PublicDecisions

May 21-22 The Science of Science Communication Conference

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:58:00 +0000

May 21-22, 2012
National Academy of Sciences
Washington, DC

"Overview

This colloquium will survey the state of the art of empirical social science research in science communication and will focus on research in psychology, decision science, mass communication, risk communication, health communication, political science, sociology, and related fields on the communication dynamics surrounding issues in science, engineering, technology, and medicine with five distinct goals:

To improve understanding of relations between the scientific community and the public
To assess the scientific basis for effective communication about science
To strengthen ties among and between communication scientists
To promote greater integration of the disciplines and approaches pertaining to effective communication
To foster an institutional commitment to evidence-based communication science"

IAP2 North America Conference 2012 – Call for Proposals

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:31:00 +0000

From IAP2:
"Welcome to the 2012 North American IAP2 Conference! We are extremely excited to be working with our partner organization IAP2 USA to bring you this event and hope you can join us September 30-October 2, 2012 in beautiful Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

You’re Invited
This call for proposals is for interested individuals, groups or organizations to present and share their insights and expertise in the P2 field. Our team was inspired by the idea of P2 equally involving the head, heart and hands and through our conference themes hope to explore how each of these play an integral role in expansion and growth of public participation. We aim to involve researchers, stakeholders, academics, community members, decision-makers, practitioners and others to build together a diverse audience thereby truly getting a 360 perspective.

Conference session proposals must support or align with one of the sub-themes. The key focus questions are not meant to limit but rather used as a launch point and touchstone.

Theme Key Focus Questions

STIMULATE your mind

What have you learned, discovered, proven or identified from your research, study of the field or experience, which will advance the growth and practice of public participation.
This is all about the thinking…..

MOTIVATE your heart

What is at the heart of public participation? We think it might lie in the values, ethics, and feelings associated with P2. What is it that motivates, influences or provokes involvement or lack thereof in public participation?
This is all about the feeling…..

PARTICIPATE in action

What tools, activities, techniques are defining the cutting edge of public participation? How do you find the balance between the “tried & tested” and the “innovative & creative?”

This is all about action…..

For more information please download the full Call for Proposals and proposal template. Proposals are DUE March 23, 2012 and questions should be directed to conference@iap2canada.ca"

INVOLVE Hosts Two Upcoming Community Engagement Webinars

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:34:00 +0000

From INVOLVE:

"As part of the Creative Councils programme Involve and NESTA are hosting a series of free webinars on community engagement, coproduction and related issues. Many of the Creative Councils projects are trying to connect Councils with the communities they serve in new and interesting ways. If you’re looking for inspiration or advice on how to engage with citizens and how to creat a culture of community engagement in your organisation then join the conversation!

Each session will include a presentation by an expert in the field, followed by an opportunity to ask questions and discuss. The sessions will be interactive, short and held over lunchtime in order to make it easy for you to attend. If you can’t make the webinar you can also submit questions in advance and access a recording afterwards.

The topics for the first two sessions will be:

Where next for engagement? – 12 to 1.30pm, 17^th February
In the first session, Edward Andersson, Deputy Director of Involve, will reflect on where engagement is heading in a time of Localism and Austerity. New forms of engagement and new technologies provide exciting opportunities. This session will look at creative methods of engagement that can be used to reach beyond the actively engaged and help to develop a productive conversation with communities. Edward will give examples of these methods and advice on when and how they should be used.

Positively deviant – 12 to 1.30pm, 2^nd March
In the second session, Jane Lewis, from Woodward-Lewis and Susan Ritchie, an Involve associate and director of Mutual Gain, will give an introduction to a problem solving approach within communities called Positive Deviance. This method is based on the observation that through their uncommon (or deviant) behaviour some individuals and groups within communities develop better solutions to problems than others. It is being used across the UK and has delivered some astounding results in the form of reduced crime, improved health outcomes and much more. Sue will explain how it works and when to use the approach.

The topics of the following sessions will be up to you to decide. You can vote here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QZYJXQ6

The webinars will take place over WebEx, an online meeting platform. If you would like to take part in the webinar series, email Tim Hughes at tim@involve.org.uk for a meeting invitation.

