Bay Area libraries launch news literacy initiative
It’s no secret that we’re fans of libraries. In case we needed another reason, Bay Area libraries are taking an exciting step to address news literacy and help prevent the spread of fake news. With assistance from Common Knowledge Group, Pacific Library Partnership (PLP) – a network of 42 Bay Area libraries – is launching a region-wide initiative aimed at [...]
Home for All selects pilot cities in San Mateo County
Communities throughout the Bay Area are being challenged by how the increase in jobs outpaces increases in housing supply. To address the jobs/housing gap, the County of San Mateo convened a multi-sector task force, which has become the Home for All initiative. Led by County of San Mateo Supervisors Don Horsley and Warren Slocum, the Home for All Initiative is [...]
Free Webinars about Listening and Facilitation
Listening is one of those skills we use all the time, but usually not very well. There is a difference between authentic listening and waiting for the other person to finish talking so you can get your turn to speak. In a debate, we selectively listen for the “weak points” in the other person’s thoughts so we can advance our [...]
PlaceSpeak Interviews Susan Stuart Clark
Susan Stuart Clark was recently interviewed by Mary Leong for the PlaceSpeak blog. The conversation focused largely on Common Knowledge’s approach to community-driven design. Below are excerpts of the full interview; click here to visit the original. What’s the difference between user-centered design and community-driven design? User-centered design is really popular these days, and Common Knowledge is filled with people [...]
Community Driven Design Increases Voter Turnout
A student from Berkeley Reads looks over the 2016 Easy Voter Guide. "This one is a lot better than the other one," he said. "It is simpler to understand." Busting the apathy myth: an origin story The seminal project that launched Common Knowledge over 20 years ago was the "Key to Community Voter Involvement Project." We gathered people who [...]
Recent Presentations
Common Knowledge facilitated a December 2016 offsite day for Code for America. The end of 2016 was full of workshops for the next generation of civic leaders. On November 3rd we presented a pre-summit workshop at the Code for America Summit in Oakland: The Next Generation of Community Engagement. There are an increasing number of new tools for public participation. How you [...]