Election time is probably the time when people hear and talk about policy the most. So you may feel that you have already heard way too much about policy debates in recent months. And you may feel—just like me—completely disgusted… Read More »
Tag Archives: citizen discussions
There are policy discussions and then there are policy discussions
Posted in Perspectives Also tagged civic engagement, conceptual possibilities, deliberation, democracy, discussion process, Discussion Reports, facilitation, personal development, Public Discussions Leave a comment
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How to Evaluate an IF Policy Possibility⎯Part 1
The first step, of course, is to understand the possibility: what it says and what it doesn’t. This almost inevitably means reading the description of the possibility, and the reasoning behind it, and paying attention to the words that describe… Read More »
Posted in Perspectives Also tagged challenges, communication skills, discussion process, Public Discussions, reasoning skills Leave a comment
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What’s Different About IF Policy Discussions?
The Interactivity Foundation (IF) promotes the thoughtful consideration of a wide range of conceptually contrasting policy possibilities in selected areas of concern. One way that we do this is through our sanctuary projects, which typically involve private discussions lasting a… Read More »
Posted in Perspectives Also tagged civic engagement, conceptual possibilities, consensus, contrasting possibilities, conversations, deliberation, discussion process, Discussion Reports, Public Discussions, small groups Leave a comment
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Managing Anger in Public Discussion
IF public discussions provide participants with opportunities to discuss contrasting policy possibilities in neutral, non-partisan settings. Because these possibilities are meant to be anticipatory of possible policy approaches that allow participants to “re-imagine” how society handles issues, our discussions are… Read More »
Posted in Perspectives Also tagged attitude, challenges, discussion process, facilitation, Public Discussions Leave a comment
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Hope, Change, and that Political Fog of Enthusiasm
Public policy possibilities are often developed and discussed within a fog of enthusiasm. It’s not that the people who advance them do not think at all about their possible practical consequences. But they tend to think a lot more about… Read More »
The Right Stuff
The raucous debate last month (March, 2010) over the health care bill was hardly unexpected. For more than one hundred years, efforts to provide better access to decent health care for all Americans have been thwarted. And, in fact, when… Read More »
Posted in Perspectives Also tagged civic engagement, discussion process, facilitation, participation, Public Discussions, recruiting Leave a comment
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All Communication Is Not Created Equal: Observations on the Usefulness of Blogging
Blogging, like most forms of communication, can serve various purposes. It can contribute to both IF’s learning by doing (through recruiting, say) and teaching (by drawing attention to the lessons we have learned by doing).
But it is a fundamental… Read More »
Posted in Perspectives Also tagged civic engagement, communication skills, conversations, discussion process 1 Comment
Possibilities as Catalysts to Discussion
Within the Interactivity Foundation, and as part of our continuing and internal development, we frequently discuss how to make our conceptual possibilities more “useful” for public discussion. And related to that ongoing discussion, we’ve had a number of recent postings… Read More »
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