Dues-paying NCDD members are eligible for all of the discounts we’ve negotiated on the following educational programs offered by some of the most respected organizations in our field. NCDD organizational members can send up to three people to any of these programs at the discounted rate.

Learn more about joining NCDD, upgrade to dues-paying membership, or learn how to add your trainings, programs and courses to this impressive list. Programs must help people build skills, capacity or knowledge in group process work.

Recently added or updated discounts…

1. The Center for Strategic Facilitation Trainings
2. CogNexus Institute
3. Community at Work’s Group Facilitation Skills Training
4. Dialogue, Deliberation and Public Engagement Master Class
5. Dialogue Partners Trainings
6. Center for Wise Democracy’s Dynamic Facilitation trainings
7. EngagingPlans Online Engagement Websites
8. Future Search Network Workshops
9. Heartland’s Art of Convening TeleTraining
10. Leadership Strategies’ The Effective Facilitator Course
11. League of Extraordinary Trainers’ Courses
12. National Charrette Institute Trainings and Certificates
13. Public Conversations Project Trainings
14. PublicDecisions.com Online Trainings
15. Dalar International Consultancy Workshops

Please note:  The fees listed on this page may not be the latest, but are included to give you a general idea of costs.

CogNexus Institute

CogNexus Institute is dedicated to teaching Issue Mapping and Dialogue Mapping™, proven methods for working with complex or wicked problems. Issue Mapping and Dialogue Mapping™ can be used to build shared understanding and shared commitment, which are two of the most important capabilities necessary for moving forward in the most complex situations.

Dues-paying NCDD members receive a 20% discount off the regular tuition for CogNexus Institute offerings by mentioning NCDD in the “How did you hear about us?” or “Comments” field on registration, and by selecting the NCDD option on the payment page. More information about CogNexus Institute can be found at www.cognexus.org. You may also contact our Director of Training, KC Burgess Yakemovic, at kcby@cognexus.org, if you have questions.

Self-Paced Issue Mapping Course
Issue Mapping will, at minimum, help you become a more effective thinker. At maximum, it will help you master a method (Issue Based Information Systems — IBIS) and a tool (Compendium) that can catapult you to new levels of success in meetings and client outcomes as well as increase your contribution to helping work with big problems in our world. This course provides the opportunity to learn Issue Mapping at your own pace, with feedback from an instructor via email, phone and/or web conferencing on assignments as they are completed. The regular price for this course is $895, for NCDD members the price is $716.

Dialogue Mapping™ Workshop
The CogNexus Dialogue Mapping™ two-day workshop introduces managers, project leaders, facilitators, and consultants to the skill of Dialogue Mapping™, and a whole new way of helping groups solve problems and move forward. The pre-requisite for this course is one of our approved Issue Mapping Courses. In this face-to-face workshop we roll up our sleeves and get down to the “softer” skills of facilitating meetings from the place where IBIS, Compendium and facilitation meet. We will spend our time together practicing the hard, productive, and satisfying work of Dialogue Mapping™ which calls for sustained concentration, willingness to make mistakes and learn in public, and a fierce commitment to listening and shared understanding. The regular price for this workshop is $995, for NCDD members the price is $796.

Community at Work’s Group Facilitation Skills Training

This is Community At Work‘s renowned 3-day workshop based on the international best-seller, Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making. Sarah Fisk, Ph.D. and Sam Kaner, Ph.D., co-authors of the Facilitator’s Guide, take turns leading these workshops focused on “putting participatory values into practice.” Most trainings take place at Community At Work in San Francisco, California.

Dues-paying NCDD members receive a 25% discount off of the $1495 – $795 sliding scale. (The best discounted adjusted fee for those who are self-employed or working for a community-based nonprofit is thus $596.25.) Please indicate that you are a member of NCDD at the time of registration. For more information and registration email duane@CommunityAtWork.com or phone Duane Berger at 415-641-9773. Both Sarah’s and Sam’s workshops typically sell out early, so be sure and contact Duane ahead of time.

Dialogue Partners’ Trainings

Dialogue Partners builds capacity through hands-on knowledge transfer and mentoring. Their approach to public engagement training, workshops and seminars is no different. Once you have experienced one of their sessions, their hope is that you will be able to create meaningful and productive public engagement programs on your own.

They offer a number of training courses, workshops, seminars and speaking engagements that can be tailored or changed to meet your needs. Consult their list of training courses and their training calendar to see the training programs they provide on a regular and per-request basis.

