Resources

Please use the resources below to host your own Public Deliberation Forums or use them as a reference to create a guide for an issue your community is experiencing.

Ground Rules

This document (click 'Ground Rules' above to access) can be used at the beginning of your forum to establish the intended atmosphere for an open and respectful deliberative process.  

Placemats & Issue Guides

In our work with public deliberation, we have found it helpful to design placemats that lay out the three approaches to an issue side-by-side. Below, you'll find placemats about issues that can often divide communities. By clicking on the links below the title, you'll be able to download the placemat (and issue guide when available) and use it to host a deliberative forum within your own community. As a reminder, to host a community, we recommend going through our facilitation training course. Please contact us if you have any questions about these resources, how to use them, or how to get trained. 

Health & Wellness

End of Life: What Should We Do for Those Who Are Dying? 
Placemat 

Health Care: How Can We Reduce Costs and Still Get the Care We Need? *
Placemat | Issue Guide

Mental Health in America: How Do We Address a Growing Problem? *
Placemat | Issue Guide

What Should We Do About the Opioid Epidemic? *
Placemat

How Should We Reduce Obesity in America? *
Placemat | Issue Guide

Over the Edge: What Should We Do When Alcohol and Drug Use Become a Problem to Society? 
Placemat | Issue Guide

The Changing World of Work: What Should We Ask of Higher Education? 
Placemat | Issue Guide

Work & Education

Too Many Children Left Behind: How Can We Close the Achievement Gap? *
Placemat | Issue Guide

Shaping Our Future: How Should Higher Education Help Us Create the Society We Want? 
Issue Guide

Racial and Ethnic Tensions on College Campuses
Placemat

Social & Community Issues

Climate Choices: How Should We Meet the Challenges of a Warming Planet? *
Placemat | Issue Guide

Coming to America: Who Should We Welcome, What Should We Do?
Placemat | Issue Guide

Human Trafficking
Guide One | Guide Two

Immigration in America: How Do We Fix a System in Crisis? 
Placemat | Issue Guide

Land of Plenty: How Can We Ensure that People Have the Food They Need? 
Placemat | Issue Guide

How Can We Stop Mass Shootings in Our Community? 
Placemat | Issue Guide

News Media and Society: How to Restore the Public Trust
Issue Guide

Safety & Justice: How Should Communities Reduce Violence? 
Placemat | Issue Guide

Social Security: How Can We Afford It? 
Issue Guide

Political Issues

America's Future: What Should Our Budget Priorities Be?
Issue Guide

America's Role in the World: National Security & Global Threats
Placemat

The Divided State of America: How Can We Get Work Done Even When We Disagree?
Placemat

A House Divided: What Would We Have to Give Up to Get the Political System We Want?*
Placemat

A New Land: What Kind of Government Should We Have? 
Issue Guide

*These placemats were adapted from the extended NIF Issues Guides, which can be referenced and downloaded here.