Collaborative Democracy Network

A network of over 150 interdisciplinary and international scholars has been established to focus on the need to enhance the role of deliberative and collaborative methods in democratic governance. The goal of the network is to collaborate on research and theory building to strengthen the capacity of democratic governance institutions to produce better public policy. The scholars are interested in research and practice in public policy, public administration, political science, and planning. The Collaborative Democracy Network is being coordinated by the Center for Collaborative Policy at California State University Sacramento, with the financial assistance of The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. This network of interested scholars from different disciplines is cooperating in exploring the scholarly linkages in the fields of deliberative democracy, collaborative planning, and public administration.

The premise of the Collaborative Democracy Network is that there are very useful discourses underway in these fields that are converging in some ways. But the discourses are still distinct. The concept is to help bring these discourses together to explore the potential synergies around the theme: "Collaborative Policy and Democracy: Building Capable Institutions of Governance for Network Society." The network envisions four outcomes:

1. The participants will learn about each other's practice and scholarship and make new connections that will enhance their future work.

2. New directions for research and theory will be identified that will help move collaborative policy making forward in addressing issues challenging institutions of governance and enhancing democracy and civil society.

3. A long-term network of scholars and practitioners who are interested in the potential of collaborative policy making for democracy and governance will be created.

4. Publication of a collection of interdisciplinary papers on the topic.

Their strategy is to create a network of people in the three fields who are interested in pursuing this theme and collaborating to organize cross discipline panels and informal dialogues at selected conferences and meetings over the next three years. For questions, contact David Booher.

Calendar of Venues for Dialogue

- 2011 Venues for CDN Roundtables or Related Panels
updated May 19, 2010

- 2010 Venues for CDN Roundtables or Related Panels
updated March 29, 2010

- 2009 Venues for CDN Roundtables or Related Panels
updated August 24, 2009

- 2008 Venues for CDN Roundtables or Related Panels
updated July 27, 2007

- 2007 Venues for CDN Roundtables or Related Panels
updated August 28, 2007

- 2006 Venues for CDN Roundtables or Related Panels
updated May 11, 2006

- 2005 Venues for CDN Roundtables or Related Panels
updated February 7, 2007

Roundtable Summaries

- American Society for Public Administration
March 28, 2004

- International Symposium on Society and Resource Management
June 3, 2004
- Table of Theories (MS Excel spreadsheet)

- Association of European Schools of Planning
July 3, 2004