Many of their training courses are offered by Stephani Roy McCallum, Managing Director of Dialogue Partners. Stephani is past President of IAP2, and a certified trainer with IAP2. She boasts an impressive expanse of consultation and facilitation experience in a variety of diverse settings, on a wide range of controversial subjects. Stephani is an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator and holds certificates in public policy moderation, community development, and facilitated planning.

Dues-paying NCDD members receive a 15% discount off the regular registration rate for Dialogue Partners trainings. More info about their training courses can be found at dialoguepartners.ca/civic-engagement-services/training/training-courses/.

The Center for Wise Democracy’s Dynamic Facilitation Trainings

The Center for Wise Democracy assists communities in creating Wisdom Councils – randomly-selected, facilitated ‘juries’ reflecting the larger diversity of the community – which engage in dialogue about the larger system and arrive at creative consensus on shared visions. These visions in turn serve to increase the quality of the dialogue among the larger community. “Dynamic facilitation“ is used to facilitate Wisdom Councils, and the Center provides trainings in dynamic facilitation regularly.

Dynamic Facilitation is a unique form of facilitation that feels like dialogue in that people share deeply from the heart about has meaning to them and generates group decisions and unanimous outcomes similar to deliberation. Its large-scale applications, known as the Creative Insight Council and the Wisdom Council, are being used to transform democracy in the public and private sphere, helping diverse groups address systemic and complex issues creatively and collaboratively and reached shared outcomes. In this introductory seminar, you’ll learn how to use these skills to help groups and large systems think together creatively and collaboratively to achieve self-organizing, win/win outcomes at home and in workplaces, schools, government agencies, and community settings.

Dues-paying NCDD members receive a 20% discount on DF trainings which, for nonprofits, are regularly $995 for the 3-day training ($796 for dues-paying NCDD members). Visit www.tobe.net for more information and to register. The regular government rate is $1,195 and the corporate rate is $1,395. To register, please contact Jim Rough at jim@dynamicfacilitation.com or 206-965-8498.

EngagingPlans Online Engagement Websites

Note from NCDD:  Okay – this one may not be a training or educational program, but we thought this discount was an important enough member benefit to list on the discounts page!

EngagingPlans from Urban Interactive Studio (UIS) is an online engagement solution tailored to your needs, something that’s rare in today’s world of one-size-fits-all web applications. EngagingPlans solves the dilemma that many organizations face as communication moves increasingly online and more citizens expect the convenience of having information available on the web.

Agencies are recognizing the value of online communication among stakeholders, citizens, and decision-makers, but often can’t afford the financial or administrative output required to maintain an effective web presence dedicated to a specific project. EngagingPlans enables the rapid launch of a robust website and engagement management system, with minimal effort and no special technical skills required.

Dues-paying NCDD members receive a 15% discount off the monthly subscription fee for our EngagingPlans Pro package – you only pay $75.65 per month. This micro site delivers a comprehensive suite of features that allow you to quickly and efficiently facilitate communication with the public.  Go to EngagingPlans.com/NCDD for more details, or email us at info@urbaninteractivestudio.com.

Urban Interactive Studio (UIS) LLC is a full-service technology consulting firm specializing in Web and mobile solutions for communities, non-profit organizations, and government institutions. We take a truly unique approach to our projects, combining a variety of cutting-edge online and mobile tools, as well as social media strategies, to facilitate communication and spark interaction in innovative new ways.

Future Search Network Workshops

Future Search is an innovative, highly participatory planning process that allows people to discover a set of shared values or themes (common ground) and build new dynamics such as inclusion and collaboration into their organization or community. Future search is not owned by anyone and all are encouraged to use the process and experiment with it.

“Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!” – An Advanced Facilitation Workshop
This facilitation workshop is based on the best-selling meeting management book, DON’T JUST DO SOMETHING, STAND THERE! Ten Principles for Leading Meetings That Matter, and is presented by the authors – internationally-known facilitators and Future Search co-creators Sandra Janoff and Marvin Weisbord. Janoff and Wesibord are also the 2011 WINNERS of the – Outstanding Global Work Award presented by the OD Network.

The workshop presents a philosophy, theory and method for transforming diverse work groups of all kinds. This seminar, integrating system change and personal growth theories, is for new to experienced leaders who want to increase their capacity to help large, diverse groups stay task-focused and accomplish ambitious goals. Future search experience is not necessary for this workshop. This workshop runs one afternoon, one full day and one morning.

