Webinars

Free webinar on Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Before the Developer Arrives: Building Local Negotiating Power through Reciprocal Listening.

Data centers have become a topic of great local, state, national and even international importance. These centers power the digital infrastructure that is reshaping the American community in the 21st century and while their benefits strengthen the nation overall, potential negative impacts are mostly shouldered by local communities like yours. Data center developers negotiate these multi-billion, complex deals every quarter. Local government officials negotiate them once or twice in a career. That information gap can cost communities real money when incentives and other costs aren't anchored by a fair exchange of value. But the good thing is that it's fixable. Learn how reciprocal listening helps build the local negotiating power that changes how communities gain consensus about the value of their collective resources and how that knowledge shapes bargaining position during entitlement and public incentive negotiations.
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Previous webinars

Civic engagement today is increasingly shaped by rapid responses, fragmented dialogue, and advocacy that often reduces complex issues to slogans or statements. Rather than fostering collaborative problem-solving or arriving at a shared public judgment, much of today’s engagement leeches out nuance and meaning. This session explores how civic leaders and institutions can respond to this shift with intention, reclaiming space for dialogue and community-based decision-making. Participants will become acquainted with methods that provide meaningful avenues for civic engagement where members of the public can be involved in ways that feel impactful to them without sacrificing progress toward project goals and outcomes. This webinar counts for 1.5 AICP CM credits


(This was a ticketed event so there is no event recording available).

As a community leader, we know you're often navigating difficult conversations and changing norms around civility. What if you had a conversation model and practical tools to help you step back, consider needs, and identify points of shared values on difficult issues and/or with difficult audiences? Join us to gain insight rooted in current civility research on how to keep conversations productive, maintain credibility, and foster more respectful engagement with those you serve and those who serve alongside you.