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.