The regular registration rate for the 2012 training is $1195. Dues-paying NCDD members are eligible for a 25% discount (only $896.25!!) Learn more or register at www.futuresearch.net/method/workshops/descriptions-63071.cfm or call Jennifer Neumer at 215-951-0328 or 800-951-6333 (or email: fsn@futuresearch.net).

What Would You Do If….? – A Master Class for Professionals in Organization, Group and Personal Development with Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff
At the start of the ‘What Would You Do If…?’ Master Class, you can raise whatever questions you have about real issues when organizing or supervising meetings: What would you do if…? You will learn from yourself, from each other, and from Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff, while discovering new possibilities, alternative strategies and new ways to support groups effectively. A unique 1.5-day first-hand experience of the power of being able to put your trust in the collective intelligence of the group.

Dues-paying NCDD members are eligible for a 20% discount off registration for both the 2012 ‘What Would You Do If…?’ Master Class sessions.  The regular registration rate for the training is $695 (only $556 with NCDD discount!) Learn more at www.futuresearch.net/method/workshops/index.cfm or call Jennifer Neumer at the Future Search Network at 215-951-0328 or 800-951-6333 (or email: fsn@futuresearch.net).

Managing a Future Search – A Learning Workshop
This workshop is for facilitators, managers, students, community leaders, or anyone who wants to learn how applying Future Search principles enables a community or organization to transform its capability for action. Participants will acquire the tools needed to organize and manage Future Search conferences with integrity in any sector or culture.

The workshop is built around a simulated Future Search. The simulation is planned by the participants as part of the learning design. The whole group then has a basis for a shared experience with the techniques for building community, developing a mutual world view, creating desired futures, finding common ground, expanding the range of choices, and moving into action. Included are interactive sessions on theory, history, planning, facilitation and follow-up.

People have applied Future Search in every sector in many cultures. Examples include affordable housing in Santa Cruz, CA, economic development among the Inuit people of North America, AIDS in Bangladesh, more effective business planning in Brazil, business mergers in Germany, sustainable communities in England, strengthening democratic practices in South Africa, regional planning in Indonesia, and education reform across the United States. Future Search Network (www.futuresearchnet) has hundreds of examples worldwide.

The regular registration rate for the 2012 training is $1695. Dues-paying NCDD members are eligible for a 25% discount (only $1271.25!!) Learn more or register at www.futuresearch.net/method/workshops/descriptions-63071.cfm or call Jennifer at 215-951-0328 or 800-951-6333 (or email: fsn@futuresearch.net).

Heartland’s Art of Convening TeleTraining

Convening is a leadership capacity that has the power to integrate and magnify the individual and collective, or group, team, whole organization, to enhance business and organizational performance, or individual relationships.  How we gather, communicate and deliver the desired outcomes through our meetings is critical to the long-term vitality and success of our organizations and communities and the people within.

Using The Convening Wheel, Heartland‘s The Art of Convening Training is a practical map that anyone can navigate and activate as a core leadership competency. We travel the inner and outer path of the reflective leader, from getting to “The Heart of the Matter” to a “Commitment to Action” and all the territory in-between.

Training Format
Each 2-hour Session builds upon the last, combining guided teaching based on session themes and collaborative learning. The format, based on Heartland Inc.’s work with the Thought Leader Gatherings and various convening designs, utilizes ancient forms as well as modern systems for group effectiveness. All sessions are a blend of group interaction and engagement. Between sessions participants continue learning via experiential exercises, individual reading and reflection, and are supported by an online learning platform.

You will learn new practices and processes including:

• Coaching Council Process
• Stringing the Beads
• Design Elements Checklist
• Working with Transitions
• Working with the Principles of Convening

Learn more at heartlandcircle.com/aoc-main.htm. Heartland offers a permanent $75 discount for any Art of Convening Training to all NCDD Members. To receive $75 off any training, use this discount code when registering: DSC-HeartCom.

League of Extraordinary Trainers’ Courses

The League of Extraordinary Trainers are eight highly seasoned practitioners who have designed and presented some of the most powerful and recognized training in public participation, collaboration, consensus, high stakes communication, and facilitation. Extraordinary Trainers (a national sponsor of NCDD’s 2010 events as US Trainers Consortium, LLC) are among the practice leaders, developers, and founders of the the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) and its spectrum, principles and ethics.

