NCoC: Discussions and Commentary

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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
Public Policy Chat: Ted McConnellIn this month’s Public Policy Chat, NCoC Communications Fellow Alice Murphy talks to Ted McConnell about recent changes to national education policies and what that means for civic learning and the ...	March 20, 2012	discussion
Discussion: Can Engagement Strengthen the Economy?6 Hypotheses on the Link Between Civic Health and UnemploymentResearch shows a connection between civic health and a community’s ability to weather a recession. We’ve posited 6 hypotheses about why this connection exists, and invite you to join in a discussion.	February 16, 2012	discussion
Politics and Social Media: What’s the Relationship Status?Measures of political involvement are down. Social media usage is up. A lot of attention is being focused on the role of social networks in the 2012 election, but early data suggests it is not realizing ...	February 8, 2012	discussion
America: Built to LastNCoC Response to 2012 State of the Union AddressIn tonight’s State of the Union address, President Obama spoke of the harsh and complex realities of today’s political and economic climate. NCoC believes that in solving even these complex ...	January 24, 2012	op-ed
“Teaching America,” a Brookings Institution EventOn January 9, Brookings hosted a discussion of Teaching America: The Case for Civic Education. Contributing authors laid out their proposals for strengthening civic education in a discussion moderated ...	January 17, 2012	discussion
Dear Shay, What It Means to Be an American...by Josh Fryday (Dad)A letter from father to one-year-old son regarding his rights and responsibilities as an American citizen.	January 13, 2012	op-ed
The Meaning of AmericanA NCoC.net Discussion SeriesNCoC is launching “The Meaning of American” discussion series—to collect personal stories, definitions, and experiences of the rights and responsibilities of living in the United States.	January 10, 2012	discussion
What would you do for citizenship?During a discussion at the 66th Annual Conference, moderator Eric Liu asked “What if … we scrapped birthright citizenship for everybody? What if everybody had to do something to earn it? How ...	January 10, 2012	discussion
Top 11 of 2011In addition to highlighting publications and convenings, NCoC is committed to using our website as a platform for ongoing discussion—to generate a national conversation on citizenship. On a regular ...	December 20, 2011	discussion
Mandatory service for the unemployed? Discuss.A recent, hotly debated proposed law in Georgia would require out-of-work residents to perform at least 24 hours of community service with a nonprofit in order to receive unemployment benefits. Supporters ...	December 15, 2011	discussion