thank you so much for sharing your feedback in the survey, it is greatly appreciated!

If you have any conference related questions and/or would like to be involved in the conference planning team, please contact NCDD communications coordinator, Keiva Hummel at keiva@ncdd.org. If you’d like to talk about broader NCDD topics, please reach out to Courtney Breese at courtney@ncdd.org.

NCDD member organization, the National Civic League recently published the winter edition of their quarterly journal, the National Civic Review. Folks in our network are able to access this edition on NCL's website - go to the table of contents where you will be prompted to enter your unique access code: NCDD23. 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 Winter Edition - Access code: NCDD23

​This special equity edition of the Review reflects the interests we share with three of our partners: the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, which is working to advance racial healing and equity, the NextFifty Initiative, a Colorado-based nonprofit whose mission is to improve the lives of older adults, and the Charles Kettering Foundation, which promotes democratic practices and supports work to improve racial equity.

To access this edition, go to the table of contents where you will be prompted to enter your unique access code: NCDD23.

Find the full edition of the National Civic Review Winter Edition at: www.nationalcivicleague.org/national-civic-review/issue/winter-2023-volume-111-number-4/.

Call for proposals for the ​Bridging Divides & Strengthening Democracy Field Test Grants are open until March 1st! "Ideal proposals will consist of field experiments that evaluate how well the findings from the Strengthen Democracy Challenge (SDC) apply to realworld outcomes." Five grants of up to $50,000 will be awarded to teams of researchers and practitioners. Learn more about the grants below and on the Strengthen Democracy Challenge site here.

Call for Proposals: Bridging Divides & Strengthening Democracy Field Test Grants

The Strengthening Democracy Challenge (SDC) brought academics, practitioners, and industry experts together in a collective effort to identify interventions to improve Americans' partisan animosity, support for undemocratic practices, support for partisan violence, and other outcomes related to polarization and democracy. We conducted a large experiment testing which of 25 interventions were most effective. The results demonstrated several highly effective strategies for improving these outcomes. We focused on short interventions that can be deployed online, but insights from the SDC could be applied to in-person interactions and other settings as well.

We are now pleased to announce a call for proposals for Bridging Divides & Strengthening Democracy Field Test Grants! Grants of up to $50,000 will be allocated on a competitive basis to new or existing teams of practitioners and researchers. Ideal proposals will consist of field experiments (randomized controlled trials) that evaluate how well the findings from the SDC apply to realworld outcomes. We plan to fund up to five promising projects that would improve both scientific and applied understandings of the relevance of the SDC findings in real-world settings

Important Dates:

• March 1, 2023: Deadline extended! Bridging Divides & Strengthening Democracy Field Test Grant Proposals Due. Please submit proposals here.
• May 1, 2024: Deadline to complete research and submit results write-up.

The International Listening Association (ILA) is seeking nominees for a Spring 2023 University Student Practicum. "Do you know current university students who would benefit from mentorship, conference experience, project design experience and building relationships with fellow students who share a passion for active listening?" Nominations will be accepted through Saturday, February 25th, 2023. ​Thanks to Annie Rappeport, NCDD and ILA member, for sharing this announcement! We invite you to share with your student networks. Learn more in the post below and on ILA's site here.

ILA Seeking Nominees for Listening Based University Student Practicum

​The International Listening Association, in its 44th year, is delighted to share with the NCDD community a new program for university students taking place from March 7th-August 7th 2023! 

This practicum will be cohort based with students from around the world. Thus far, students from the USA, India, Cambodia, Iran, Germany, Sweden and Hong Kong are nominated to join the cohort. The students also represent a diverse set of fields including education, peace studies, medicine, communications, business, international relations and leadership studies. All of these fields intersect in their practical application of listening, dialogue and deliberation and students will work together to learn essential skill sets in active listening. The cohort will also be charged with creating positive change proposals related to spreading knowledge and skillsets of listening across their fields and various communities. These proposals will be presented at the 2023 ILA Convention "Discovering the Impact of Listening to Every Voice" taking place from July 26-29th in Mainz, Germany and online. 

Annie Rappeport, NCDD and ILA member, is facilitating the program. She hopes NCDD members who have a student they work with who share a passion for dialogue and listening will reach out to her at arappepo@terpmail.umd.edu to nominate the student! Nominations will be accepted through February 25th, 2023. Here is some more information about the program:

NACRJ - the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice will be hosting an online Community Sharing Circle, "Acknowledging the death of Tyre Nichols". This event will "bring people together to share the impacts, emotions, and response to this tragedy. Together, we will work to create a safe and brave space to acknowledge the cumulative impact and collective grief of this injustice." Happening tomorrow, Saturday, February 11th from 11:30am - 1pm Eastern, 8:30-10:30am Pacific. Learn more in the NACRJ post below and register to join here.

Acknowledging the death of Tyre Nichols: A Community Sharing Circle

Sat Feb 11, 2023 11:30am Eastern, 8:30am Pacific

​On Saturday January 7th, Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black motorist, was pulled over for reported reckless driving, was beaten by police, and died three days later. Three weeks later on January 27th, the City of Memphis released camera footage that shows the aggressive beating that led to Mr. Nichols' death.  

