Eddy Building, Room 210
Department of Communication Studies
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado

Email: cpd@colostate.edu
Phone: 970-491-5628

CPD Announcements

• Applications for the student associate program are currently available.
• The CPD has once again been awarded a Pharos Grant from the Bohemian Foundation to support their ongoing work in the Northern Colorado community. Thanks again to the Bohemian Foundation for all the support they have provided to the CPD over the last 7 years!
• A video of the Elder Abuse Forum held on October 22, 2012 has been posted on YouTube.
• Video interview with CPD Director Martin Carcasson and several students at the National Coalition of Dialogue and Deliberation conference in Seattle in October.
• The report from the 2011 Poudre Runs through It project is now available. The CSU Water Institute has also set up a new website for the continuing project.
• The 2011-2012 CPD annual report is now available.
• CPD director Martin Carcasson presented "What Kind of Talk Does Democracy Need?" (click for PDF of powerpoint slides) to kickoff a new year long series with the Poudre River Library District on Wednesday, September 5th. That presentation was taped and will be shown on Channel 14 in Fort Collins several times over the coming weeks. For a schedule of showings, click here . It is now also available on YouTube: What Kind of Talk Does Democracy Need?
• The CPD released its EXTENDED BACKGROUNDER concerning the on-campus stadium on July 23, 2011 (it was updated July 27 and August 6). Interested parties are encouraged to respond to the backgrounder by utilizing the public response form. For more details, visit www.colostate.edu/stadium/
• CPD Director Martin Carcasson released and presented the summary of the first year of the Growing Older in Fort Collins: Silver Tsunami as a Golden Opportunity collaborative project at the senior center on Wednesday, June 20. A video of the final meeting is available online.
• CPD Director Martin Carcasson and associate director Leah Sprain attended the Between Scientists & Citizens: Assessing Expertise In Policy Controversies conference in Ames, Iowa in early June. Carcasson continues to work on a book manuscript concerning the cycle of deliberative inquiry, which is the theory underlying the work of the CPD .(cycle graphic) (conference paper)



• ON CAMPUS STADIUM PROCESS. The CPD is assisted in managing the public input for the proposal to build on on-campus stadium at CSU during the spring of 2012. The website for the stadium process is www.colostate.edu/stadium/. An extended explanation of the CPD role and the plan was released in February. In February, the CPD developed a INITIAL BACKGROUNDER that provides a summary of the arguments for and against the stadium that have been expressed in the public comment thus far. On July 23, the CPD released its EXTENDED BACKGROUNDER concerning the on-campus stadium on July 23, 2011. For additional links to CPD reports on the stadium and all the raw data from the forums and public input forms, click here.
  
• The CPD was awarded a grant from the Pharos Fund sponsored by the Bohemian Foundation to continue their work in community problem solving and deliberative democracy. Thanks again to the Bohemian Foundation for their continued support.
• The CPD annual report for 2010-2011. has been posted.
• CPD Director Martin Carcasson has published three different articles discussing the work of the CPD and the role of universities in providing local capacity for deliberative democracy and collaborative problem-solving: (1) "Facilitating Democracy through Passionate Impartiality: Communication Studies Programs and Students Should Serve as Local Resources," published in Spectra, (2) "Facilitating Community Democracy from Campus: Centers, Faculty, and Students as Key Resources of Passionate Impartiality," in Higher Education Review , (3) "Facilitating Democracy: Centers and Institutes of Public Deliberation and Collaborative Problem-Solving," in New Directions in Higher Education
• Journal of Public Deliberation published an article written by CPD director Martin Carcasson, along with Laura Black and Elizabeth Sink, on the connections between deliberative democracy and communication studies. That article is available online: Communication Studies and Deliberative Democracy: Current Contributions and Future Possibilities Carcasson also served as co-editor of that issue of the journal, and co-authored the introductory essay .
• Public Sector Digest published an article by CPD director Carcasson and associate director Leah Sprain on the Key Aspects of Deliberative Democracy
• The Center for Advances in Public Engagement has published a research report authored by CPD director Martin Carcasson entitled, Beginning with the End in Mind: A Call for Goal-Driven Deliberative Practice. The report is available free online through Public Agenda.

