Colorado State University
EN-13: Community Stakeholder Engagement

CSU has the Center for Public Deliberation whose main goals are: 1. Enhance the Local Civic Culture 2. Expand Collaborative Decision-Making 3. Improve Civic Pedagogy It is made up of CSU students, CSU faculty/staff, and local community members who work together to increase transparency, accessibility, and engagement in CSU governance, strategy, and operations. The CPD serves as an impartial resource to the northern Colorado community. It is based on the belief that democracy requires high quality communication, but unfortunately such communication is rare. Working with students trained in small group facilitation, the CPD assists local government, schools boards, and community organizations by researching issues and developing useful background material, and then designs, facilitates, and reports on innovative public events.

The Center for Public Deliberation conducts frequent Community Issues Forums where anyone can come to present issues of concern. These can then be adopted as formal topics for consideration and are considered by the various committee members in hope of finding supportive community solutions. Underrepresented and vulnerable groups benefit from this free resource as a way to give voice to concerns and ask for consideration on important items. Recent issues included elder abuse in Larimer County, the retail marijuana amendment, anti-bullying, as well as on campus policies such as a campus-wide smoking ban, proposals for an on-campus stadium, etc.

Campus Community (students, faculty & staff) Fort Collins Community Neighborhoods in proximity to campus City & County government Health community (hospital, public health, mental health) Local businesses Local school district and community colleges Emergency services (campus, city & county police, fire & EMS) Advocacy groups (affordable housing, real estate, sustainability, development, etc.) The CPD Advisory Board is comprised of representatives of these stakeholders: •Rich Alper, CPD Community Associate •Karrin Anderson, CSU Department of Communication Studies •Darrie Burrage, CSU Teaching and Learning Institute •Deni LaRue, Larimer County Community Information Officer •Jen Johnson, CSU Student Leadership and Civic Engagement office •Susan Opp and David McIvor, CSU Department of Political Science •Ginny Sawyer, City of Fort Collins •Linda Mahan, Larimer County League of Women Voters •William Timpson, CSU Department of Education •Michael Liggett, Fort Collins Library Board, & Liggett, Smith, & Wilson •Pete Seel, CSU Department of Journalism and Technical Communication •Mallorie Bruns, Meridian Institute •Karina Branson, ConverSketch

A few successes from the past three years include: Creation of the Northern Colorado Food Cluster: CPD Director Martín Carcasson began working with CSU extension in the fall of 2011 to provide trainings on deliberative practices. In November 2013, CPD worked with Routt County CSU Extension Agent Karen Massey to hold a forum on improving the local food economy. The forum brought together a collection of farmers, local government officials, restaurateurs, and consumers for a two-hour conversation. CPD’s work in local food issues expanded beyond CSU Extension in November 2013 and February 2014. CPD and the Northern Colorado Food Cluster held forums that brought together a mix of local farmers, food businesses, consumers, government officials, and nonprofits to discuss issues related to developing the local food economy. The Food Cluster seeks to create a healthy community through a resilient, local food system, while supporting and promoting local food production, distribution and consumption. Work with the Food Cluster will continue in the fall of 2014. Creation of a "Deliberation Track" in the Communications Studies Masters Program: The program began in the fall of 2013. A new course in Deliberative Theory and Practice was taught for the first time in Spring 2014 to support the track. Graduate students at CSU can now be formally trained in deliberative practices to aid local communities. Nature in the City Initiative: The City of Fort Collins is running a process to improve overall access to nature within the city. CPD ran an initial process in March 2014 that established these goals: (a) ensure every resident is within a 10-minute walk to nature, (b) have natural spaces that provide diverse social and ecological opportunities, and (c) continue to shift the landscape aesthetic from lawns to more diverse landscapes that support healthy environments for all species. CPD anticipates assisting with another process in fall 2014. Nature in the City website: http://www.fcgov.com/advanceplanning/natureinthecity/ Development of the Partnership for Age-Friendly Communities: This project was started in 2011 and received a national grant this year connected to the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging and MetLife. Three major projects were run in 2013-2014 including a daylong workshop and two forums on age-friendly transportation. A full list of projects is listed on the "activities" page of the Center website.