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Welcome to Oklahoma Moderators
and Recorders Academy
Welcome to Oklahoma Moderators
and Recorders Academy
Prepared by:
Renée Daugherty, Ph.D.Oklahoma State University
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At the OMRA,you will learn to…
At the OMRA,you will learn to…
• Deliberate rather than debate or just discuss important public issues
• Develop public understanding and knowledge about issues
• Create common ground for action
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And, you will learn to…And, you will learn to…• Convene forums• Moderate deliberative forums• Record comments at deliberative forums• Report deliberative forum outcomes• Connect with office holders• Stimulate public action – commit to work together
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Without the people’s will,the people won’t.”
Without the people’s will,the people won’t.”
Harry WestCoalition of the Willing
Atlanta, GA
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Role of Public in PolicyRole of Public in Policy . . . The people must be actively involved in
making public judgments . . . . To preserve American democracy, there is something for everyone to do – average citizens, institutions, people in positions of leadership, experts, government officials, the media – all of us
Yankelovich, 1991
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The Public Decision-Making Process
The Public Decision-Making Process
Public Problem
Facts Myths Values
Public Decision
Ways to Get Public Input on
Public Problems/Issues
Ways to Get Public Input on
Public Problems/Issues• Voting
• Polling
• Debate
• Letters to the editor
• Civil disobedience
• Demonstrations / protests
• Town Halls
• Boycotts
• . . . and . . . Public deliberation
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Public Deliberation helps peopleweigh alternative policies . . .
. . . to solve challenging public problems.
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The Roots ofPublic Deliberation
The Roots ofPublic Deliberation
• Tribal decision making• New England town hall
Public Deliberation Methods
Public Deliberation Methods
• Deliberative forums (NIF)
• Study circles (Everyday Democracy)
• Deliberative polling (Dr. James Fishkin, Stanford University)
• Citizen juries• Conversation cafes
• World cafes• Wisdom circles• Appreciative inquiry• Sustained dialogue• Tetra• . . . and many others
Change Handbook (2007)
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If the only tool you have in your toolkit is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail . . .
If the only tool you have in your toolkit is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail . . .
If the only tool you have in yourIf the only tool you have in yourcivic engagement toolkit iscivic engagement toolkit is__________, then everything looks__________, then everything lookslike __________.like __________.
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Kettering FoundationKettering Foundation• Founded in 1927• American tradition of inventive research
– Charles Kettering, 200 patents– Getting at “the problem behind the problem”
• Research objective: to learn what it takes to make democracy work as it should
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National Issues Forums (www.nifi.org)
National Issues Forums (www.nifi.org)
• Non-partisan, non-advocacy• Nation-wide network and international• 20-30 issue guides available
– Current issues– Historic Decisions series (“Before it was history,
it was a choice”
• Local deliberative forums
Everyday Democracy(formerly Study Circles Resource Center)
Everyday Democracy(formerly Study Circles Resource Center)
• Community study circles– Printed guides on several public issues– Meet 5-6 times for 2-3 hours– Community Action Report– Community committees
• Turning the Tide on Poverty– Poverty in Oklahoma leader lesson
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Deliberative ForumsDeliberative Forums
• A public problem– Complex, with no simple answers– There is time for deliberation; not an emergency
• Deliberative; go beyond debate or simply sharing ideas• A structured dialogue / issue guide• Public understanding about issues• Learning the people’s concerns about an issue• Tough choices about policy directions
– Wrestling priorities out of complexities– Moving from cocksure ignorance to thoughtful uncertainty
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Deliberative Forums, cont’dDeliberative Forums, cont’d• A way of reasoning and talking together
– Weighs the views of others– Considers consequences, costs and benefits– Challenges people to identify trade-offs– Respects the perspectives and values of others
• Requires that people:– Interact peacefully.– Share knowledge and perspectives on issues.– Organize to act publicly on these issues.
• A means to find common ground for action; secure commitment to work together
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What Happens in aDeliberative Forum?What Happens in a
Deliberative Forum?
• 15-25 people in a circle• Diverse participants &
perspectives• Facilitated by a trained
moderator and recorder• Issue guide with 3-4 options• 2 to 2½ hours:
– Opening– Deliberation of approaches– Reflections/Closing
• Common ground• Tradeoffs• Understanding of others’
perspectives
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IssueBook
Issue guides Issue guides • Non-partisan / non-advocacy• Booklets, place-mats, on-line
• NIF creates 3-4 guides/year• Life span of several years
• Format• Introduction to the current state of the issue (25 %)• 3-4 options to be deliberated (75%)
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After the ForumAfter the Forum
Nationally through NIF– Moderators from multiple forums report
outcomes to NIF– NIF prepares national reports (3 or 4 per year)
– “A Public Voice” – one-hour PBS special
– Presentation at National Press Club in Washington, DC
– Presentation to Congress and/or staff
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After the ForumAfter the Forum
• In Oklahoma or locally:– Forum outcomes compiled into a final local
report– Report is shared:
– A community meeting
– News releases
– Printed materials, etc.
• Public action• Connecting citizens & officeholders
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Studies ofPublic Deliberation
Studies ofPublic Deliberation
• Deliberative Forum Participants:– Come from every part of society
– Reconsider their own opinions and judgments
– Approach issues more realistically considering costs, consequences and trade-offs associated with policy options
– Define their self interests more broadly
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Study Findings, cont’dStudy Findings, cont’d
– Reconsider & develop greater understanding for the views of others
– Develop greater sense of confidence in what they can do politically
– Become more interested in political and social issues
The WetlandsA Metaphor for Civic Engagement
(Dr. David Mathews, Kettering Foundation)
The WetlandsA Metaphor for Civic Engagement
(Dr. David Mathews, Kettering Foundation)
• Natural coastal wetlands– Nurture wildlife– Minimize the impact of storms
• Communities as “political wetlands”– Authentic involvement of Oklahomans to
minimize the impact of public problems– Build community capacity
• Informal gatherings as basis for community conversations and deliberative forums
• Ad hoc associations evolving into civic organizations 23
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Developing an Oklahoma Habit of Public DeliberationDeveloping an Oklahoma
Habit of Public Deliberation
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Oklahoma Partnershipfor
Public Deliberation
OKdeliberates.org
Oklahoma Partnershipfor
Public Deliberation
OKdeliberates.org
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Oklahoma Partnership for Public Deliberation
Oklahoma Partnership for Public Deliberation
• Trainings– Oklahoma Moderators and Recorders Academy– Framing Issues for Deliberation Workshop– Convening Workshop– Reporting Workshop
• Statewide forums & reports• Issue framing
– “Domestic Violence”– “Drawing Straws: Oklahoma’s Water Resources”– “Moving Toward Better Health in Stillwater”
Community EffortsCommunity Efforts• Norman Area NIF Network• Stillwater SPEAKS (Stillwater People Expressing Attitudes and
Knowledge): ”In Search of Common Ground”
• Other possible sites:– Your community?
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“Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world; indeed that is the only thing that ever has.”
--Margaret Mead
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Questions?Questions?
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