Upcoming Events

What: Frontiers of Democracy II Pedagogies of the Street – In the Classroom
When: July 19-21, 2012
Where: Tufts University, Boston
For more information, click here

What: Summer Institute of Civic Studies
When: July 9-19, 2012
Where: Tufts University

What: The National Outreach Scholarship Conference
When: September 30-October 3, 2012
Where: University of Alabama
Note: Call for proposals deadline April 11

What: The The Global Conference on Democracy, Human Rights and the Fragility of Freedom International Forum for Young Leaders
When: March 21-23, 2013
Where: McGill University, Montreal
Note: Student applications due April 13, 2012

What: Lynton Award nominations For young faculty doing engaged scholarship
Deadline: April 27

What: Civic Engagement 2.0: Re-Imagining, Strengthening and Deepening Our Civic Work
Who: AASCU's American Democracy Project and the American Commitment When: June 7-9, 2012
Where: San Antonio, Texas

What: Embedding Collaborative Governance in Universities, Communities and Government
Who: University Network for Collaborative Governance
When: June 10-12, 2012
Where: Syracuse University

What: Institute on the Future of Community Engagement
When: June 23-24, 2012
Where: Merrimack College

Short Takes

Read the conference report from No Better Time (2009), read session summaries, and link to a broad range of resources here.

Civility: It's all the rage - March 6, 2011

Educational Achievement Gap - April 29, 2010

Get Involved

TDI is compiling a repository of election 2012 curricula – syllabi, readings, resources, etc. Please contact Nancy Thomas if you want to help or contribute.

The U.S. Department of Education has issued a request for information for promising educational practices that improve college student success (hint: civic learning). Please contribute!

Write a Short Take!
We're interested in what you have to say. Send us your essay ideas, and we'll work with you post a short take here.

TDI’s Special Higher Education Issue of the Journal of Public Deliberation is on-line and open source. You’ll find an updated version of TDI’s framing paper, as well as papers on communication, philosophy, political science and more. For more on TDI’s catalyst papers, click here

Contribute to the Syllabi Repository
TDI is embarking on an ambitious project to develop a deliberative democracy syllabi repository. Learn how you can contribute! More »


The Democracy Imperative is a national network of academics and civic leaders in democratic dialogue, deliberation, and renewal. Our mission is to strengthen public life and democracy in and through higher education.