Budget-Building for the Leaders of Tomorrow
North Carolina, – The National Institute for Civil Discourse’s Next Generation Program facilitated two sessions for program participants in the North Carolina Institute for Political Leadership this past weekend. Next Generation’s Legislative Liaison Dr. Thom Little led both sessions for the group, focusing on practical ways they could benefit constituents and the public through their decision-making. Participants got to assume the roles of legislators facing a variety of legislative, ethical, and procedural challenges as they formed their personal frameworks for navigating these dilemmas.
In the first session participants continued to grow their collaborative skills by practicing the coalition-building process through the lens of a budget-simulation. The first simulation was titled “Getting To Yes: A Legislative Budget-Building Exercise,” and gave each participant a unique set of policy positions, budget priorities, and personal connections to programs that influenced their negotiations with other ‘legislators.’ One participant said of the simulation: “The coalition-building exercise was an engaging experience, providing insights into the complexities of passing a state budget.”
The second session led by Dr. Little was “Making Hard (and Not So Hard) Decisions,” and is designed to give public servants the tools that will help them through a variety of ethical challenges likely to arise during their time in office. Participants get the opportunity to discuss their likely reactions, plan their responses, and create the ‘why’ behind decisions before being confronted by them. Participants were given a few seconds to vote on their personal approach to a myriad of situations, and then the group discussed possible alternatives and rationales for acting in the way they decided. One IOPL fellow said of the ethical decision-making discussion: “The scenarios provided valuable hands-on learning and fostered great conversation and strategic thinking.” The fellows brought their experience and insights from the Institute of Political Leadership to bear, and the sessions were able to harness their insight to create productive and thoughtful conversations on ethical decision-making and collaboration.
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About NICD, the National Institute for Civil Discourse
NICD works to build the nation’s capacity to engage our differences constructively. In 2011, the University of Arizona created NICD after the Tucson shooting that killed six people and wounded another thirteen, including former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. In the weeks prior to the shooting, Congresswoman Giffords was already in discussion with the University of Arizona about creating a center that would focus on improving the quality of discourse. The galvanizing power of that event brought together founding honorary co-chairs George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton and an impressive bipartisan group of other leaders to honor Congresswoman Giffords’ vision.
Next Generation is one of NICD’s most important programs that creates and strengthens bipartisan relationships through mutual, trust-based, and effective communication in state legislatures around the country.
NICD offers Americans a variety of opportunities and resources to engage differences constructively at https://civildiscourseinstitute.org/.
