Common Ground for Action (CGA), Kettering Foundation (KF) and National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI)'s new platform for online deliberation, has been steadily growing over the past year. In fact, demand for opportunities to try the new platform has been so strong that in November of last year we launched #cgafridays, a recurring series of CGA forums held each Friday for anyone who wants to participate.

William V. Muse, who has served as President of the National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI) since 2008, announced his retirement at the NIFI Board of Directors meeting on December 3rd, 2015 in Dayton, Ohio. Including three years as a member of the Institute board, Muse provided ten years of leadership and support for the goals and programs of NIFI. Muse worked in higher education for forty years, including twenty years as president or chancellor of three universities--the University of Akron, Auburn University, and East Carolina University.

Now available from the Choices Program's (Brown University) Teaching with the News series is Negotiating Climate Change: Paris 2015, a free set of resources to help people learn and talk about climate change. The resources include videos, articles, downloadable handouts, an "Identifying Key Issues" worksheet, and supplementary information. The materials are designed for use with students but could be helpful for anyone who is interested in this public problem.

In this announcement, Bill Muse, President, National Issues Forums Institute describes a special offer of free issue guide materials to the first 100 moderators and conveners who register to hold forums using the soon-to-be-released guide titled Making Ends Meet: How Should We Spread Prosperity and Improve Opportunity?