Future dates:

16^th March, 12 to 1.30pm
30^th March, 12 to 1.30pm
13^th April, 12 to 1.30pm
27^th April, 12 to 1.30pm"

Job Oppty: Program Manager, Food, Health & Well-Being, Racial Equity, and Community and Civic Engagement

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:15:00 +0000

"The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, a leading philanthropic force helping communities create the conditions children need to thrive and the nation’s fifth largest foundation, is seeking nominations and applications for a Program Manager in the area of Food, Health, and Well-Being, Racial Equity, and Community and Civic Engagement. As a part of the program team, the Program Manager will coordinate and provide support to internal grant making operations including processing and tracking grants, performing research activities, maintaining and analyzing reports, and coding data. The Program Manager will also serve as an internal liaison working among program teams in areas of focus to support program alignment, integration, and aggregated learning opportunities; will ensure internal compliance with grant management and processing standards; and will provide technical support to grantees and senior programming staff in the development, implementation, and learning associated with all programming efforts." Read more

PCORI Hosts National Patient and Stakeholder Dialogue

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:48:00 +0000

From the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute:

"The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) will hold a National Patient and Stakeholder Dialogue on February 27, 2012. We will present PCORI's Draft National Priorities and Research Agenda and welcome three-and-a-half hours of public comment by individuals attending in person and by phone. In addition, there will be two moderated discussion panels on the priorities and agenda featuring patient advocates, caregivers, clinicians and other stakeholders.

The event is part of PCORI's effort to receive broad public input before the comments are considered in a process to revise and adopt the priorities and agenda. A draft event schedule is provided below and a detailed schedule will be distributed soon. We hope you will register today to join us in person, watch via webcast or listen by telephone. You can register to attend and provide public comment here.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at info@pcori.corg.

What: PCORI National Patient and Stakeholder Dialogue
When: Monday, February 27, 2012
9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST
Where: The National Press Club
529 14th St., NW
13th Floor
Washington, D.C.

Webcast and Teleconference details will be circulated and posted on our website prior to the event

Draft Event Schedule
9:30-9:45 Welcome and Introduction by PCORI Executive Director Joe Selby
9:45-9:55 Overview of PCORI's input process on the national priorities and
research agenda
9:55-10:15 Overview of PCORI's national priorities and research agenda
10:15-11:15 Patient and Caregiver Discussion Panel
11:15-11:30 Break
11:30-12:30 Clinician and Stakeholder Discussion Panel
12:30-1:00 Lunch (provided)
1:00-4:30 Public comment (in person and by phone)
4:30-4:55 Observations from PCORI Board Members
4:55-5:00 Closing Comments by PCORI Executive Director Joe Selby

European Competition for Best Innovations in University Outreach and Public Engagement

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:48:00 +0000

From EngageU:

"As part of the European Commission funded, Ulab project, the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford is organizing an online competition to identify the most innovative outreach and public engagement activities that have been carried out by European Universities. We define outreach and public engagement in the broadest sense to incorporate all forms of interaction with individuals and organisations outside the university. Examples of outreach and public engagement may include initiatives that engage with school children and / or their teachers, interactions with commercial organisations that lead to new technological developments, or activities that connect with policy makers and support the policy making process. Both individuals and groups may apply for awards" Read more

Call for Proposals: Public Involvement in Health and Social Care Research

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:29:00 +0000

From INVOLVE:

INVOLVE 2012 Conference
"The eighth biennial INVOLVE conference is being held at the East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham, on 13 and 14 November 2012. The conference will bring together members of the public, service users, researchers, research commissioners and representatives of voluntary sector organisations, who share a common interest in public involvement in NHS, public health and social care research.

The conference call for presentations is now open. We are inviting presentations on public involvement in health and social care research that will encourage critical thinking and discussion on the following:
•   how people are involved in research
•   learning and support
•   researching impact
•   future directions

Presentations may take the form of posters, workshops, papers, film, sound recordings, performances and other approaches, and speed sessions.

For further information and to complete the call for presentations application form, visit www.invo.org.uk/involve2012.

Closing date for applying to do a presentation: Monday 26 March 2012"

9th Annual Games for Change Festival

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:46:00 +0000

The call for proposals is now open for the 9th Annual Games for Change Festival!

"The 9th Annual Games for Change Festival will be taking place on June 18-20, 2012. The call for talks and presentations is now live! The Festival is the leading global event that facilitates the creation and distribution of social impact games that serve as critical tools in humanitarian and educational efforts.

To submit a talk or presentation, visit:
http://www.jotform.com/form/13345329628

Submission deadline: Friday, February 17 at 11:59 pm EST.

Accepted speakers will receive a complimentary pass to the Festival and will be notified on March 16.

