What is Public Deliberation? Deliberation is an approach to politics in which citizens, not just experts or politicians, are deeply involved in public decision making. Often working with facilitators or process experts who utilize a variety of deliberative techniques, citizens come together and consider relevant facts and values from multiple points of view; listen to one another in order to think critically about the various options before them; consider the underlying tensions, tough choices, and varied consequences inherent to addressing public problems; are willing to refine and adapt their opinions and interests; and ultimately seek to come to some conclusion for action based on a reasoned public judgment.

The Cycle of Deliberative Inquiry Deliberative Issue Analysis Convening Facilitating Interactive Communication (Deliberation/Debate/Dialogue) Reporting Action

Forms of Inquiry

Key Products of Deliberative Inquiry (a)the identification and attempted resolution of key obstacles to collaborative problem-solving, (b)the identification and working through of tough choices or tradeoffs, (c) the identification and building upon of common ground, (d) the identification and development of support for complementary and creative action from a broad and inclusive range of stakeholders.

The Uses of the Key Products Represent the key “value added” of deliberative practice that typical forms of engagement tend not to produce Products are relevant throughout the cycle Each trip around the cycle should be designed to provide clarity and insight concerning the key products Should be made explicit to participants

Sources for Deliberative Inquiry Traditional academic research Newspaper articles Public comments on articles Advocacy websites Surveys Interviews Focus groups Etc., etc., etc.

The Cycle of Deliberative Inquiry Deliberative Issue Analysis Convening Facilitating Interactive Communication (Deliberation/Debate/Dialogue) Reporting Action

Education Civic/adult educ. Dewey/Freire Experiential and service learning Public reason Habermas/Rawls Public sphere Ethics, logic, and judgment Multi-stakeholder dispute resolution Democratic theory Local/state politics Public opinion Civil society Power/conflict Diversity studies Community organizing Non-profit management Human service agencies Collaborative problem solving Community building Community development Philosophy Political Science/ Public Affairs Journalism Public Administration Sociology/ Social Work Information Technology Natural Resources/ Environ- mental Studies Online deliberation Group decision support systems Public and civic journalism Mediated delib. Law Public law Mediation Deliberative Democracy & Collaborative Governance Communication Conflict resolution Small group/org. comm. Intercultural dialogue Rhetoric/political comm. Urban Planning/ Civil Engineering Cooperative Extension Democratic governance Collaborative decisionmaking and public participation Public Health Deliberation in the disciplines Public role in policy decisions Public role in design charettes

National Coalition Of Dialogue and Deliberation National Charrette Institute Center for Wise Democracy Dialogue Partners Jefferson Center/ Citizen Jury International Association of Public Participation Public Conversations Project Democracy Imperative Kettering Foundation & the National Issues Forum Institute Collaborative Governance Network World Cafe Study Circles Deliberative Democracy Consortium Peace Circles Fielding Institute Policy Consensus Institute For Local Government’s Democratic Governance Initiative Public Dialogue Consortium Institute for the Common Good By the People AmericaSpeaks The Extra-Disciplinary Scope of the Movement

Part of the National Issues Forum (NIF) Network:

The National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation