BOOKS

• Bringing Citizen Voices to the Table: A Guide for Public Managers, by Carolyn Lukensmeyer. The founding director of AmericaSpeaks shares fascinating stories of bringing public engagement to scale.
• Coming to Public Judgment: Making Democracy Work in a Complex World, by Dan Yankelovich. The renowned public opinion pollster explains seven steps from mass opinion to thoughtful public judgment, punctuated with lots of interesting examples.
• Dealing with an Angry Public: The Mutual Gains Approach to Resolving Disputes, by Lawrence Susskind and Patrick Field. Full of great stories about how to build a relationship of trust.
• Public Participation for 21st Century Democracy, by Tina Nabatchi and Matt Leighninger. Part of the Bryson Series in Public and Nonprofit Management, the book explains the distinction between thick, thin and conventional engagement, and explains the system within which engagement happens.
• Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, by Dan Health and Chip Heath. Many of their ideas for creating change are directly applicable to public engagement. A fascinating read.

ARTICLES & REPORTS

• Consensus Civility Focus Groups: A Summary. We held focus groups across the political spectrum to find out how people want to be engaged in difficult public issues. What they told us might surprise you. Download Civility_Focus_Group_Summary 10 pages – Kansas City
• “Dealing with Deeply Held Concerns and Other Challenges to Public Engagement Processes,” by the Institute for Local Government. Download  deeply_held_concerns_final_draft for advice when there are strong perspectives and deep feelings about an issue.
• International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Toolbox. Download the IAP2 toolbox to see the range of public engagement options available, and advice on when to use them.
• “Naming and Framing Difficult Issues to Make Sound Decisions,” by David Mathews. The director of the Kettering Foundation offers an accessible explanation of how to work with citizens to make tough choices involved in local and national issues.
• “National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD) Resource Guide.” Download the guide NCDD2010_Resource_Guide to learn about ways to engage the public, with links to additional resources.
• “Planning Public Forums: Questions to Guide Local Officials,” by the Institute for Local Government. Why to involvement the public and how to determine the design of effective public meetings.