To learn more about what topics we're looking for this year as well as information about the review process, visit out website:
http://www.gamesforchange.org/2012/01/g4c-12-call-for-talks-presentations/"

Feb 2 Event with John Gastil: Four Glimpses Of Democracy's Future

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:22:00 +0000

John Gastil, Ph.D.

Noted deliberation scholar John Gastil/Penn State University will be speaking at a February 2 event hosted by the Centre for Public Involvement located in Edmonton, Alberta. The program will focus on deliberative innovations in India, Brazil, Canada, and the United States.

When: February 2, 2012, 7:30-930pm Mountain Standard Time

Read more about this great program by viewing the flyer.

Note: the program flyer notes that the program will be available via webinar too; please register at this weblink.

Calls for Papers: IJEP Special Issue on Immigrant Inclusion by E-Participation

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:24:00 +0000

From the e-DMR listserve:

"SUBMISSION DUE DATE: February 1, 2012

SPECIAL ISSUE ON Immigrant Inclusion by E-Participation

Guest Editors: Itir Akdogan, Mauri Kaipainen, Sonia Sousa, and Ilona Tikka

INTRODUCTION:
Immigrant Inclusion by e-Participation (IIeP) is a multi-stakeholder regional project that addresses immigrant communities and public authorities in Estonia, Finland and Sweden. The aims of the project include bridging the tools, activities, and concepts of citizen communities, on one hand, and the governments top-down participation practices and technologies on the other, in terms of interoperability and integration of technologies. The Joint International Workshop on Immigrant Inclusion by e-Participation was organized within the project framework in 2-3 November 2011 at the University of Helsinki in Finland. The workshop gathered authorities on national and local levels involved in e-democracy and e-governance, immigrant and multicultural non-governmental organizations, and researchers in e-democracy and inclusion of immigrants in participatory decision-making processes in order to create a discussion forum and interaction between authorities, NGO actors and immigrant societies on immigrant inclusion by e-participation.

OBJECTIVE OF THE SPECIAL ISSUE:
This special issue aims at sharing the discussions of the event with the international research community, but even at elaborating the subject in a wider spectrum with contributions from researchers in this field who were not present at the workshop.
The special issue will thus bring together various perspectives on how authorities and immigrants may use new information and communication technologies for more inclusive and democratic societies.

RECOMMENDED TOPICS:
Topics to be discussed in this special issue include (but are not limited
to) the following:

Activism, initiative citizenship, and immigrants Challenges and limitations of e-participation Empowerment of immigrants in e-participation Governmental and municipal e-participation Hate speech online Immigrants public e-participation awareness Inclusion vs. exclusion of immigrants online Non-governmental organizations and e-participation Political e-participation of immigrants Promotion of social interaction and civic engagement Transnational identities, diaspora, and use of social media

SUBMISSION PROCEDURE:
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit papers for this special theme issue on Immigrant inclusion by e-participation on or before February 1, 2012. All submissions must be original and may not be under review by another publication.INTERESTED AUTHORS SHOULD CONSULT THE JOURNALS GUIDELINES FOR MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSIONS at http://www.igi-global.com/Files/AuthorEditor/guidelinessubmission.pdf.

All submitted papers will be reviewed on a double-blind, peer review basis.
Papers must follow APA style for reference citations.

All submissions should be directed to the attention of:

Itir Akdogan, Mauri Kaipainen, Sonia Sousa, and Ilona Tikka Guest Editors

E-mail: itir.akdogan@helsinki.fi"

University of Illinois Funds New Research on Citizens' Role in Public Policy

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:35:00 +0000

From Newswise:

"Five research projects at the University of Illinois at Chicago dealing with the citizen’s role in public policy have each received a $20,000 award. The awards, given by the UIC Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement, are funding faculty research aimed at improving citizen participation in government services, often through the use of technology." Read more at the Newswise site.

Living Labs Global Awards Seeks Nominees

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:57:00 +0000

Here's a post via Games for Change. Many of the suggested examples cited involve public engagement; it'd be wonderful to see an innovation of that kind be recognized through the LL program!

"Living Labs Global is looking for innovative solutions for the challenges presented by 20 cities across the world.

For example, Sant Cugat in Spain wants to encourage citizen participation in service design and delivery, Derry-Londonderry, in Northern Ireland, wants to connect citizens and locals digitally with the city’s culture and heritage, while Glasgow in Scotland wants help to become one of the most sustainable cities in Europe within the next ten years.

