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Public Agenda was founded in 1975 by Dan Yankelovich and Cyrus Vance to promote new and better ways for citizens to confront pressing public problems, and to close the gap between leaders, experts and the general public in the search for solutions. They conceived an organization dedicated to re-engaging the larger public on important public matters, to create the possibility for dialogue that gets beneath the "snapshot" or "knee-jerk" views of public sentiment.
Given the sorry state of public discourse, high levels of political cynicism, low levels of civic participation, and the general disconnect between leaders and the public, Public Agenda's mission is arguably even more urgent today. At the same time, communications technologies, attitudes towards government and policy-making, social demographics, and other aspects of society are evolving in directions that offer both challenges and opportunities. These times demand new methods that expand the scope of public engagement to address national and international issues, and that build new and lasting civic practices within communities.
Fortunately, the field of public engagement is growing rapidly, with many new organizations and methods emerging in recent years. But the field is still immature, and we believe it would benefit greatly from a sustained, rigorous, carefully targeted initiative with three specific strands of work:
The Public Engagement Research Project, to better understand the dynamics and impacts of public engagement.
The Digital Engagement Project, to explore the potentials of the Internet as a vehicle of engagement.
The Theory Building Project, to decisively pushing forward the theory that underlies the field's efforts.
WHAT'S NEW
TRANSFORMING PUBLIC LIFE: A Decade of Citizen Engagement in Bridgeport, CT
When it comes time to solve community problems or make and implement public policy, the institutions, organizations, and individuals of Bridgeport, CT, defy business as usual through a remarkably inclusive and deliberative citizen-centered approach to problem solving. As a result of roughly a decade of hard work by organizations, "ordinary" citizens and various local leaders, public engagement has become embedded in the life of the community. Download the case study here, and read the press release.
REFRAMING "FRAMING"
Public Agenda's Will Friedman takes on framing in a new paper that provides a refreshing clarity and considerable insights. The essay, Reframing "Framing" is the first thought-piece from Public Agenda's Center for Advances in Public Engagement. Dr. Friedman, who is Executive Vice President at Public Agenda and the Director of CAPE, delineates "Framing-to-Persuade vs. Framing-for-Deliberation" and tackles honest vs. dishonest framing. Download the paper here.
Public Engagement: A Primer from Public Agenda
This primer, a seminal "Essentials" publication from CAPE, provides an introduction to the community engagement methodology that has been designed and extensively tested by Public Agenda. This document outlines the differences between authentic public engagement and "business-as-usual" approaches to public involvement and offers a brief summary of the essential elements of successful public engagement efforts.
DEWEY'S CRITICAL PRAGMATISM Dewey's Critical Pragmatism, the new book by CAPE Associate Director Dr. Alison Kadlec, is a cogent examination of philosopher and political theorist John Dewey's writings on pragmatism and is a rallying cry for soundly-constructed public engagement programs that fulfill Dewey's vision of "democracy as a way of life." The book takes on not only elitists who think "the people" are congenitally unfit for effective deliberation, but also the "radical democratic theorists" who criticize public engagement practitioners as being blind to or ill-prepared to combat the existing power relationships that, they say, are reinforced in public engagement processes. For more info, see the press release, and the book's introduction.
CAPE STAFF
Will Friedman, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Advances in Public Engagement
Manager of CAPE's Public Engagement Research Project
In addition to directing the CAPE enterprise, Will is Executive Vice President and director of public engagement programs at Public Agenda. He has been involved in the theory and practice of public engagement for fifteen years, and has designed and led initiatives on dozens of issues in scores of communities across the country. Recent CAPE publications include "Reframing Framing" and (with Alison Kadlec and Lara Birnback) "Transforming Public Life: A Decade of Public Engagement in Bridgeport, Connecticut." Other publications include "Deliberative Democracy and the Problem of Scope" and (with Alison Kadlec) "Deliberative Democracy and the Problem of Power, both in the Journal of Public Deliberation. His academic background includes a Ph.D. in political science with specializations in American politics and political psychology.
Alison Kadlec, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Center for Advances in Public Engagement
Manager of CAPE's Theory Building Project
Alison is a senior research associate in public engagement at Public Agenda, where she works on the design, management, implementation and evaluation of public engagement projects. She recently published Dewey's Critical Pragmatism and coauthored "Deliberative Democracy and the Problem of Power" in the Journal of Public Deliberation and the CAPE publication "Transforming Public Life: A Decade of Public Engagement in Bridgeport, Connecticut." Her academic background includes a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Minnesota with specializations in democratic theory and American political thought.
Scott Bittle
Senior Vice President and Executive Editor
Manager of CAPE's Digital Engagement Project
Scott is Public Agenda's Senior Vice President and Executive Editor. He manages the day-to-day editorial operations of Public Agenda Online, an Internet information service for journalists and public policy professionals. An experienced editor and reporter who has worked for both online and print publications, Mr. Bittle was most recently editorial development manager/Internet for Reed Travel Group, a division of Reed Elsevier. As such, he oversaw and produced content for several Web projects, including Travel Weekly Crossroads and Traveler.Net. Previously, Mr. Bittle managed the editorial content for and assisted in the design of Travel Weekly's award-winning Website and also served as technology editor for the newspaper. Prior to his involvement with online services, Mr. Bittle worked for eight years as a reporter, copy editor, bureau chief, and political coordinator for the daily newspaper The Press of Atlantic City. He twice won the Golden Quill Award for feature articles and was honored by the Philadelphia Press Association for daily newspaper writing.
With support from the Kellogg and Rockefeller Brothers Foundations, and in partnership with the Kettering Foundation, The Center for Advances in Public Engagement (CAPE) will be housed at Public Agenda's New York office.
