This important resource offers seven field-tested strategies for public managers to help them maximize citizen engagement as they implement the President's Open Government Directive. The Core Strategies for Citizen Engagement are: Establish Links to Decision-Makers; Ensure Demographic Diversity; Create Opportunities for Informed Participation; Maximize Tools of Facilitated Deliberation; Discover Shared Priorities; Establish Clear Recommendations for Action; and Sustain Citizen Engagement. The book includes project and leadership case studies from major federal agencies that elucidate the seven strategies in the context of real-world issues and challenges.

What will it take to restore American democracy and rescue it from this moment of crisis? Civic Power argues that the current threat to US democracy is rooted not just in the outcome of the 2016 election, but in deeper, systemic forms of inequality that concentrate economic and political power in the hands of the few at the expense of the many. Drawing on historical and social science research and case studies of contemporary democratic innovations across the country, Civic Power calls for a broader approach to democracy reform focused on meaningfully redistributing power to citizens. It advocates for both reviving grassroots civil society and novel approaches to governance, policymaking, civic technology, and institutional design - aimed at dismantling structural disparities to build a more inclusive, empowered, bottom-up democracy, where communities and people have greater voice, power, and agency.

The Intrepid Nonprofit is a playbook for nonprofit leaders to help them navigate the turbulent environment ahead. It examines difficult challenges facing nonprofits, such as shrinking or stagnating revenue sources, technological change, under-performing boards, staff turnover, mission drift, or measuring intangible results. Drawing insights from organizations that have not only prospered but sometimes achieved outstanding results, the book outlines practical strategies for success, including some out-of-the-box approaches to leadership. It also calls upon governments and foundations to do more to support the sector. Tomorrow’s nonprofit leaders will have to be intrepid—resolute, imaginative, adaptable, and courageous. This book will inspire and sustain them when the going gets tough.

The purchase of this ebook edition does not entitle you to receive access to the Connected eBook on CasebookConnect. You will need to purchase a new print book to get access to the full experience including: lifetime access to the online ebook with highlight, annotation, and search capabilities, plus an outline tool and other helpful resources. Mediation: Practice, Policy, and Ethicsprovides a comprehensive and current introduction to the world of mediation, including an overview of conflict, perspectives on justice, and dispute resolution processes to handle disputes in a variety of contexts. The book has chapters on negotiation theory and practice, as well as law and policy, case examples, and practice guidelines for mediators and attorney representatives. Leading scholars and award-winning teachers in the field present descriptions of the various forms mediation takes and mediation’s place in the panoply of dispute resolution processes. Both critiques of mediation and descriptions of its promise and potential are included. Chapters on advising clients on process choice, dispute process design, international and complex mediation, facilitation, and hybrid processes are also offered. The practical, problem-solving approach includes both analytical and behavioral approaches in varying gender, race, and cultural contexts. The text can be used for lawyer-mediators, lawyer-representatives in mediation, and non-lawyer mediators. New to the Third Edition: Streamlined text designed to be more student-friendly New updates to time-tested problems and cases have to keep the book up-to-date Professors and students will benefit from: Comprehensive current coverage of mediation including: Law and policy, case examples, and practice guidelines for mediators and attorney representatives Authors that are leading and award-winning scholars, teachers, and practitioners in this area Clear presentation of the advantages of mediation as well as critiques and concerns A practical, problem-solving approach that includes: Both analytical and behavioral approaches Varying gender, race, and cultural contexts Key excerpts from some of the most renowned scholars in the field Text that is applicable across the field of mediation with coverage of: Lawyer-mediators Lawyer-representatives in mediation Non-lawyer mediators

In Beyond Therapy, Erving Polster examines the role of “life focus"in three of society’s most familiar activities: ordinary conversation, the arts, and religion. He shows the life focus movement to be an indivisible complement to just simply living. In proposing a paradigm shift from psychotherapy’s priority for changing people’s troubled lives into the complementary purpose of illuminating their lives, the author invites the participation of many people who do not seek remedial treatment for emotional or psychological problems. Polster incorporates a broader scenario for enhancing attention through community groups, showing that the convergence of people’s minds on commonly important life themes creates enlightenment. This interlocked focus amplifies the ensuing conversational content and creates a meditation-like absorption. This kind of pointed focus, argues Polster, has the power to color the lives of the participants. This work offers rationale and design for life focus community groups, and also creates a heightened identity for the life focus movement, providing other foundational ideas that help to unify diverse approaches. Mental health professionals will benefit from its wealth of specific exercises and instructions for program design. Polster provides leaders and group members with a well-rounded perspective on the basics of personal enlightenment and communal belonging.

There exists in both academic and political circles a growing interest in public deliberation as an alternative to the sometimes adversarial and polarizing public engagement activities that result in the pitting of experts against lay people. Proponents of public deliberation claim that a more deliberative process can engage a diversity of participants in a more guided process that better balances expert knowledge and citizen inclusion. Such an approach holds particular promise where citizens and governments engage in discussions of the most complex and intractable issues like climate change. Given the host of challenges climate governance presents and the global consequences of our response to them, the experience and knowledge shared by Hanson and the contributors to Public Deliberation on Climate Change provide an important framework for advancing public conversations and processes on this and other wicked problems. The lessons contained in the volume were gained as a result of a five year multidisciplinary, community-university research project called Alberta Climate Dialogue (ABCD), which drew together scholars, practitioners, citizens, civil society members, and government officials from across Alberta at four public deliberations. By highlighting the value tensions and trade-offs and examining the impact that the design of the deliberations has on policy and the creation of conditions that encourage exchange, the contributors aim to build capacity within our institutions and society to find new ways to discuss and solve complex problems.

In recent years, the engagement of stakeholders has become imperative for the overall success of an organization. As the global business landscape continues to evolve, promoting modern leadership techniques and engagement with the community have become two key tactics for organizations to remain competitive in the current market. Understanding and implementing these methodologies is pivotal for professionals and researchers around the globe. Civic Engagement Frameworks and Strategic Leadership Practices for Organization Development is a critical reference source that provides vital research on the implementation of strategic leadership techniques for promoting civic engagement and sustaining organizational success. While highlighting topics such as social media strategies, analytical tools, and ethical interventions, this book is ideally designed for managers, executives, politicians, researchers, business specialists, government professionals, consultants, academicians, and students seeking current research on the use of civic engagement and strategic leadership initiatives for the overall development of organizations.