New Report from The Economist, The Democracy Index 2011

There is a new report out from the Economist, the next in it's annual series of reports that detail the state of democracy around the world. This year's report is entitled "The Democracy Index 2011: Democracy under stress". Read more and download this year's report.

New UNDP Report on Fostering Fostering Multi-stakeholder Partnerships

The United Nations Development Programme has just published a new report, entitled "Fostering Multi-stakeholder Partnerships in the Western Commonwealth of Independent States and Caucasus in the framework of the Global Compact". 

According to the report, it was published in order to showcase "the successful business partnerships initiated and implemented on the basis of the UNDP multi-stakeholder partnership approach. The first part of the booklet introduces the Project and the UNDP multi-stakeholder partnership approach. It is followed by key lessons learned from the Project on the process of developing and implementing sustainable business partnerships for development results. Finally, a collection of ten case studies from four countries illustrates how such partnerships yield benefits for the partners and contribute towards meeting national development goals" (page 5).  You can download a copy here.

Creating Spaces for Change: Working Toward a “Story of Now” in Civic Engmt, by W.K. Kellogg Fdn

Great new report on the Institute for Local Government website from the WK Kellogg Foundation. According to the site, the "report describes areas of convergence from practitioners of “active civic engagement,” and the differences, so that the people, who advocate, support, or practice civic engagement might better understand one another and decide how to work together more effectively."

"The report draws heavily on the views and experiences of the people who participated in the Kellogg Foundation's Civic Engagement Learning Year and the conference convened by the Deliberative Democracy Consortium and The Democracy Imperative called “No Better Time: Promising Opportunities in Deliberative Democracy for Educators and Practitioners." The report looks at the discussions that occurred at those meetings, explains some of the tensions and opportunities facing this emerging field, and provides recommendations for funders and other leaders. Click here to download."

New Study of Local, Regional Public Admin on Govt’s Role in Strengthening Work of Citizens

Barnett Pearce recently passed on a fantastic report from a project he completed this spring in conjunction with Kimberly Pearce. Many of you may know of the impressive work they do in the field of engagement and deliberation; Barnett is at Fielding Graduate University and Kimberly is at De Anza College.

The project, funded by the Kettering Foundation, focuses on the role that public administrators in local and regional government play in strengthening the work of citizens. Here's a short excerpt from the introduction:

"As citizens become more actively engaged in naming, framing, deliberating, and acting on the issues that affect them, public administrators are inevitably involved. But will they oppose, ignore, or actively support citizens? And if they support citizens, what should they do? And what changes will they have to make in their professional roles and institutional structures to do so?" (p. 2)

As a result, the research question for this project focused on "what do public administrators need to know and to do in order to promote and respond constructively to an engaged community?" (p. 3)

Download a copy of the paper and read more of this great report by clicking here.

PACE Report Notes Role of Technology in Local Govt

A new report from PACE discusses deliberation and democratic governance at the local level, and it notes how technology is being used to facilitate these efforts.

The PACE report, “Funding and Fostering Local Democracy: What Philanthropy Should Know about the Emerging Field of Deliberation and Democratic Governance” can be downloaded for free www.pacefunders.org.

PACE is also sponsoring a webinar about the report on Wednesday, May 27, 2009. To learn more or register, visit their website (listed above.)

E-Government and Democracy

This 2004 report by Steven Clift, entitled "E-Government and Democracy: Representation and Citizen Engagement in the Information Age," focuses on the role that technology can play in strengthening and enhancing representative democratic practices. It was prepared based on research provided to the United Nations.

Technology for Citizen Engagement and the 108th Congress

Here is a report by the Public Forum Institute, which is "an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization committed to developing the most advanced and effective means of fostering public discourse." The report discusses an effort by the Forum, initiated by members of the 108th Congress, to engage citizens in discussions about issues within their districts, often using technology.

Other reports by the Forum and details of their activities can be found at www.publicforuminstitute.org.