Discussions and Commentary

NCoC engages in Research, Discussion and Solutions to real world issues. We apply this strategic approach in 6 primary civic focus areas, highlighted here.
NCoC believes addressing an issue occurs in three primary strategic phases: research, discussion, and solutions. The discussion phase is an important element in understanding challenges and animating research findings, as well as turning them into action plans and solutions in communities. This is why NCoC is committed to using our website as a platform for ongoing discussion and commentary about issues facing the civic sector.

Here, you will see a list of our featured discussions, broken down by focus area. Scroll over the title to see a brief description, and click to read the article and join the discussion.

For all featured discussions sorted by date, click here.

Ongoing Discussion Series are also generated on the following topics:
The Meaning of American
Can Engagement Strengthen the Economy?
Public Policy Chat

Discussions by issue area are here:
Title Date Type
Serve America Act: One Year LaterIndividuals recognize Edward M. Kennedy legacyLast April, President Obama signed a large piece of federal legislation to support service and civic engagement initiatives, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. The Act received truly bi-partisan ... April 26, 2010 video
Keynote Panel on Civility and Political Discourse66th Annual National Conference on CitizenshipThis panel was convened at the 66th Annual National Conference on Citizenship on September 22, 2011 in Pheonix, Arizona by NCoC and the Bipartisan Policy Center. September 22, 2011 video
Beyond the VoteAmericans turned out in force for the 2008 Presidential Election with over 133 million ballots cast. Voters were heeding the call for change, but will citizens continue to be involved beyond Election Day? ... November 5, 2008 video
2009 NCoC in ReviewThe 2009 National Conference on Citizenship was held September 9 in the Library of Congress. Perhaps the most notable difference between the 2009 event and year's past was the proliferation of social ... September 14, 2009 video
Social Innovation in Civic LifeA 2009 NCoC PanelThis panel at the 2009 National Conference on Citizenship explored the role of social innovation in civic life. September 25, 2009 video
Civic Health in Hard TimesA 2009 NCoC PanelThis panel at the 2009 National Conference on Citizenship explored the impact of the economic crisis on the civic health of the states, using the 2009 America’s Civic Health Index findings. September 25, 2009 video
Can Facebook Replace Face-to-Face? The 2008 National Conference on Citizenship raised this provocative question with Sean Parker, Founding President of Facebook and Bill Galston of the Brookings Institute. Parker and Galston discussed, ... November 14, 2008 video
Gatekeepers and New MediaDuring the 2008 National Conference on Citizenship, panelists Bill Galston of the Brookings Institution and Sean Parker, Founding President of Facebook, agreed to disagree on the subject of gatekeepers ... November 20, 2008 video
The Internet: Civic Polarizer or Unifier?There's an old saying, ”Great minds think alike.” Or is that just what we tell ourselves when we find people who think as we do? Sean Parker, William Galston and Joe Trippi conclude their dynamic ... November 26, 2008 video
Creating Spaces for ChangeWorking Toward a “Story of Now” in Civic EngagementCreating Spaces for Change: Working Toward a ”Story of Now” in Civic Engagement , a new report from the Deliberative Democracy Consortium and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is an attempt to describe ... April 23, 2010 publication
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