About Community Conversations

About Public Agenda's model

Community Conversations are carefully constructed problem-solving dialogues that bring diverse stakeholders together to discuss an important and pressing public issue. Such conversations are frequently a first step toward larger community dialogue and action.

Key principles

Public Agenda's model for Community Conversations encompasses several key principles, including:

  • Local nonpartisan sponsoring coalition: A coalition of local organizations and institutions to sponsor and organize the Community Conversation.
  • Diverse participants: Participation that represents a cross section of the community — not just the "usual suspects" — to ensure that all groups and stakeholders are represented and heard from.
  • Dialogue in small, diverse groups: Small-group discussions facilitated by well-trained and objective moderators and recorders who document the proceedings for effective follow-up.
  • The power of Choicework: Well-prepared discussion material designed to give people alternative ways of thinking about a complicated issue, or what Public Agenda refers to as "Choicework."
  • Forum follow-up: Follow-up activity to connect the Community Conversation dialogue outcomes to ongoing or new action related to addressing the issue at hand.

Rather than lectures by experts, or gripe sessions by angry constituents, well-designed Community Conversations create a frank, productive problem-solving process in which diverse ideas are put on the table, diverse participants sit at the table, and people work to find common ground and solutions. Trained moderators from your community help all participants contribute, while trained recorders capture the ideas and actions steps generated during the discussion.

Community Conversations can have concrete impacts in various ways, from informing district and government policies and practices to creating new citizen-led initiatives and programs. For more information about the impacts of Community Conversations, read our Case Studies from around the country.