The Summer Institute of Civic Studies Returns to Dayton: Kettering Foundation Hosts Week-Long Immersive for Civic Practitioners and Scholars

The Kettering Foundation's Democracy and Community focus area will host the 2026 Summer Institute of Civic Studies at its Dayton, Ohio campus August 2–8 — an intensive interdisciplinary seminar bringing together faculty, graduate students, and civic practitioners for a week of seminar-style discussion, community engagement, and deep inquiry into the literature and practice of civic studies and democratic community-building. The Institute, which has been taught and hosted in locations across the U.S. and Europe since 2009, centers framing questions about collaborative problem-solving, value disagreements, power disparities, and the institutional conditions for civic engagement — topics central to the dialogue and deliberation field. Participation is free, with food provided and limited travel stipends available, though the 2026 application window has closed. This gathering represents a vital node in the intellectual and practitioner network that NCDD's mission supports, and NCDD members are encouraged to follow the Kettering Foundation for future SICS opportunities.

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This August, the Kettering Foundation will host the Summer Institute of Civic Studies at its Dayton, Ohio campus — bringing together faculty, advanced graduate students, and practitioners for an intensive week of seminar-style dialogue, community visits, and collaborative inquiry into the foundations of democratic life. Running August 2–8, 2026, the Institute represents a significant moment for the civic studies field: it is the first time SICS has been hosted at the Kettering Foundation itself, connecting participants directly with Kettering's collaborators and partners working at the intersection of civic life, community, and democracy in Dayton.

The Summer Institute of Civic Studies is not a conference. It is a structured immersive: participants spend 3–6 hours daily in seminar-style discussion, engage with 10–15 hours of pre-assigned readings, and make site visits to community members doing civic and democratic work on the ground. Framing questions guide the week's inquiry, centering on how people can work together across value differences, address disparities of power, build voluntary civic associations, and create institutional conditions for genuine democratic participation. The Institute draws its intellectual lineage from the 2007 Civic Studies Framing Statement, developed by a remarkable cohort of scholars including Jane Mansbridge, Harry Boyte, Elinor Ostrom, and Peter Levine, and has been hosted in locations ranging from Kyiv and Munich to Madrid and Virginia since its founding in 2009. Participation is free of charge, with food provided throughout the week and limited travel and lodging stipends available based on need.

​For practitioners and scholars working in dialogue, deliberation, and civic engagement, the Summer Institute offers something rare: a sustained, collegial space for engaging the theoretical and practical foundations of the work — not just techniques and tools, but the deeper questions about why civic life matters and how it can be strengthened. Past institutes have built lasting learning communities, and the 2026 Dayton cohort will have the added dimension of connecting with Kettering's long-standing community partnerships. While the 2026 application window has closed, NCDD members are encouraged to follow the Kettering Foundation for future SICS opportunities and to explore the Institute's history and intellectual resources. Learn more at https://kettering.org/summer-institute-of-civic-studies-2026/.