Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy

The Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy, or ICDD, is a non-partisan, interdisciplinary institute at Kansas State University dedicated to researching, teaching, and ultimately improving public participation in democratic governance. ICDD works with university research teams and community groups to broaden and increase participation in public decision-making through effective communication.

Activities

Specific ICDD activities that enhance the broader impact of research proposals include:

• Convening Stakeholders and Community Members. We provide expertise in convening town halls and organizational meetings.
• Soliciting a wide community of involvement representing a diversity of stakeholders and perspectives.
• Holding community meetings in appropriate spaces
• Facilitating Discussion and Deliberation. We provide expertise in facilitating town hall meetings and community groups dialogues.
• Matching Appropriate Deliberative Models with Local Context (appreciative inquiry, focus groups, National Issues Forum model, solution and consequences model).
• Providing Expert, Context-Appropriate Facilitation (engaging community stakeholders, drawing out important ideas, managing conflict, and coming to solutions).
• Analyzing Data. We provide the research expertise to analyze and report on data collected from participant discussions.
• Training Facilitators. We provide facilitation training for your professional staff so as to build the capacity of your own research team's ability to truly hear and assess community voices.

Informing and involving community groups is a must for broader research impact. The Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy is a source of professional facilitation for interactions with campus and/or community groups.

Contact

For more information, contact Colene J. Lind, PhD, director of the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy at 785-532-6849 or icdd@k-state.edu.