The Living Labs Global Award 2012 provides companies an opportunity to present their solutions directly to a leading group of world cities and an opportunity to enter a new market through a pilot with full support from the city. All entrants also receive a confidential and documented evaluation of their product or service, win prestigious recognition and international exposure. Twenty global cities are participating in the award with the aim of helping over 100 million citizens in America, Africa, Asia and Europe.

How to submit:
Entries can be submitted in about 10 minutes, for free through www.llga.org until 17th February 2012. International juries will evaluate the entries and provide a shortlist of the top 5 showcases per city on 5th
March. Winners will be announced at the award ceremony on 2nd May 2012 at the Rio Summit on Service Innovation in Cities.

We look forward to seeing your submission. If you’d like to discuss your solution or have any queries, do get in touch,

Lucy Ratcliffe
Email: l.ratcliffe@livinglabs-global.com
Phone: 0034 93 1855110
Twitter: @LivingLabTrsm
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LLGA2012

About the Living Labs Global Award 2012:
Living Labs Global, a non-profit association promoting innovative solutions in cities around the world, is organising the 2012 edition of the Living Labs Global Award in cooperation with the Cities of
Barcelona, Birmingham, Caceres, Cape Town, Coventry, Derry-Londonderry, Eindhoven, Fukuoka, Glasgow, Guadalajara, Hamburg, Lagos, Lavasa, Kristiansand, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, Sant Cugat, Santiago de Chile and Terrassa, to choose solutions that add high value to users in cities around the world."

New Book: Service-Learning in Design and Planning

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:51:00 +0000

Folks who are interested in the service-learning aspect of community engagement--particularly in the fields of urban design and planning--may want to check out this new book, "Service-Learning in Design and Planning: Educating at the Boundaries", edited by Tom Angotti, Cheryl Doble, and Paula Horrigan.

Description:
"This rich collection of case studies by design educators critically explores the current practice
of service-learning in architecture, landscape design, and urban planning, radically revising the
standard protocol for university-community collaborations. The pedagogical framework
advanced by the authors offers a set of examples, ideas, and guidelines that will help
educators, professionals, and students develop a truly generative and inclusive design
process.

How can the boundaries between academia and community be crossed, and the planning and
research goals of educators and professionals be integrated with the needs and aspirations of
the communities they serve? This anthology answers this question by analyzing the four major
challenges that service-learning practice is faced with: acknowledging "the other," envisioning
tools for feedback and evaluation, crossing geographic and cultural borders, and
confronting the institutional and disciplinary boundaries that shape academic and professional
practices. An outstanding array of case studies from the US and abroad illustrate
possible answers to these challenges and emphasize the shift from planning and designing
"for" the community to working "with" its members."

Contributing Authors: Keith Bartholomew, Amanda M. Beer, Peter Butler, Linda Corkery, Pat
Crawford, Lynne M. Dearborn, Susan Erickson, Susan C. Harris, Sally Harrison, Jeffrey Hou, Clara
Irazábal, Paul Kelsch, Zenia Kotval, Laura Lawson, Mira Locher, Patricia Machemer, V. Paul
Poteat, Ann Quinlan, Jodi Rios, Michael Rios, Joseph Schilling, Lynda Schneekloth, Scott
Shannon, Lisa B. Spanierman, Jack Sullivan, and Daniel Winterbottom.

Learn more at the New Village website

US Congressman, Senator Create New Legislative Markup Tool

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:09:00 +0000

From the January 6, 2012 Innovators Insight Newsletter:

"Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) have unveiled Madison, a live legislative markup tool that accepts online feedback on bills as they move through the legislative process. Released in conjunction with an upcoming bill, the tool allows users with perhaps more expertise in a given area to propose revisions a particular bill, and leave comments to justify the changes."

Case Study: Public Engagement at Tenaska's Trailblazer Project

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:28:00 +0000

"The Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Center is a cutting-edge coal-fueled electric generating plant currently under development near Sweetwater,Texas. It is among the first such plants in the USA to include commercial-scale post-combustion carbon capture equipment in its design and will be among the cleanest coal-fueled power plants in the USA. Over the past three years, the development team of the Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Center has involved the local community in the projects development to gain support for this ground-breaking project at the local, state and Federal level." This project is being conducted by Tenaska, Inc. and the Global CCS Institute.

As its website notes, the Global CCS Institute "works collaboratively to build and share the expertise necessary to ensure that carbon capture and storage (CCS) can make a significant impact on reducing the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Announced by the Australian Government in September 2008, the Global CCS Institute was formally launched in April 2009. It became a legal entity in June 2009 when it was incorporated under the Australian Corporations Act 2001 as a public company and began operating independently as of July 2009. The Institute is a not-for-profit entity, limited by guarantee, and owned by its Members, with the Australian Government initially committing AU$100 million annual funding to the organisation for a four year period."

