National Issues Forums

National Issue Forums (NIF), is a US “non partisan, nationwide network of organizations and individuals who sponsor public forums and training institutions for public deliberation.” Everyday citizens get to deliberate on various issues through NIF forums. Some of the issues discussed include civil rights, education, energy, government, etc. “Think, Deliberate, Act” is the slogan on the NIF website, www.nifi.org.

History

In the summer 1981 at the Wing-spread Conference, 17 organizations created the Domestic Policy Association. The Domestic Policy Association is a non partisan nation-wide network that would deliberate each year on 3 pressing issues. The network expanded across the nation, and it provided valuable opportunity for different people to deliberate. Soon, some larger collaborating institutions initiated the forums.

Process

Aimed not just to “talk” about problems, the NIF is a way for people to deliberate, or to have serious discussions on issues. In its early years, NIF depends on Public Agenda Foundation, an agency found by Dan Yankelovich, to select issues for the deliberation of NIF. But now, various groups and individuals have been able to frame issues for discussion.

NIF forums have moderators to moderate the discussion, (Melville, Willingham, Dedrick, 2005). While the moderator might not be familiar with the issue being discussed, but his/her function is nonetheless important. NIF moderators do 5 things:

1. Lay out ground rules for discussion.

2. Introduce issues.

3. Draw participants into discussion by keeping a healthy atmosphere for discussion (i.e., ask participants questions).

4. Encourage participants to consider alternatives carefully.

5. Lead the final segment of a discussion, to “reflect” upon the experience.

Also, some forums would publish a report on what they have deliberated at the forums. These reports usually come from the forum moderators based on the deliberations at the forums. For information on these reports, visit this link: http://www.nifi.org/reports/issues.aspx. It is unsure whether any decision maker would read these reports. But these documentations are available to the public. And they are valuable insights into the society’s perception on various issues.

Impacts on participants

People who believe in deliberation believe that a deliberative process is important to any responsible citizen. Over all, NIF is an enriching educational experience. A participant usually gained knowledge on the issues deliberated from the forums at NIF.

The following are the possible impacts of NIF on participants, (Melville, Willingham, Dedrick, 2005):

1. Participation in NIF forums heightens interest in specific issues and in public affair and leads to higher levels of public engagement
2. Participation in NIF forums broadens the outlook of participants.
3. As a result of participating in forums, individuals come to experience themselves in different ways, and they learn new ways of taking part in groups.
4. Participation in NIF forums enhances people’s sense of themselves as political actors who can make a difference in their communities.
5. People construe their self-interest more broadly as a result of taking part in deliberative conversations.
6. Deliberation helps people move beyond superficial preferences to considered public judgment.

See also

• Deliberative democracy

References

• Melville, K., Willingham, T., Dedrick, J. (2005). National Issues Forums. In J. Gastil & P. Levine (Eds.), The Deliberative Democracy Handbook. (1st ed., pp 44–45, 48-51). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

External links

• National Issues Forums