Information Renaissance National Dialogues

"Overall, this method of encouraging public debate on policy issues offers great promise for the future. For a relatively small investment of expert time and effort, a large number of citizens can become a real part of the policy debate. It is an educational experience for them and for the experts who get a chance to see how the public is viewing problems and interpreting facts and arguments." Robert Reischauer, President, The Urban Institute

Information Renaissance hosts online National Dialogues where Americans can learn about and discuss significant public issues. These Dialogues follow a model for group deliberation developed by Information Renaissance in work dating back to 1994. This approach facilitates information exchanges among large numbers of people, increases grassroots involvement and encourages civic engagement.

By bringing together diverse perspectives, National Dialogues can broaden the public understanding of complex legislation and regulations. If a National Dialogue is held simultaneously, it can capture the views of the general public or of smaller, targeted groups of participants.

"The National Dialogue offered the public a rare and unique opportunity to interact directly with policy makers and nationally-recognized experts.... This kind of interaction is critical to enhancing knowledge (among both expert and public participants) and to promoting more civilized discourse on public policy." Carolyn Weaver, American Enterprise Institute

National Dialogues provide in-depth analysis and discussion through the following components:

• Effective Education. Information Renaissance works with collaborating organizations to identify and prepare background materials that provide a thorough introduction to the issues under discussion. Because of the scope, quantity and searchability of these materials, participants can easily learn a great deal about complicated problems.
• Wide-ranging Recruitment. Dialogue staff work with professional organizations, public interest groups, non-profit organizations and media outlets to recruit a demographically broad audience for participation in the Dialogue.
• High Quality Discussion. A National Dialogue is an asynchronous disucssion - unlike a chat room, which takes place in real time. This format means that participation is not limited to any particular time of day and makes it much easier to accommodate different time zones and busy schedules. A more substantive discussion can evolve when participants have time to consult reference materials, think about the contributions made by others and have the time to compose their own thoughtful messages.
• Extensive Interaction. The National Dialogue allows for two-way communication among subject experts, government officials and members of the general public. Participants thereby enjoy quick responses to their questions.

Each Dialogue proceeds through a set of coordinated events:

1. Roundtables. Subject experts, members of advocacy groups, legislators and government officials may be invited to form Roundtables for focused discussion of the issues. Moderators pose daily questions to the panelists, and members of the public participate by offering questions and comments. The Money and Politics Dialogue will not have Roundtables but will focus on the Public Discussion.
2. Public Discussion. Moderated online discussions enable the general public to express their views and raise questions. Facilitators encourage participation, provide individual instruction and assist people in navigating the online resources.
3. Quick Questions. This mechanism encourages public input and helps set priorities for the online discussion. Answers to the most commonly asked questions are compiled and added to the educational resources provided on the Web site.
4. Response Forms. Survey data is gathered upon registration and at the completion of each of the topical Roundtables. The views and opinions of large numbers of participants are captured in other online response forms so as to be integrated into the ongoing discussions.
5. Summaries. Regular summaries encapsulate the daily discussion and enable participants to remain current even if they are unable to read all comments.

"It is through forums like these that we are able to exchange these ideas, have healthy debates about the issues... Such is the cornerstone of a robust democracy such as ours." Senator Rick Santorum

National Dialogues have demonstrated benefits:

• Americans can come together online to discuss a complex issue in a deliberative manner. At the same time they can provide government officials with informed feedback on proposals under active consideration.
• The Roundtables provide a forum where experts, elected representatives and government regulators can discuss a policy issue in more nuanced detail. Instead of trading sound bites, the panelists can develop an argument in detail and educate the participants more fully about their outlook on a particular problem.
• An archive of important material is developed during the Dialogue. Background resources, Roundtable discussions and participants' messages are preserved in an online repository. Large numbers of people who did not directly participate in the online Dialogue can thus benefit from the discussions that took place.
• The Web site can be maintained long after the Dialogue has concluded. It provides a valuable archive of authoritative information on the topic.

"The Info-Ren Internet-based dialogue gives people easy access to information that would be difficult to obtain otherwise. It puts ordinary people in touch with players in the political process they would otherwise hear about only through newspapers and TV". Ron Gebhartsbauer, American Academy of Actuaries

The development and production of a Dialogue takes approximately three months. Roundtables or units of the Public Discussion typically last for two weeks. Archives of the discussions, data from the online response forms, weekly summaries and a project summary are published on the Dialogue Web site. This Web site provides a rich ongoing public information resource and is maintained for a period of time after the Dialogue has ended.

"When elected officials hear the same message from enough people across the country they start listening and reacting. Web-based forums like those of Information Renaissance will help us get something done." U.S. Representative Mark Sanford

Information Renaissance has conducted large-scale online discussions in conjunction with the Federal Communication Commission in its implementation of the E-rate for schools and libraries, with Americans Discuss Social Security in their discussions of Social Security reform, and with the EPA regarding the role of libraries as resources for environmental information.

To learn more about Information Renaissance's National Dialogues visit the archives of previous Dialogues and read comments from participants:

• Social Security Reform (with Americans Discuss Social Security). Comments from participants.
• E-Rate - a discount program to provide telecommunications services for schools and libraries (in conjunction with the Federal Communications Commission).
• Universal Service: Pennsylvania (sponsored by the Governor's Office of Administration/Office of Information Technology of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Department of Education).
• Libraries as a Community Resource for Environmental Information (in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Environmental Law Institute). Comments from participants.

Or contact Information Renaissance - info@info-ren.org or 888-638-5323.