About This Guide
Harvard Kennedy School launched the Candid & Constructive Conversations (CCC) initiative out of a commitment to strengthening the ability of our students, staff, and faculty to have candid and constructive conversations across difference. This guide complements those efforts, offering data-driven resources to support the research and practice of bridge-building, constructive disagreement, and engagement with diverse stakeholders.
The goal of CCC is to foster an environment of openness, humility, and respect necessary for the robust exchange of ideas. We seek to rigorously engage with competing perspectives, talk with those with whom we disagree, and ensure that all members of our community feel heard and respected. The ability to disagree constructively and across difference is important for learning and working together effective, and it is a core competency for public leaders and policymakers.
Candid & Constructive Conversations Report
From Fall 2022 to Fall 2023, a working group composed of HKS faculty, staff, and students assessed the challenges that HKS faces in fostering candid and constructive conversations. They released a report summarizing their findings and proposing a set of recommendations to strengthen the HKS community's core competency in this area.
Featured Resources
- Better Discourse: A Guide for Bridging Campus Divides in Challenging TimesJuly 2024 guide from Campus Compact to campus practices for "engag[ing] in inclusive, constructive dialogue—better discourse—ahead of what many expect to be an uncertain and potentially tumultuous 2024–2025 academic year."
- Campus Expression SurveyAnnual survey administered by Heterodox Academy that "collects data from thousands of university students annually to better understand the climate of open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement on campus."
- Community Dialogue SeriesEvent series hosted by the Harvard Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging that "brings together experts from different viewpoints to discuss critical issues in productive ways and model dialogue across difference."
- Engagement Streams FrameworkFirst developed by NCDD in 2005, a tool that helps facilitators "navigate the range of dialogue and deliberation approaches available to them, and make design choices that best fit their circumstance and resources."
- How to Be a Confident PluralistKeynote address by HKS Professor Danielle Allen at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Diversity Forum 2023.
- How U.S. Public Libraries Are Bridging Social DividesMay 2023 landscape analysis from IREX on the ways public libraries can "amplify the impact of bridging movements across the U.S."
- Intercollegiate Civil Disagreement Partnership HandbookOutlines the conceptual and pedagogical foundations of the Intercollegiate Civil Disagreement Partnership (ICDP).
- Middle East DialoguesSeries of events organized by HKS Professor Tarek Masoud focused on the aftermath of October 7, 2024 in Gaza and Israel.
- Public Participation GuideTools for equitable and meaningful public participation in decision-making, produced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
- Red Blue TranslatorGlossary of terms that tend to mean different things depending on one's political viewpoint. Provides in-depth explanations for what each term tends to mean to people at different points on the political spectrum.
Recommended Search Terms
The effort to foster candid and constructive conversations at institutions of higher education and beyond is an interdisciplinary one. Below are some recommended search terms you can use to find relevant resources in HOLLIS, other library catalogs, and search engines like Google.
Find Books
For books, search for full titles or keywords (including the recommended ones above) in HOLLIS, Harvard's library catalog.
When you've found a book, click on the linked subject terms in the HOLLIS record or explore the "Shelf View" at the bottom of the record.
Featured Books
Find Journal Articles & Reports
Recommended Journals
Research Initiatives
For policy papers and other gray literature, try the HKS Think Tank Search: a custom Google search across the websites of 1,200+ U.S. and international think tanks.
We also recommend:
- Democracy, Conflict, and GovernanceProject of the Carnegie Endowment for International peace that "analyzes and seeks to improve international efforts to reduce democratic backsliding, mitigate conflict and violence, overcome political polarization, promote gender equality, and advance pro-democratic uses of new technologies."
- Design Studio at the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for EthicsHarvard initiative that brings together scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to "create robust, scalable resources to support life-long civic and ethical learning and engagement."
- Greater Good Science CenterUC-Berkeley initiatives that "studies the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of well-being and teaches skills that foster a thriving, resilient, and compassionate society."
- HKS Faculty Research and PracticeRound-up of research and practices conducted by HKS faculty related to candid and constructive conversations.
- Knight Free Expression Research SeriesKnight Foundation research project that "explores how emerging generations, as well as the broader American public, view freedom of speech and free expression issues."
- Pew ResearchNonpartisan fact tank that explores a wide range of topics related to political and cultural climate.
- Social Identity & Morality LabLed by Jay Van Bavel, a NYU-based research lab that "examines what happens to people psychologically when they define themselves in terms of group memberships, from our most rapid evaluations and verbal expressions to belief updating and behavior."
Practitioner Groups
The following organizations conduct and/or support community-based work focused on fostering dialogue, deliberation, and social ties across difference. Most of the organizations have publicly available facilitation resources, discussion guides, and other practical tools for engaging in this work.
- Braver AngelsOrganization that "bring[s] Americans together to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic."
- Campus CompactNonprofit that supports institutions of higher education in building "the knowledge, skills, and capacity for effective community and civic engagement."
- Charles F. Kettering FoundationFoundation that supports research and other projects to "advance inclusive democracies by fostering citizen engagement, promoting government accountability, and countering authoritarianism."
- Citizen ConnectA "nonpartisan platform dedicated to...helping Americans...find ways to heal our political divides" and strengthen U.S. democracy.
- Civic Learning & Democratic Engagement (CLDE) CoalitionCoalition of "civic-minded" faculty, staff, and institutional leaders working to "accelerate the spread of college civic learning" "in response to the serious challenges facing democracy at home and abroad."
- CivityA national nonprofit founded in 2013 that "works with people to build the relational infrastructure necessary for communities in which everyone has what they need to thrive."
- Constructive Dialogue InstituteNonprofit organization founded by Jonathan Haidt and Caroline Mehl in 2017 with the goal of building an "informed and engaged citizenry that can understand the mechanics of our democracy, critically evaluate information, discuss complex and divisive issues, and cooperate to achieve shared goals."
- Essential Partners"Founded in 1989, Essential Partners helps people build relationships across differences to address their communities’ most pressing challenges."
- Human LibraryGlobal initiative to "help create more inclusive and cohesive communities across cultural, religious, social, and ethnic differences."
- Interactivity FoundationNon-partisan operating foundation that "brings people together in meaningful discussions that expand imagination, build social trust, and improve discussion skills necessary for everyday democracy."
- International Association of Facilitators (IAF)Professional association that "sets internationally accepted industry standards, provide accreditation, support a community of practice, advocate and educate on the power of facilitation and embrace the diversity of facilitators."
- IREXInternational organization that "support[s] individuals and institutions to create change in their own communities," focusing on reducing corruption, stopping misinformation, and building social trust.
- Living Room ConversationsOrganization that offers "conversational models" community members can use to "create a safe and welcoming environment where people can respectfully discuss important issues."
- National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD)Network of practitioners who "bring people together across divides to tackle today's toughest challenges."
- National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI)"A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that serves to promote public deliberation about difficult public issues."
- Tamarack InstituteCanadian organization that uses tools of community building and social cohesion to address social challenges.