NACRJ is hosting an online Community Sharing Circle to bring people together to share the impacts, emotions, and response to this tragedy. Together, we will work to create a safe and brave space to acknowledge the cumulative impact and collective grief of this injustice. A few additional notes:

If you are interested in honing your hosting skills, then check out this digital course on "The Art of Gathering" by Priya Parker. This 6-week learning experience will, "guide you through the process of planning and hosting intentional gatherings — for special occasions, in the workplace, or in your communities." The 25% earlybird discount ends Monday, February 13th. Learn more about the course below and on Priya Parker's site here.

The Art of Gathering Digital Course

The Art of Gathering digital course is a 6-week learning experience created to guide you through the process of planning and hosting intentional gatherings — for special occasions, in the workplace, or in your communities. 

Enjoy a 25% earlybird discount until February 13th, which is also when you'll receive access to the course. Group rates are available! Click Here for more information.

What is the Art of Gathering?
How we gather shapes the world we want to live in. Yet, much of our time together is spent on autopilot. We often find ourselves in uninspiring moments that fail to capture us or connect us to one another.

The Public Square Academy (PSA) is relaunching this month with a new partnership development strategy.  Public Square Academy provides education programs, builds and hosts communities, and leads learning experiences for those who want to defend and advocate for democracy. ​Thanks to Michael Freedman for sharing this announcement! We invite you to learn more about PSA below and contact Michael if you're interested in partnering.

The Public Square Academy (PSA)

​The Public Square Academy (PSA) is relaunching this month with a new partnership development strategy. The Public Square Academy (PSA) aims to advance society by helping individuals become better citizens. The mission of The Public Square Academy is to “educate, empower, and engage people in their personal, economic, and civic lives.” We seek to make a more perfect union by promoting well-being, increasing economic opportunity, and nurturing a highly educated populace.

Public Square Academy provides education programs, builds and hosts communities, and leads learning experiences for those who want to defend and advocate for democracy. For our members, we offer personal growth, lifelong learning, the strength and support of the PSA community, and the specific benefits of our programs. We seek to inform and delight you. Join our community as we develop the program democratically.
For our partners and collaborators, we offer development and revenue opportunities through membership and repetitional growth, an LMS platform, program development and delivery guidance, a partner’s community, and collaborative marketing of programs dedicated to improving the common good.

We are offering our first program in March - Be Your Best Self – to help people become better citizens and will offer new programs each month after that. Please follow us by subscribing to our mailing list, and if you are interested in partnering with us, see this page and contact Michael Freedman directly or through the website contact page.

Learn more about the Public Square Academy at ​https://thepublicsquare.academy/.

NCDD is happy to announce the recent addition of three new members to the NCDD Board of Directors. Hollie Cost, Brad Rourke, and Sagacity Walker joined the board in January and will work with their fellow board members and staff over the next several years to guide and support the organization. 

We also want to give a sincere thank you to our outgoing Board members, Simone Talma Flowers and Betty Knighton, who worked tirelessly over the last six years to help NCDD through transitions and developments and helped offer their enthusiasm, vision, and sage wisdom to our staff. We can't thank them enough for all of the hard work they put in over the years. Thankfully, they will remain active members of the NCDD network.

We could not be more excited to welcome our newest members to the board!  We encourage you to join us in thanking them for taking on these new roles and to learn a bit more about them below.

The New Members of the NCDD Board of Directors

Sagacity Walker
Matthew Sagacity Walker is a program designer and facilitator focusing on community engagement and youth development. Sagacity is currently the Program Manager at Everyday Democracy where he designs community trainings and provides coaching on group facilitation and community organizing. Sagacity is also a Senior Associate with The Creative Discourse Group; a collective focused on racial equity and supporting organizations build more equitable practices. A graduate of University of Hartford, he worked as a Field Researcher for the university’s Center for Social Research where he co-designed program evaluations and long-term studies. As a group facilitator, he has collaborated with various Connecticut based organizations and institutions. Sagacity facilitated community organizing trainings in several states; Ohio, Delaware, Iowa, and Maine to name a few. He has also facilitated community dialogues on various issues, particularly education, policing, and racial equity. With a background in management, youth programming, education, program evaluation, and small group facilitation, Matthew Sagacity Walker continues to work on local and national initiatives in hopes to contribute to more equitable, just, and informed communities. ​

NCDD member organization, Everyday Democracy, has announced they are hosting a virtual conversation on restorative justice on February 15th. Moderated by EvDem's President and CEO, Merle McGee, this virtual panel will bring together leading criminal justice advocates and members of the Connecticut Collaborative on Poverty, Criminal Justice & Race, for a discussion on the film, 'The Prison Within'. Learn more below and register for the event here.

As part of our continued partnership with the American Library Association (ALA) to support library workers through the Libraries Transforming Communities project, we wanted to share this related grant opportunity with the network.

Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities will offer more than $7 million in grants to small and rural libraries to increase the accessibility of facilities, services, and programs to better serve people with disabilities. ALA is now accepting applications for grants to be distributed over the next three years ranging from $10,000 to $20,000. Applications are open through February 28, 2023. Learn more about this opportunity in the post below and find further details at www.ala.org/LTCAccess.