From Dialogue to Policy

June 26, 2009 — Dave L Overfelt

In our previous post, we indicated that interlocking sets of bounded dialogues may be necessary to make broad scale public dialogues more productive in evaluating or implementing policy changes.  While many can agree that dialogue is a useful tool for public engagement, it is not so clear how this dialogue can or will intersect with or influence the legislative or regulatory processes that lead to changes in policy.  And dialogue cannot be expected to replace procedural or other safeguards inherent in those other processes.  Sustained and informed dialogues that are designed to interact with those processes could over time help make those processes more accountable to the public, and serve both to educate the public and inform decisionmakers.  Americans indicate that they want greater involvement with, and greater transparency and accountability from, their government, yet, it is unclear exactly what this means.  Is the general public prepared for intensive and informed dialogue?  Why or why not?

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Dialogue With Boundaries

June 18, 2009 — Dave L Overfelt

It is often assumed that dialogue should be an open forum in which everyone gets to speak their mind.  Not  everyone though is comfortable with this sort of dialogue and thus fail to bring their concerns to the table.  Not all who do come to the table are informed or interested in learning.  Yet, the myriad and pressing problems we face today require public dialogue that is both informed and inclusive, and that builds the understanding needed to create a broad-based political will to change.

We might make more progress by creating more dialogues with boundaries  –  that is, dialogues, whether in person or online, that are focused by mutual understanding and acceptance as to their purpose, moderated for civility, and organized into discernible threads that help new ideas emerge in coherent ways.

How do we create an inclusive dialogue on major policy issues and still have boundaries? One way might be to have multiple dialogues at different levels that are networked.  People enter dialogues at many different levels. The Office of Science and Technology Policy has recently started a blog that is working to develop a national conversation on how we approach policies, and other groups like The Right Question Project have started dialogues that help citizens learn basic skills needed to participate in everyday democracy.  Citizens have also been encouraged to host house parties to discuss health care and other issues. How can such efforts be linked? How do we build and share knowledge? What would help us to better understand the intersections between issues? To what extent does blog technology allow us to have the sorts of dialogues that can lead to real and productive policy changes, and what are its limits?  One of our commentators, commenting on the post below titled “what makes discussion meaningful or productive” suggested fielding panels of speakers on key topics of interest to help citizens become more informed about issues.  Could we build “information gateways” – attendance at an event, reviewing written materials, or viewing on-line videos — for participation in a moderated blog?  Are there other approaches we should be taking to gather our resources and make the best decisions possible?

Here is a quote to consider from Woodrow Wilson:

I not only use all the brains I have, but all the brains I can borrow.

Our primary question is, how can we best use all of our brains?

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“Marketing” versus “Real Facts”

April 10, 2009 — Dave L Overfelt

In a recent article on Politico (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/20510.html) President Obama was quoted as saying the following (full block from Poilitico):

“One of the most important lessons to learn from this crisis is that our economy only works if we recognize that we’re all in this together — that we all have responsibilities to each other and to our country,” the president said at his White House press conference Tuesday. “Bankers and executives on Wall Street need to realize that enriching themselves on the taxpayers’ dime is inexcusable; that the days of outsized rewards and reckless speculation that puts us all at risk have to be over.”

The GOP then came forth with its own budget plan, releasing it to specific media outlets.  However, that plan did not include numbers and was subsequently described as a “marketing document”.  Throughout the development of the current budget, it would seem that neither party is successfully engaging the other.  In fact, it would appear that one party prefers to speak to the other through the media.  In such difficult economic times, it would seem that the two parties would be willing to sit down and work their issues out in order to move forward but this is certainly not what would appear to be happening.

How can we convince our officials that grandstanding and positional posturing will not help our nation?  What needs to happen in order for our nation’s leaders to enter into a productive dialogue with each other and end the constant bickering and positioning that goes on between parties?  What do we need to do to develop a system that encourages healthy dialogue informed by facts?

Here are two quotes to consider in reflection:

“We can have facts without thinking but we cannot have thinking without facts.” (John Dewey)

“I am a firm believer in people.  If given truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis.  The great point is to bring them the real facts.” (Abraham Lincoln)

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Transparency, Open Government, and Education

February 5, 2009 — sjr

On January 21, 2009 President Obama issued a memorandum on “Transparency and Open Government” which was published in the Federal Register on January 26, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 15, p. 4685.   There he stated that his administration would work to create “an unprecedented level of openness in Government” and work to “establish a system of transparency, public participation and collaboration” with the goal of strengthening our democracy.  Different paragraphs in the memo state that “government should be transparent” in order to promote accountability; “government should be participatory” in order to improve the quality of its decisions; and that”government should be collaborative” in order to actively engage Americans in the work of their government.  These goals are well aligned with the ideals of our democracy.  Yet they may assume an intellectual infrastructure that is not yet in place.  A column in the December 24 & 31, 2007 New Yorker titled “Twilight of the Books” cited a Department of Education study on literacy that indicated that the proportion of adults capable of comparing viewpoints in two editorials at 13%.  A 2005 study by the American Bar Association indicated that only 55% of adults surveyed could name the three branches of government. Other studies have indicated that many Americans lack the literacy needed to handle complex, real-life tasks like reviewing credit card offers and other financial instruments.

Participatory engagement would suggest knowing the branches of government and their functions, and understanding the different proposals made.  Although engaging more Americans in the work of government is a laudable goal, it is one that will require more than posting data online and otherwise making text available.  We also need to equip citizens for informed dialogues in which they can learn from and inform each other, as well as provide input to their elected officials.  This will require active effort to build skills and a range of media.  If done well it has the potential to revitalize public involvement.  Suggestions for engaging the public made elsewhere on this blog have included public debates and other kinds of forums.  How do we best equip the public for a participatory role in modern government? Your suggestions are welcome.

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Dialogue and Hope in the New Year

December 24, 2008 — Dave L Overfelt

It is a special time of year where we focus on peace and hope.  In the poem, “Amazing Peace”, Maya Angelou writes

It is Christmas time, a halting of hate time.  On this platform of peace, we can create a language to translate ourselves to ourselves and each other.

By being honest with ourselves, not only regarding our hopes and dreams, but regarding where we excel and fall short; by being willing to reach out to accept and work with others, we have the best chance of moving forward and making positive contributions to our collective future.  This is the essence of dialogue

As you go into the New Year we hope that you can find new ways to connect and wish that all of your dialogues be positive.  Have a happy holiday season and a productive new year!

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