Institute for Public Dialogue

Public Dialogue is a practice of engaging in conversations about matters important to community life. For example, neighbors who have formed a Neighborhood Watch program may be having trouble getting the needed level of involvement. The practices of Public Dialogue can help this group. Public discourse is often polarizing, inviting people to demonize those with whom they disagree. This fuels social isolation, constrains cooperation and, at its worst, fuels hate.

Communities often experience a form of collective distress signaling systemic problems, such as inadequate resources, cultural segregation, interpersonal conflict or challenges in navigating change. Public Dialogue offers many well developed ways to help large systems enhance their capacity to address this distress.

The Relational Center offers a variety of dialogue approaches based on your needs. Browse through the menu on the left for a brief description of each method.

Projects We Support

A few examples of issues to bring to the Institute for Public Dialogue include:

• A dialogue between proponents and opponents of marriage equality;
• Conversations between school bullies and the students who fall victim to bullying;
• Discussions between proponents and opponents of the current health care reform legislation.