In fall 1999, eighteen federal departments elected to participate in a pilot project to assess the need for reliable and valid tools for citizen engagement and to provide support for the preparation of a public dialogue manual. A Tool for Citizen Engagement , was completed in early February 2000. It provides information about how to develop materials to support dialogue and it anchors public dialogue in a clear research methodology and analysis plan. The manual shows how new techniques in public consultation and dialogue can enable public institutions to better understand the views of Canadians on a range of public policy issues.
Copies are available, on request.
Civil Society in the New Millennium Between 1997 and 1999, the Commonwealth Foundation conducted a major international research project, Civil Society in the New Millennium . This was one of the largest global projects focussing on citizens ever undertaken. The project aimed to identify ways to strengthen and encourage the wide variety of initiatives taken by citizens to address issues and problems in their daily lives. It analysed both the factors that encourage and prevent citizens from taking action. Out of the project emerged insights into the nature of civil society, the relationship between civil society and the state, and the relationship between individual citizens and the state.