DDI brings together scholars, journalists, community leaders, and civil society practitioners that use a range of strategies designed to improve civil society by encouraging citizen participation and advancing knowledge of democratic practices. Participants will explore the conditions under which citizens assume responsibility for changing their communities and consider the ways in which deliberative approaches may provide a possible mode for decision-making. This workshop, which is held every year, is designed to establish and encourage ongoing relationships and exchanges of ideas among participants that often take place across many years.