Curious about what we have been doing? You can download the CPD annual reports below:
2010-2011 CPD Annual Report
2009-2010 CPD Annual Report
2008-2009 CPD Annual Report
2007-2008 CPD Annual Report
2006-2007 CPD Annual Report

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The CPD

The Center for Public Deliberation (CPD) was founded in August of 2006 within the Communication Studies Department at Colorado State University, and serves as an affiliate of the National Issues Forum (NIF) network and a member of the University Network for Collaborative Governance (UNCG).

The CPD is non-partisan. Working from a communication perspective, CPD staff and students focus on the process of deliberation and community problem-solving, not necessarily its product. Deliberation requires safe places for citizens to come together, good and fair information to help structure the conversation, and skilled facilitators to guide the process. The Center is dedicated to providing these three key ingredients to Northern Colorado.

The CPD has three broad goals:

• Enhance the Local Civic Culture
• Expand Collaborative Decision-Making
• Improve Civic Pedagogy

The director of the CPD is Martin Carcasson, associate professor in the CSU Department of Communication Studies. Leah Sprain serves as the Associate Director. They are assisted by an advisory board consisting of community leaders, including representatives from the City of Fort Collins, Poudre School District, the Coloradoan, and various campus institutions such as the Student Leadership and Civic Engagement office and the departments of Political Science and Journalism & Technical Communication. The primary work of the CPD is completed by a core group of especially selected CSU undergraduates who commit to serve as “Student Associates” for two semesters, during which they receive class credit.

Link to CPD pamphlet (PDF)

To be added to the CPD Event Notification Email List, contact Martin Carcasson at cpd@colostate.edu

Willing to help the cause? The CPD provides its services to the Northern Colorado community as a public service. To donate to the CPD, visit our CSU development page. Donations help us improve our skills through training and support our events.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The CPD is currently working with the Associated Students of CSU to explore the smoking policy on campus. We hosted a forum for campus staff on March 7th, and will be hosting two student forums on March 28th and April 3rd.

The CPD is hosting its next community workshop on Saturday, April 6. For more information, email Martin Carcasson at cpd@colostate.edu

Working with the Poudre River Library District, the CPD started a year long series on September 5th with a presentation by CPD Director Martin Carcasson. The final event is scheduled for Monday, April 8 at the Old Town Library, and will focus on a deliberative forum on how to improve the quality of community problem solving. RSVP preferred, call the library at 221-6740 to insure your spot.

The CPD continues to work with the Senior Transportation Coalition of Larimer County. Events will likely be held later in 2013.

The CPD is assisting the Boys and Girls Club of Larimer County this spring on their strategic plan.

The CPD is working on scheduling a Silver Tsunami event for the city of Loveland for late April or early May.

RECENT EVENTS

The CPD ran three public forums on school safety for St. Vrain Valley School District in Longmont in early February, and then a student forum on March 6.

The CPD assisted with the UniverCity Connections Stakeholder meeting on January 17th.

On November 3, the CPD assisted with LEAP leadership conference sponsored by the University of Northern Colorado at the Embassy Suites in Loveland.

On November 2, the CPD facilitated discussion on poverty iss

On October 22, the CPD assisted the Fort Collins Human Relations Commission with the Elder Abuse Summit.

On Oct. 16-17, the CPD assisted with the Net Zero Cities Symposium

The CPD assisted the Poudre School District at four fourms to gather public input concerning the superintendent search.

The new group of CPD student associates were trained on Saturday, August 25th at the Tamasag Retreat Center to prepare for the fall semester.

Working with the Fort Collins Senior Center and the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado, the CPD is hosting Growing Older in Fort Collins – Silver Tsunami As a Golden Opportunity, a series of public forums focused on our community's response to the changing demographics as the Baby Boomers enter retirement. The initial event was held on Thursday, Nov. 10, a second on March 1, and a third meeting on April 17, and the final meeting on June 20 at the Senior Center.

We continue to work with Embrace Northern Colorado and the PSD Think Tank.

The CPD also continues to be involved with United Way's Pathways Past Poverty effort and Concerned Larimer.

Community Workshops:

We held our five CPD Community Public Deliberation Workshop in March 2012 in Fort Collins. This free all-day workshop provided participants with a background on the concept of deliberation, as well the practical skills to convene and facilitate public forums, particularly forums using the National Issues Forum material. If you are interested in attending our next workshop (scheduled for April 6, 2013), email Martin Carcasson at (970) 491-5628 or cpd@colostate.edu