NDN orchestrates cooperative discussion at the local level to build a thoughtful national conversation — enhancing local civic structures that, combined, offer a far deeper read on where people actually stand. Unlike a traditional scientific poll, we rely on the voluntary, self-selected opinions of the people who show up.
A small, nonpartisan team steering NDN's civic legacy — and building what comes next.
Dialogue researcher and practitioner. Current president and curator of the civic legacy of the nonprofit Forum Foundation in Seattle, WA.
Solutions architect who spent two decades bridging technical systems and executive decision-making — now applying that experience to AI Opinionnaire's architecture. tomgranger.com →
On November 8, 2013, around twenty people gathered in Oakland, CA, to talk about poverty and wealth in America using a World Café format. The takeaways from that room still shape how NDN runs every conversation since:
Participants were clear: this can't stop in one room. A broader national conversation on class and money means continuing the dialogue and building human connection well past that first gathering — which is exactly what this collective narrative sets out to do.
Read the full article covering the whole conversation →
This collective narrative presents ideas brought to, or that emerged in, the conversation on Poverty and Wealth in America hosted by Fedor Ovchinnikov, Dana Pearlman, Antoine Moore, Kathleen Paylor, and Steve Snider at the Kaiser Center Garden Room in Oakland, CA.
In 2013 we prototyped Polis, a platform for large-scale Opinionnaire® surveys on economic inequality, future generations' aspirations, and the purpose of wealth. It proved the concept — inclusive conversation, a Polarization-Consensus Rating, data-driven insight — and directly shaped what came next.
NDN's volunteers revitalize civic infrastructure within communities. By participating, anyone can shape the national conversation.
Focus deeply on a specific issue over time, in collaboration with others in your community.
Actively listen to the opinions and ideas circulating within your community and across the U.S.
Share your own viewpoints and ideas in conversations with family, friends, and community.
NDN also gives third-party organizations and agencies the opportunity to privately add printed materials and an extended Opinionnaire® Survey for their own audience. Reach out to explore this feature →
The NDN network is a nonpartisan, voluntary working group of practitioners, educators, and researchers in public engagement, governance, creative leadership, civic renewal, dialogue, deliberation, and participatory decision-making. We're building a voluntary civic infrastructure that connects conversations across the U.S. among people who want to examine a difficult, complex community issue alongside others who see it from a different perspective, discipline, or ideology. The NDN network was originally funded by a 2012 NCDD Catalyst Award.
