The National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI) is pleased to announce a new workshop series for fall 2025. Each one-hour workshop will focus on one aspect of NIFI’s renewed commitment to help more Americans Talk, Decide, and Act better together. During the workshop series, NIFI staff, board members, and special guests will provide an introductory overview of moderating for deliberation, framing issues for deliberation, and using deliberation to help individuals move beyond “just talk” to decide and act together. We hope you’ll make plans to join us for this workshop series and to share it with those in your network!

TALK: October 9, 2025 | REGISTER HERE

DECIDE: November 6, 2025

ACT: December 4, 2025

NIFI Board and staff members are excited to sponsor and attend the 2025 National Conference on Citizenship on September 16th at Planet Word Museum in Washington, D.C. NIFI Executive Director Cristin Brawner will moderate a panel at the conference that will feature, among others, NIFI Board Member Leslie Garvin. Learn more about this important gathering and secure your spot today. We look forward to seeing you there!

Are you interested in attending, but missed the early bird pricing deadline? NIFI has a limited number of discounted tickets available for the conference, and we would love to share one with YOU. Email Cristin today if you’d like a discounted ticket, as they’ll be given on a first-come, first-served basis.

JMU Prepares Students for Active Citizenship Using Deliberation

James Madison University is entering its second year of a cross-campus initiative designed to provide every incoming student with a research-informed experience in response to Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s call for universities to establish student training on free speech and free expression. In response to that call, the Madison Center for Civic Engagement, led by Executive Director and NIFI Board Chair Dr. Kara Dillard, created Better Conversations Together. Better Conversations Together embeds NIFI-style deliberative dialogue as a core aspect of the first-year experience, building habits that students can carry into their classes, workplaces, and the wider community. Read our new blog post to learn more about this innovative program!

A Blueprint for Building Community: Alabamians Talk, Decide, & Act on Housing

When neighbors in central Alabama began discussing housing, they weren’t content to just talk about the issue; they wanted to decide and move to action quickly. The group of concerned citizens at a local church in Montevallo, Alabama, partnered with the David Mathews Center for Civic Life, and Keys to the City Community Coaching to frame a local discussion guide,  modeled on NIFI issue guides. The collaborative group then moderated a series of deliberative forums this spring and early summer. In August, the partners hosted an action summit to drive forward action around the three priority areas that emerged during the forums. NIFI’s newest blog highlights how this group of committed citizens utilized deliberation to help their region talk, decide, and act together to improve issues related to housing.

Hofstra University Releases New Issue Guide on Gen Z Mental Health

We’re pleased to share Turning the Corner: Approaches for Gen Z Students to Cope with Mental Stress RIGHT NOW, an issue guide from Hofstra University. This issue guide was developed through a collaborative effort of students and faculty dedicated to civic engagement. Contributing authors include undergraduate and graduate students—Sage Wenninghoff, Jonathan Caputo, Joseph Verderber, Averee Dovsek, Ryan Fallert, Emily Levine, and Steven Nappi—alongside faculty and academic leaders Philip Dalton, Ph.D., Stephanie Freese, Ed.D., Zoe Pasquier, and Andrea Libresco, Ed.D. Together, their diverse expertise in rhetoric, counseling, education, public relations, and political science shaped a resource designed to elevate Gen Z voices and foster meaningful deliberation about how best to support young people in the years ahead. We hope you’ll enjoy this new issue guide from the NIFI network! If you have an issue guide you’d like to share on the NIFI website or with the NIFI network, please email NIFI Executive Director Cristin Brawner.

Intern with Purpose this Fall at The National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation

NCDD is now accepting applications for its Fall 2025 Internship Program, a remote and flexible opportunity for students and emerging professionals. Interns will gain hands-on experience in communications, democracy engagement, membership, and program development while contributing to dialogue-centered democracy work. Applications are due September 12, with internships beginning the week of September 29.