Civil investing has emerged as one of the most important new developments in American philanthropy. This report examines the state of the movement and the practical challenges and opportunities facing nonprofit organizations committed to building strong and sustainable communities. An article adapted from the report, Philanthropy and Public Life: A Question of Civil Investing, appears in the Winter 2006 issue of Connections magazine. [PDF - 667 KB]

Based on in-depth interviews with community leaders from Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and Eastern Europe, this report describes how grassroots organizations in ten emerging democracies are using deliberative dialogue to foster civic engagement and political participation. Published by the Kettering Foundation, Summer 2004. [PDF - 1.1 MB]

Higher Education for the Public Good

A major report published in 2004 by the National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good at the University of Michigan. It surveys the efforts of American colleges and universities to promote civic engagement and social responsibility and outlines a "common agenda" for renewing the public purposes of higher education. [PDF - 1.4 MB]

Roundtable on Democracy Research

In May 2001, a group of prominent civic leaders, scholars, policymakers and public intellectuals gathered in Washington D.C. to explore the promises and challenges of community-building in America. This report, published by the Kettering Foundation, summarizes the dialogue that took place and explores its implications for the burgeoning civic renewal movement. [PDF - 461 KB]

Higher Education and Public Life

A series of reports from the Seminar on Higher Education & Public Life, a groundbreaking series of dialogues held in Washington D.C. between 1998 and 2001 aimed at promoting civic engagement and social responsibility in American higher education. The reports are available in PDF-format

The Civic Mission of Higher Education: From Outreach to Engagement (2001)
Higher Education and Public Life: Restoring the Bond (2000)
Renewing the Public Purposes of Higher Education (1999)
Higher Education, the Professions and Public Life (1998)

The Academy and Public Life: Healing the Rift

A survey of the deepening divide between American higher education and the nation's public life and how a growing number of academics, civic groups, and community activists are seeking to address the challenge. Published in Higher Education Exchange, Summer 1999.

Organic Democracy: On the Political Philosophy of John Dewey

This essay explores the social and political thought of one of America's great philosophers and a thinker still very much at the center of debate among social, political, and educational theorists. "Today, some fifty years after his death, John Dewey remains if not America’s premier political philosopher, then at least its greatest spokesman for civil society, community values, grass-roots liberalism, and — some would argue — even democracy itself." December 2000.

Deliberation and Democracy

A report from the National Issues Forums' fifteenth anniversary colloquium, a blue-ribbon gathering of scholars, civic leaders, foundation executives and policymakers held in Washington D.C. in June 1997 to explore the role of public deliberation in strengthening American democracy. July 1997. [PDF - 99 KB]

Civic Networks: Building Community on the Net

A paper prepared for the Kettering Foundation examining the role of online networks in building and strengthening community. The report takes up the issue of "virtual community" and looks at whether public deliberation and social capital apply to online communities. March 1997. [This paper is featured at the web site of the Canadian Institute on Governance.]

Understanding Change: Strategies for Innovation and Renewal

This literature review, originally prepared for the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, looks at how change happens and how to make it happen. It surveys change theories in the fields of history, the philosophy of science, anthropology, sociology, and management theory, concluding with a list of practical strategies for effecting change. June 1996.

Collaboration and Community

A report on the theory and practice of civic collaboration. "In a time of widespread frustration with politics-as-usual, the principles of collaboration are seen by many organizations, communities, and civic leaders as a more effective means of working for change than forming coalitions, task forces, commissions, interest groups, and other, more traditional kinds of partnerships." Part of a background study for Pew Partnership for Civic Change. November 1995. The paper is available in a French Translation by Jean-Pierre Belanger. It is also available as a print-friendly PDF version, courtesy of the leadership program Santa Fe Future.

Teledemocracy vs. Deliberative Democracy

This essay examines the differences between two models of public discourse — teledemocracy and deliberative democracy — surveying the literature and summarizing the fundamental pros and cons of each model. The essay first appeared in the Journal of Interpersonal Computing and Technology (April 1995). It is also featured on Policity.com.

Electronic Democracy: A Literature Survey

An overview of the burgeoning literature on electronic democracy — the impulse to enhance democracy using communications technologies such as interactive television and online voting. The paper tries to sort out the many theoretical implications of electronic democracy, while surveying some of the early attempts to "electrify" the democratic process. One of the most widely read reports I've written, it was originally prepared for the Kettering Foundation in 1994 as part of a background study. It includes an Annotated Bibliography.

How the Media Frames Political Issues

A review essay examining how the media — particularly television news — shapes political attitudes and behavior. Amazingly, this modest, unpublished paper, prepared for the Kettering Foundation in January 1993, consistently garners over a thousand page views a month. It is widely used in college and university courses.