The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) began its Dialogue journey in 2010, and has continued to evolve under the leadership of Director Harold Clarke. Prior to coming to the Virginia Department of Corrections, Director Clarke had already been introduced to Dialogue by Peter Garrett and William Isaacs. Director Clarke realized that Dialogue was the vehicle that could give substance the Healing Environment concept in the VADOC. In order to effect change and create a hea

The following is a work in progress, fostering Dialogue initiatives within a gated neighborhood slightly North of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I live with my family. Ours is a 200-year-young country with a peaceful society, fragmented by the stillstrong cultures of its immigrant descendants. Today the strongest, most predominant presence is of Spanish and Italian descent, carrying the imprints of the Spanish cultural social hierarchy and the Italian bodyexpressive, outspoke

I began using the term Dialogue as a Research Methodology in 2014, although Professional Dialogue had been in use for research purposes for many years prior to that by me and my business associate and colleague Jane Ball. The first published research drawing on this methodology was undertaken by us for the UK Ministry of Justice in 2015. Before introducing the Research Methodology, it would probably help to say what I mean by Professional Dialogue. The word dialogue is used w

The Brunswick Community Corrections Alternative Program (CCAP) is a secure, residential facility that was created as an alternative sentencing option for the Circuit Courts in Virginia to utilize for adult males in need of an Intensive Substance Abuse Program. The facility opened in January of 2020. The program provides a sentencing option for judicial consideration in lieu of an individual serving an active term of incarceration in a local jail or state institution. The curr

The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) has been on a pathway to reduce and eliminate the use of restrictive housing since 2016. Traditionally, as defined by the American Correctional Association (ACA), restrictive housing is a practice where inmates are separated from the general population for up to 22 hours per day and placed in a cell for the safe and secure operation of a facility1. The agency relied on the use of this practice for inmates that exhibited serious b

Higher education, a context that often promotes open thinking, synthesis of ideas and collaboration as an ideal, is itself rife with fragmentation. This becomes apparent in many ways: through often-conflicting institutionalised habits and practices, mental models, formal and informal relationships (such as between directors, managers, lecturers and students), unevenly distributed participation, a weakened sense of agency and conflicting goals.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, organizations around the world have had to reassess their business processes; the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) is no exception. It has become expedient to check on staff to make sure they have resources and guidance needed to do their jobs. To this end, VADOC Operations adjusted Dialogue to elevate the voices of staff, supporting their well-being and meaningful work by focusing on front- and back-end steps outside of the sessions th

Though we live in a reality filled with opportunities to connect across continents and time zones, we are not guaranteed connectedness—authentic and meaningful experience wherein new possibilities are co-generated for ourselves and others. However, our experience in a culture dominated by Western, individualist ethos is typically monologic, a Buberian I-It instrumental relational structure—unidirectional, subject-object relationship. A self relates to the other as secondary,

Integrated Supply and Trading (IST) was a highly successful business within the BP corporation. Their culture was entrepreneurial. Staff were driven, smart and young (compared to other businesses), often working under pressure with high risk and high reward. The London office housed traders alongside mid- and back-office functions. Social, cultural and organisational differences between individuals and groups were fragmenting the culture. Though people were highly interdepend

Central Virginia Correctional Unit 13 (CVCU) plays an integral part in assigning inmates to outside work employment, as well as maintaining consistent movement within the institution. The operation and management of these areas are critical in ensuring that a schedule is adhered to by all staff daily. The facility experienced conflicts with medical and dental appointments, which interrupted outside work activities and movement within the institution, inconsistency with the de

This paper is intended as a companion to my reprinted 2018 paper (next chapter), in which I outline why the Offender Resettlement Journey (ORJ) is important, how an ORJ process works, and what we might learn about some of our underlying concepts about the arche- typal journey in practice. I believe it is a useful resource for anyone working in the criminal justice or correctional system. I wrote that paper through the lens of my own 20-year journey through my Dialogue Practit

With globalisation, workers today face challenges that language educators in higher education cannot ignore. As English is the globally shared language in working life, educators need to pay attention to the fact that interaction skills are one of the most called-for skills in any present-day job. Conventionally, English for working-life courses aim at providing students with such skills as telephoning, emailing, and participating in meetings and negotiations. The topic of so

Between the fall of 2020 and summer of 2021, Universal Human Rights Initiative (UHRI) offered two free series of intergroup dialogues as a form of community building during unprecedented times - the advent of both a worldwide health pandemic and a national reckoning of US racial oppression. This was situated in a time of extreme political polarization that left everyday conversations about these issues severely fraught. Intergroup dialogue offered an antidote for some to join

This case study presents the early stages of institutionalizing a culture and practice of public-private dialogue (PPD) in Sierra Leone, a small, poor country in West Africa. Over the last 15 years, the World Bank has promoted PPD as a critical instrument to improve the investment climate in developing countries (Herzberg & Wright, 2006). The plot twist to this conventional story is an attempt to blend elements of “Bohmian“ dialogue practice as promoted by the Academy of Prof

How do you create a generative dialogue that draws people's passion and creates insights? What works well in your facilitation? What else could you do that may work better? What are your strengths as a facilitator? Where do you hit a dead end? What are you learning to do differently? What do you wish you could provide as a dialogue facilitator?

For most of us, the term “border services” likely brings to mind protected boundaries, secured borders and the regulated movement of people and goods between nations. This would be true for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) as well, but it would not fully encompass the emerging partnership between Indigenous Peoples and the Agency, nor the role I am proud to play as CBSA Champion of Indigenous Peoples. It also would not describe the central place of dialogue in our wor

Kommunal is Sweden's largest trade union, organizing staff in municipal operations as well as private companies that have been hired to perform municipal services. The district office employs an administrative manager and a team of six administrative staff and six ombudsmen who negotiate with employers and support elected representatives in local unions. Because the local office manager felt that the business did not work well enough— there were too many interpersonal conflic

HVO-Querido is a homeless aid organisation in The Netherlands. With about 1350 employees it offers shelter, housing guidance and daytime activities to 4750 vulnerable citizens, including homeless and people with a psychiatric and/or addiction problems. The homeless approach in the big cities in the Netherlands follows a pragmatic, procedurised, problem-solving approach. This includes a focus on solving the problems and handling the ‘nuisance’ that homeless people create for t

The story begins at a large microprocessor manufacturing plant. In 1996 the number of recorded injury cases was in the high 50s per year. This was dangerous—it was bad for morale and productivity, and it was embarrassing. Manufacturing leadership created a strategic initiative and gave it the highest priority. The goal: to dramatically reduce the number of incidents and injuries. In 1999 the recordable cases dropped to below 10. Though this is significant, the measure was sti

Flux has been working with dialogue in Norwegian prisons since the autumn of 2015 and, prior to that, with the practical application of dialogue since 2009. The story, however, begins before that. Henrik Tschudi met David Bohm at a private dialogue Weekend in Copenhagen in 1989 and, although attending the conference because of Bohm’s reputation as a scientist, Henrik walked away deeply inspired about dialogue. A similar private dialogue weekend was arranged in Oslo by friends