• |
Alliance
for National Renewal
Resources for building communities and ideas for ways to engage
in community problem-solving. Part of the National
Civic League. |
• |
AmericaSpeaks
An organization which focuses on gathering citizens together
in face-to-face deliberative forums, utilizing various communications
technologies (e.g. laptop computer polling) to facilitate interaction
and inform legislators of results. |
• |
Benton
Foundation
Seeks various ways to use communication technology improvements
to facilitate public deliberation and involvement in solving policy
problems. |
• |
California
Voter Foundation
Contains a variety of resources to link citizens with government,
including voters’ guides, initiative summaries, quick access
to voting registration and contact information for state representatives. |
• |
Campus
Outreach Opportunity League
A national non-profit organization that helps mobilize students
for various kinds of community service efforts. |
• |
Civic
Practices Network
Includes a wide array of resources related to democratic theory,
citizenship, political participation, community building, etc.
Contains both scholarly analyses of various civic-related topics
and hands-on tools for workshops and training. Also has a useful
list of affiliates for locating additional resources. |
• |
Civnet
A site for civic education practitioners and scholars. In addition
to providing educational resources of various kinds, includes
a bi-monthly civil society journal, news updates, and links to
civic organizations across the globe. Civnet is managed by Civitas,
an international consortium for civic education. |
• |
Common
Ground for Life and Choice
A grassroots-based organization which brings individuals with divergent
positions on the abortion debate together to deliberate and seek
points of agreement. |
• |
Community
Conversations, Inc.
A private organization that conducts community forums to help facilitate
“an inclusive and deliberative process for citizens to explore
and address community issues.” CC, Inc. has a 30 member volunteer
Board of Directors, which “carries out much of the work of
the organization. The board identifies community issues, trains
forum and study circle facilitators, organizes forums, study circles
and conversation cafes, recruits new board members and raises money
to support community deliberation.” |
• |
Community
Resource Center
Helps local organizations and communities confront issues such as
health care, low income housing, civil rights issues, and community
planning. Focuses on empowering local communities by bringing together
individuals and groups and mobilizing them for action. |
• |
Conservative
Caucus
Resources for conservative political activism. |
• |
The
Content of Our Character
Website started by participants in the Content of Our Character
workshop, a gathering of twenty-somethings devoted to discussing
and determining shared ideals for ethical leadership in four areas:
politics, civil society, markets, and communities. The group’s
statement is downloadable and useful for guiding group discussions. |
• |
Intercollegiate
Electronic Democracy Project
The IEDP creates electronic networks that enable students from across
the country to engage in discourse with each other, thereby giving
them a hands-on opportunity to explore the various rhetorical dynamics
of public argument. IEDP also has an email discussion list for faculty
to share insights and pedagogical strategies. |
• |
Kettering
Foundation
Focuses on ways to bolster civic participation, support civil society,
and engage in community-building. Kettering also issues National
Issues Forum books, topical guides to various public policy dilemmas
(e.g. school violence, affirmative action, health care) that churches,
schools, and civic organizations can use to facilitate dialogue.
See http://www.nifi.org/ |
• |
Minnesota
E-Democracy
A non-partisan, citizen-based organization that uses various information
networks to improve civic participation in Minnesota politics.
Includes opportunities for candidates to participate in public
on-line forums, along with e-mail discussion groups both at the
state and community level. Its state-level e-mail forum, MN-POLITICS,
is the largest of its kind. |
• |
Neighborhoods
Online
Created by the Institute for the Study of Civic Values and LibertyNet,
this is a large online resource center for community-building and
neighborhood revitalization. It has many links to various fund-raising
and activist resources, and seeks to link community activists together
nationally through its listserver discussion group. |
• |
Study
Circles Resource Center
This organization facilitates peer-led, small-group discussions,
typically involving 8 to 12 people, to deliberate on issues such
as education, race, justice, and community-building. Efforts are
made to engage differing viewpoints and to collaborate in arriving
at community-wide strategies for action. |
• |
WebActive
Resource for web-activism. Particularly valuable for its directory
of over 2,000 web-based groups, most of which lean toward the
left/progressive side of the political spectrum. |
• |
W.
W. Norton’s We the People WebBook
Accompanies Ginsberg, Lowi and Weir’s We the People: An
Introduction to American Politics textbook. Integrates opportunities
for students’ political participation and deliberation with
course materials. |