Read more about the public consultation for this project and download the public engagement report

Jan 9 Event on Teaching America: The Case for Civic Education

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:10:00 +0000

Hosted by the Brookings Institution
Monday, January 09, 2012
9:30 AM to 11:30 AM

"Congressional approval ratings stand at an all-time low and grassroots movements such as Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party are mobilizing citizens to engage in the democratic process and push for change. But do America's young people have the tools they need to assess candidates for public office and influence the policy process? The statistics say no. According to a new book edited by David Feith, young Americans know little about the Bill of Rights, the democratic process, or the civil rights movement. Three of every four high school seniors aren’t proficient in civics, nine of ten aren't proficient in U.S. history, and the problem is aggravated by a lack of civic education at the university level.

On January 9, Brookings will host a discussion of Teaching America: The Case for Civic Education (Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2011). Contributing authors will lay out their proposals for strengthening civic education in a discussion moderated by Brookings Senior Fellow William Galston. This event is part of the Governing Ideas series intended to broaden the discussion of governance issues through forums on history, culture, legal norms and practices, values and religion."

Learn more and register

EU Commission Sets Policies to Increase Consultation

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:52:00 +0000

"On 1 January, the European Commission provided EU citizens, businesses and NGOs with an extension of the period for commenting on plans for new policies and legislation from eight to 12 weeks, making it easier for them to get involved in EU policy-making." The Commission also established a new alert system. Read more in this New Europe article.

The complete press release is here.

Call for Conference Papers: Creating Public Value in a Multi-Sector, Shared-Power World

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:18:00 +0000

"The Center for Integrative Leadership and the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota seek paper proposals for a conference on what it means to create public value in a multi-sector, shared-power, no-one-wholly-in-charge world. Successfully addressing most major public challenges in today’s world requires contributions from governments, businesses, nonprofit organizations, communities and/or other sectors – yet the effort to find effective solutions is often stymied by lack of knowledge or highly fractious politics and rigid ideological divides. So how do we get the good that these sectors have to offer, while minimizing or overcoming their characteristic weaknesses in such a way that public value is created and the common good is advanced?

Paper proposals are sought in two areas:

1. Studies that highlight how public value is or is not created. Studies should illuminate how various sectors and instrument or tools are used to advance (or not) public values and the theory that accounts for the results. The studies will provide theoretical backing and concrete grounding for thinking about the achievement of public values.

2. Approaches to discerning, measuring, and assessing public values and the ways of creating them.

Submission process and due dates
Abstracts should be submitted by February 3, 2012. Authors will be notified by February 24, 2012 whether their proposals have been selected for development as full-blown papers. The due date for final submissions is August 15, 2012. Authors of paper abstracts selected for development into full papers will be invited to present their research at the conference scheduled for September 20 - 22, 2012 in Minneapolis, MN, USA. After the conference, papers will go through a standard blind review process as a requirement for publication in the special issue of Public Administration Review to appear in 2014. An edited book is a likely additional conference outcome.

Submissions should be sent electronically to CIL@umn.edu with the subject line: Creating Public Value Submission. Questions about appropriate topics and methodology should be directed to John Bryson (jmbryson@umn.edu or 612-625-5888).

Link to pdf of full call for papers: http://www.leadership.umn.edu/documents/CreatingPublicValueCall-13Oct2011.pdf"

New Study: People Don't Just Think With Their Guts: Logic Plays a Role, Too

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:08:00 +0000

From the 12/29 issue of Science Daily:

"For decades, science has suggested that when people make decisions, they tend to ignore logic and go with the gut. But Wim De Neys, a psychological scientist at the University of Toulouse in France, has a new suggestion: Maybe thinking about logic is also intuitive. He writes about this idea in the January issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science." Read more about this study

PTI Webinar: Utilizing Appreciative Inquiry as a Tool for Collaboration and Innovation

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 15:17:00 +0000

From the Public Technology Institute website:

Webinar Dates
For Governments: Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 2:00–3:00 PM ET
For Non-Profits: Thursday, February 2, 2012, 2:00–3:00 PM ET
Offered by PTI and Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration.

Led by James Davy, Director of the Rutgers Center for Applied Appreciative Inquiry and a former public official for nearly 30 years, and Dr. Robert Shick, Associate Professor and Director of Executive and International Programs at the Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration.

