IMPACT STATEMENT

Program Title: CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT THROUGH PUBLIC DELIBERATION (CEPD)

Issue: Stories abound of angry, frustrated citizens who feel they have little power to influence important public decisions affecting their lives. This frustration is often characterized as apathy with little effort made to look deeper at the desire of regular people to express their views on public issues but believe they do not have a venue to do so.

Deliberative forums and study circles provide a safe, non-partisan venue for citizens to struggle with challenging public issues. These deliberations are based on the idea that in a democracy citizens have the responsibility to get together to talk through their common concerns, to weigh possible alternative actions to address these problems, and inform policy makers and other community leaders about the desired direction for public action. Public deliberation provides a means by which citizens make choices about the basic purpose and direction for their communities and country. As conveners, moderators, and recorders/reporters of deliberative forums, Extension professionals and other community leaders perform a non-biased, non-advocacy role in engaging citizens in building community.

What has been done

Founded in 2000 by Daugherty and Williams, the Oklahoma Partnership for Public Deliberation (OPPD) has sustained continuous operation, pursuing its mission to foster participation in reasoned and informed decision making for the public good. Partners organizations have included the following:

Common Cause

Federal Exec. Board Shared Neutrals

Langston University

NAACP

Oklahoma City University

OK Conference of Churches

OK Council for the Social Studies

OK Home and Community Education

OK Library Association

Oklahoma State University:

Campus Life

Cooperative Extension Service

Redlands Community College

State of Oklahoma:

Dept. of Education – Lifelong Learning Section

Dept. of Libraries – Public Relations

Insurance Dept.

State Regents for Higher Education – Campus Compact

Supreme Court – Admin. Office of the Courts – Alternative Dispute Resolution System

University of Oklahoma:

Ctr. for Leadership Development

The OPPD has conducted seven Moderators & Recorders Academies (OMRA) to prepare approximately 225 Oklahomans to convene, moderate, record and report deliberative forums and study circles. These persons are prepared to give leadership to deliberative forums. To date, nearly 230 public forums have been conducted in Oklahoma on a wide range of topics.

Three communities are implementing pilot projects: Norman NIF Group and Stillwater SPEAKS (Stillwater People Expressing Attitudes and Knowledge): In Search of Common Ground.

Impact:

A study is being conducted in 2006 to identify milestones that contribute to the development and sustainability of the Oklahoma Partnership for Public Deliberation and civic networks in Norman and Stillwater. In 2004, in-depth personal interviews were conducted with 13 community leaders, revealing four themes addressing the ways public deliberation helped them in their leadership roles: · Becoming better listeners · Improving comfort level and confidence in being a moderator of deliberative forums on contentious issues · Becoming less sensitive during contentious discussions, less likely to take comments personally · Increasing open-mindedness A study conducted in June, 2003, involved telephone interviews with OMRA participants. Findings: · Facilitated local forums (65%); additional forums conducted (44%) · Organized a committee or network to support local forums (32%) · Common ground reached or a shared sense of direction (65%) · Contact made with office holders (64%) · Community taskforce/study group was organized to address the issue (37%) · Stories about the issue were featured in the local media (67%) · Issue is now “on the table” in the community (53%) · Participants began to network with others on the issue (84%) · Used the deliberative approach in work settings (79%); civic life (75%); family (55%); religious life (35%); and in dealing with public issues (76%) Comments from respondents: “I’m the mayor . . . I used [the forums] to help decide the direction of our community.”; “I work with a social/civic organization and they refer to [the forums] when working with legislators and the rest of Oklahoma. It kind of gives a pulse of the general public.” Each year, the OPPD conducts 25-30 deliberative forums involving 1200-1400 people. Based on a joint study conducted by Oklahoma Cooperative Extension and Missouri Outreach and Extension in 2001, the following impacts are projected for Oklahoma forum participants: · Contact made with office holders (62%) · Community taskforce/study group was organized to address the issue (42%) · Issue is now “on the table” in the community (38%) · Participants began to network with others on the issue (52%) Conclusions: Persons who participate in OMRAs use this leadership development experience to foster public deliberation in their communities. Further, citizen engagement increases as a result of public deliberative forums.

Economic Impact

The economic impact of convening, conducting, reporting, and participating in deliberative forums is projected to be $63,905/year.

Scope of Impact:

Multi-state with Missouri

Contact: Renée A. Daugherty, Ph.D. Sue E. Williams, Ph.D. Associate Professor Professor Leadership and Educational Methods Specialist Family Policy and Leadership Development Specialist 405.744.6231 renee.daugherty@okstate.edu 405.744.6282 sue.williams@okstate.edu Department of Human Development & Family Science 233 Human Environmental Sciences Bldg., Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078

Date Posted: May, 2006