Public Deliberation: The Kettering Foundation’s Experience and Opportunities for the Engaged University

Abstract

The National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI), launched by the Kettering Foundation in 1980, provides an opportunity for the engaged university to foster public deliberation with its students and alumni, as well as leaders in the communities where it operates. NIFI publishes three issue books per year on topics of national importance. These materials are nonpartisan and nonprescriptive, designed to provide citizens with information they need to make an intelligent choice. Through various partners, NIFI then conducts forums around the nation to allow citizens to discuss these issues and discover ways they can contribute toward a solution. Participation in such public deliberation fosters civic engagement.