Key Insights

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  The Civic Design Conference offers paid speaking opportunities with extensive coaching and cohort collaboration to support speaker development.

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  Three conference themes frame the event: past and future decade reflections, shifts in design power structures, and balancing systemic vs near-term change.

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  The curation process uses blind-review and prioritizes equity, thematic alignment, and crafting a coherent narrative arc across presentations.

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  Speakers feel empowered to discuss candid and challenging topics, such as white supremacy culture, supported by a respectful and inclusive community environment.

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  Virtual workshops replicate one-day in-person formats spread across 10 hours with segments and breaks, supported by coaching for facilitators.

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  The conference uses a single-track format to foster a shared experience and deep engagement, supplemented by active Slack discussions and attendee cohorts.

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  Attendee cohorts of about 10 people with volunteer facilitators meet daily during the conference to encourage deeper connections and shared learning.

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  A wide participant mix includes public servants, consultancies, nonprofits, and international attendees, though academia is currently underrepresented.

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  Content diversity is encouraged, including topics from specific sectors (e.g., public transit), with an openness to extrapolating learnings across domains.

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  Presentations generate lasting artifacts such as recordings, resource lists, sketchnotes, and written notes which extend community discussions beyond the event.

Notable Quotes