Our training centerpiece earns you a Certificate in Public Participation from The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2). These courses allow public participation professionals to master the basics of how to design and deliver a public participation program and enhance their existing skills.  IAP2 is the world-wide standard in comprehensive public participation training. This certificate program consists of a series of three courses over five days:

• PLANNING for Effective Public Participation is a 2-day course (a pre-requisite to “Communications and/or Techniques”)
• COMMUNICATIONS for Effective Public Participation is a 1-day course; and
• TECHNIQUES for Effective Public Participation is a 2-day course

Our newest training course is Emotion, Outrage and Public Participation – Moving from Rage to Reason (EOP2). This practical, hands-on workshop is a fresh 2-day mix of lecture, video, small and large group discussion and authentic, real world exercises that give you the tools and ability to manage the tough public issues that you face and move your projects forward.

Dues-paying NCDD members receive a 10% discount ($315 per training day) on all trainings — and a 20% ($280 per training day) discount if you register by the Early Bird date. Visit www.extraordinarytrainers.com for more details on the trainings (including info on customized trainings for your organization), and for early bird registration deadlines. You may also view the training calendar on www.iap2.org/calendar.cfm. To take advantage of the NCDD Member Discounts contact us directly at info@extraordinarytrainers.com or 720-237-9175.

National Charrette Institute Trainings and Certificates

Charrettes are typically a potent combination of modern design studio and town meeting, with a dash of the teamwork from an old-fashioned barnraising mixed in. Most start with a hands-on session for citizens and continue in an around-the-clock, energetic push until a plan is finished about a week later. A charrette can be a breakthrough event that helps overcome inertia and creates a meaningful master plan. More about charrettes.

Dues-paying NCDD members receive a 10% discount on all NCI trainings. Visit www.charretteinstitute.org/programs.html for details on the upcoming trainings NCI is offering.

NCI Charrette Planner® Certificate
This certificate is geared toward public and private planning staff, development managers and advocacy group staff. This information is invaluable both for those who hire others to conduct charrettes and for those who will be conducting charrettes themselves. By the end of the program you will have practiced the complete process for planning a charrette.

NCI Complete Charrette Manager™ Certificate
Charrettes are dynamic with unique challenges. Charrette managers must be quick on their feet and have a large toolbox of processes and skills.  The NCI Charrette Management training equips professionals with the necessary tools for managing large charrettes.  This 1.5-day training is an in-depth study of the most challenging aspects of the multiple-day charrette.

NCI Public Meeting Facilitator™ Certificate
The comprehensive charrette manager must know how to handle the most volatile public meetings. In just two days you will gain the lessons learned from some of the toughest charrettes and learn how so many potential problems can be defused by knowing how to properly set up and facilitate public meetings. You will finally be able to relax while conducting a large meeting, knowing that you have the most effective tools and preventions in place. Today, the range of abilities of people who are running charrettes varies as much as the definition of the charrette process itself. Adding an NCI certificate to your credentials distinguishes you as someone with the most advanced process tools and puts you ahead of the competition for high profile jobs that require substantial public involvement.

Public Conversations Project Trainings

The Public Conversations Project offers some of the best dialogue trainings out there. Dues-paying NCDD members receive a 15% discount on most PCP trainings. Learn more at www.publicconversations.org/workshops, or register by contacting Program Coordinator Seth Karamage at 617-923-1216 x24 or skaramage@publicconversations.org.

The Power of Dialogue: Constructive Conversations on Divisive Issues (three days)
PCP’s signature workshop offers a deep exploration of Reflective Structured Dialogue, an intentional communication process marked by its unique capacity to reduce threat and foster mutual understanding across lines of deep difference. Through immersion in an extensive case simulation, participants will learn about the dynamics of polarization and conflict, and explore modes of communication that increase trust, re-humanize opponents and shift relationships. Learn how to:

• Create conversational structures that prevent destructive debate and foster constructive dialogue
• Prepare a forum for new ways of speaking and listening through pre-dialogue contacts between facilitator and participants
• Partner with participants in the planning of the dialogue to insure their commitment to and investment in the process
• Facilitate from a collaborative stance
• Foster reflection between participants and facilitators on the events of a dialogue to shape what happens next

Early registration fee: $375. Regular registration fee: $450 ($382 for NCDD dues-paying members). Learn more.

Transforming Divisive Conversation: A Workshop for Clergy and Lay Leaders (one day)
Like all communities, faith communities are characterized as much by their diversity as by their shared identity, beliefs and values. Conflict can arise around differences in theology, worship, identity, and transition. Transforming Divisive Conversation will explore ways that congregational leaders can approach conflict, prevent corrosive interactions and help their members engage each other in constructive ways. Early registration fee: $125
. Regular registration fee: $150 ($127 for NCDD dues-paying members). Learn more.