"Learn how to use Appreciative Inquiry as a tool for collaboration and innovation. Take the lead in applying a new, creative and positive approach to driving change ranging from identifying cost reduction strategies to streamlining service delivery systems, or to developing shared services and consolidations to more effectively engaging the community in meaningful ways.

Appreciative Inquiry focuses everyone’s attention on possibilities rather than problems. It broadens and elevates your core strengths and assets to create the future you most desire for your organization and community."

There is a $30 registration fee.
Learn more at the PTI website.

New Report from The Economist, The Democracy Index 2011

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:46:00 +0000

There is a new report out from the Economist, the next in it's annual series of reports that detail the state of democracy around the world. This year's report is entitled "The Democracy Index 2011: Democracy under stress". Read more and download this year's report.

Job Announcement: Community Engagement Specialist, Washington DC

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:42:00 +0000

The Nature Conservancy is seeking a Community Engagement Specialist for its office in the metro DC area. The job application period closes on January 5, 2012.

About the Nature Conservancy
"The Nature Conservancy is the world’s leading conservation organization, working in all 50 states and more than 33 countries. Founded in 1951, the mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive."

Read more at the Nature Conservancy website

Job Oppty: Technologist in support of Democracy/Civil Society/Free Speech

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:10:00 +0000

We're glad to share this job announcement from Joshua Breitbart of the New America Foundation:
The New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative seeks a Technologist to join our team in Washington, D.C., building a new device-as-infrastructure communications tool for democratic organizing, civil society, and free speech in the 21st century. http://newamerica.net/node/56265

Tues August 23 in Second Life: Next Generation Learning in Virtual Worlds with Anders Grondstedt

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 22:43:00 +0000

You’re invited to join us next Tuesday, August 23 at 4pm eastern for our next Virtual Worlds for Stakeholder Engagement meeting.
This group is free and the meeting is open to anyone interested in attending; you must have a Second Life account (they’re free) to participate. The group is co-sponsored by PublicDecisions and Learning Times.
Please share this announcement with others you know who may be interested.

Topic: Next Generation Learning in Virtual Worlds with Anders Gronstedt
Date: Tuesday, August 23
Time: 16.00 Eastern/New York (see www.timeserver.com for your respective time zone)
Where: Squirrel Island
RSVP to Beth at Beth@PublicDecisions.com
We will be using Second Life Voice Chat for the audio; plug in your headset/mic or listen in over your computer speakers

This month’s program features Anders Gronstedt of the Gronstedt Group. Anders works closely with private sector and public sector organizations to create next-generation learning that uses virtual worlds and other technologies. Their customized learning programs employ next-generation digital simulations, podcasts, vodcasts, mobile learning, social media, gaming and virtual worlds; teaching people the skills they need in a context that's immersive and energizing.

Come hear Anders tell us about his recent City of New York Emergency Shelter Simulation, a 3-D immersive Emergency Shelter Simulation developed by the CUNY School of Professional Studies with the Gronstedt Group, for the City of New York Office of Emergency Management. It earned a second place in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Assisted Training category of the Federal Virtual Worlds Challenge from a pool of about four dozen entries.

He’ll also highlight how traversable 3-D spaces and how a new generation of browser-based virtual worlds are making 3D immersive experiences more broadly available and discuss the web-based virtual world they’ve created, Jibe. Developed with red-hot game engine, Unity3D, the Jibe virtual world can be accessed in any standard browser (no big software download needed, just a small plug-in) and even by the iPad, iPhone, or Android-based mobile devices.

About Anders Gronstedt
Anders Gronstedt, Ph.D. (anders@gronstedtgroup.com) is the president of Colorado-based Gronstedt Group, which helps global companies like Coldwell Banker, Deloitte, Dell, HP, Jamba Juice, Volvo Cars, Ericsson, Eli Lilly and United Healthcare improve performance with innovative learning approaches, including next-generation digital simulations, podcasts, vodcasts, mobile learning, social media, gaming and virtual worlds; teaching people the skills they need in a context that's immersive and energizing. His articles have appeared in the Harvard Business Review and he is the host of the popular weekly virtual world speaking series “Train for Success” (http://www.facebook.com/TrainForSuccess)

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Antipoverty Apps

Beth@PublicDecisions.com (Beth Offenbacker) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:07:00 +0000

From the Summer 2011 Stanford Social Innovation Review:

"mPowering has created an app that awards goods and services to individuals facing extreme poverty when they make beneficial choices, such as attending school or seeking prenatal care." Read more at this link.