Dialogue and Deliberation
Overview
Dialogue strategies are linked with community engagement strategies, focusing on bringing people together to discuss a particular issue, and/or to build relationships. Many groups describe these strategies as methods for practicing democracy and for raising the voices of marginalized groups, and/or of multiple perspectives in a community. Some dialogue processes are designed explicitly as a first step towards action and change; some are not. Most share goals of increasing the number of perspectives that are brought to bear on a community issue. Structured dialogue processes can build important relationships among people who did not previously know, trust or empathize with each other, and thus, increase one's competence and confidence in interacting with people of different races and ethnicities. They can also help people explore an issue from multiple perspectives, as a starting point for planning strategies or motivating actions.
Key sites
- Everyday Democracy, (formerly Study Circles Resource Center)
- National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation
Practices
- Dialogue and Change: A Study of the Use of Community-Wide Study Circles Programs to Foster Action and Change
- Moving Past The Silence: A Tool For Negotiating Reflective Conversations About Race: Moving Philanthropy Closer to Racial Equality and Social Justice
- Planning Guide for Community: Discussion and Reflection Processes
- Mix it Up: Reaching Across Boundaries: Talk to Create Change
- Portland Gentrification Surfaces Racial Divide
- Bridging the Gap between Public Officials and the Public
- Conversation Starters
- Top 10 Resources for Creating Change
- U. S. Public Participation Playbook
- The Power of Intentional Networks in Mixed Income Housing
- Activity for Incorporating a Racial Equity Lens in How We Work as an Action Team
- 7 Agreements for Productive Conversations During Difficult Times
- Speak Up: Opening a Dialogue with Youth about Racism
- Let’s Talk! Facilitating Difficult Conversations with Students
- Re-railing the Conversation on Race
- Intergenerational Equity: A Framework
Resources
- Best Practices for Survey and Public Opinion Research
- A Holistic Approach to Facilitated Dialogue: The Application of Dialogue Techniques To Advance a Family Strengthening Agenda
- Finding a Seat for Social Justice at the Table of Dialogue and Deliberation
- Under our Skin
- Code Switch Listening Kit