Inquiry as Intervention: Crafting Questions with Purpose and Impact (one day)
Questions are powerful. Once asked, they can either invite or inhibit understanding between the asker and the asked. In this workshop, participants will experience the effects that different questions have on them and on others. In addition, they will learn how to craft questions that open up new possibilities for conversations across deep differences. After Inquiry as Intervention, you may never hear–or ask–a question in the same way again! Early registration fee: $125
. Regular registration fee: $150 ($127 for NCDD dues-paying members). Learn more.

Staying Grounded When on the Spot: A Facilitation Workshop (two days)
Anyone who facilitates meetings can be thrown off balance when difficult moments arise. Staying Grounded will help you deepen your self-awareness as a facilitator and develop constructive, purposeful responses to common challenges: violations of ground rules, opposition to the process or purpose of the meeting, or resistance to your own role and credibility. This workshop will help you improve your ability to adapt a meeting to a group’s shifting needs and interests while maintaining your own balance. Early registration fee: $250. Regular registration fee: $300 ($255 for NCDD dues-paying members). Learn more.

Principles and Practices of Meeting Design: An Interactive Workshop (one day)
Most of us have spent thousands of hours in meetings, as leaders and participants. Some of those meetings have been time well spent; others have been frustrating and unconstructive. In this workshop you will learn design and facilitation principles and techniques that create more engaging and satisfying meetings in small or large groups, in communities, organizations, or in the workplace. Early registration fee: $125. Regular registration fee: $150 ($127 for NCDD dues-paying members). Learn more.

PublicDecisions.com Online Trainings

PublicDecisions.com offers practical online trainings for people who work with stakeholders and the public to solve problems, craft policies/programs or achieve social change. Their multi-audience website serves differing skill levels and learning needs around the practice of public involvement. Various trainings are tailored for public participation practitioners, for elected and appointed officials, and for nonprofit leaders.

Classes are conducted live, and quality is ensured by limiting class sizes to a small number of participants. All you need is high-speed internet and a phone (or Skype). Dues-paying NCDD members save 20% on all PublicDecisions classes, which are typically $95 for 60-minute courses (discount may not be combined with other coupons or offers). Contact Paul Coelus at Paul@PublicDecisions.com for details on registering at the discounted rate. Learn more about PublicDecisions.com’s trainings.

Courses cover topics like:

• Top Ten Reasons Not to Involve the Public in Your Decisions
• Community Planning Events: Why and How to Organize Them
• Integrate the Public’s Values into Facility Siting Decisions: Turn NIMBY into GUMBY
  
• Become an Active Listener: Communicate Effectively with Angry and Upset People

The Center for Strategic Facilitation Trainings

The Center for Strategic Facilitation is a partnership of consultants in the San Francisco Bay Area experienced in training, facilitation and organizational development. They are the licensed provider of Technology of Participation (ToP) training in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. ToP are time tested methods used throughout the world that were developed by the Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA).

The CSF Senior Partners are Marti Roach and Jane Stallman. Dues-paying NCDD members receive a 20% discount on CSF trainings, excluding the year-long mastery program MToP. To register, email Jane Stallman at jlstallman@aol.com and indicate the course you are interested in. Jane will mail you the registration form. Be sure to write “NCDD member” on the top of your registration form before you mail it in. You can also call Jane 510-532-6595 with questions. The course list with dates and a registration form is also available on the web site, hit the link above and download from the home page.

ToP Facilitation Methods Course
This 2-day intensive course presents the fundamentals of the Technology of Participation (ToP) methods, with hands-on training to increase effectiveness, consensus and creativity in meetings. If you take one course to learn more about facilitation, this is it! $645 (only $516 for dues-paying NCDD members).

ToP Strategic Planning
This two day course provides a solid, detailed design of participatory strategic planning, including a bridge to first year implementation actions, monitoring and follow-up. If you want to design and lead effective strategic planning processes, this course will provide a powerful model and set of tools. Pre-requisite: ToP Facilitation Methods. $645 (only $516 for dues-paying NCDD members).

ToP Secrets of Implementation
Does your organization or your clients have trouble sustaining a plan once it has been initiated? Do you sometimes find it difficult to stay on track or help others to do so? Do you want to learn new tools and techniques to bring new people onto a team, revitalize implementation along the path to success? Some to the two-day ToP Secrets and gain knowledge on how to keep plans alive and projects on target, relevant and energized. Pre-requisite: ToP Facilitation Methods pre- $645 (only $516 for dues-paying NCDD members).

Dalar International Consultancy Workshops