Without it, recent social, political and economic reforms achieved around the world will not exist for long. A key vehicle is the town meeting where citizens come together to discuss issues of public policy. One way of organizing such meetings is what the Kettering Foundation calls deliberative issues forums. The deliberative methodology is widely used in the United States in the national issues forums, a nationwide network of civic and educational organizations that includes libraries, womens' clubs, universities, public schools, literacy groups, churches, and seniors' groups, among others. Each year, thousands of U.S. citizens gather in local communities to deliberate on three or four issues of pressing national concern.
Participants talk about specific issues with the help of a moderator and a nonpartisan issue book.
Civic and educational organizations in 16 countries in Latin America, Eastern and Central Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and the Middle East are currently using the deliberative methodology to engage citizens. In the Western hemisphere, organizations in five countries actively use the deliberative methodology. For example, in Argentina, the citizen groups Poder Ciudadano and Conciencia are developing a network of organizations that conduct forums throughout the country. An issue book on corruption, titled Control de la Corrupcion was published in Argentina in 1995. Some of the Conciencia volunteers have participated in the Kettering Foundation's training sessions on civil society, which include classes on the theory and practice of deliberative democracy, organizing grass-roots networks, and how to name and frame issues for public deliberation.