Category: kettering
-
Welcome to The Stakes
Over the past few months I have had the honor of hosting a number of interviews for the Kettering Foundation with high-profile newsmakers where we talk about an important and timely aspect of inclusive democracy. I’m happy to announce that we have named this series The Stakes and collected them all at our website. We…
-
David Mathews on Deliberative Democratic Politics
David Mathews, longtime president and CEO of the Kettering Foundation, was interviewed recently by AL.com. In a brief passage, he gives perhaps the best and most concentrated description of deliberative democratic politics I have seen. For those who have heard Dr. Mathews describe various aspects of democracy — its origins, how it can be seen…
-
Conditions vs Topics vs Issues in Deliberative Politics
Politics runs on issues, which are questions about what should be done. Deliberative politics runs on issues that are widely seen as shared and critical. Yet, in public discourse, conditions, topics, and issues are often conflated. Conditions are societal: norms or pathologies in how individuals or groups behave. Example: a state of division, or divisiveness, is…
-
Health Care: How Can We Bring Costs Down While Getting the Care We Need? — New Conversation Materials Released
I am pleased to announce publication today of the most recent National Issues Forums issue guide, Health Care: How Can We Bring Costs Down While Getting the Care We Need? From the guide: Americans, individually and as a nation, are worried about high health-care costs. Many of us fear that skyrocketing drug prices and surprise…
-
Announcing the Hidden Common Ground Initiative
I am pleased to announce a new initiative in which I am playing a small part in my role at the Kettering Foundation: The National Issues Forums network and the Kettering Foundation are joining a major initiative spearheaded by Public Agenda and USA TODAY to examine how Americans think and talk about the most urgent…
-
How Should We Prevent Mass Shootings In Our Communities? Announcing New Conversation Materials
I am pleased to announce publication today of a brand-new update to the National Issues Forums issue advisory, How Should We Prevent Mass Shootings In Our Communities? The materials are meant to support deliberative conversations in community and other settings, and are free to download. From the guide: The tragic attacks in El Paso, Texas;…
-
Wrapping Up Spring at the Kettering Foundation
I was preparing my registration materials for an upcoming philanthropy sector meeting, and I was asked to give a recap of major items I wanted my colleagues to know about. The past spring (2019, in case you are reading this in the future) has been a busy one at the Kettering Foundation, and I thought…
-
A House Divided: Announcing New Conversation Materials on Political Division
American public life is highly divided and people find it more and more difficult to talk to one another. Not only are there solution wars over specific issues, but people increasingly lament division per se. I am therefore very pleased to announce publication today of the most recent NIF issue guide, A House Divided: What Would…
-
Coming to America: Who Should We Welcome, What Should We Do? — New Issue Guide Released by National Issues Forums Institute
I am pleased to announce that the latest NIF issue guide, Coming to America: Who Should We Welcome, What Should We Do?, is released today. At the NIFI link, there is also available an “issue advisory” for free download – such advisories are the core “name” and “frame” of the issue in an easy to…
Brad Rourke 