Awards strengthen nationwide civic education, deliberative practice, civil discourse, and institutional capacity entering 2026.

Miamisburg, OH — The National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI) announced today two major federal grant awards that will significantly expand the organization’s national work in civic education, civil discourse, and deliberative democracy across both K–12 and higher education.

Collectively, these awards support the expansion of rigorous civic education and civil discourse practices across classrooms and campuses nationwide in advance of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

K–12 Civic Education Grant with James Madison University

NIFI is a core partner on a competitive federal award led by the James Madison Center for Civic Engagement at James Madison University (JMU) to advance civic education through a deliberative approach to teaching historic decisions connected to America’s founding and future. The project brings together a national consortium that includes NIFI, the JMU Center for Advancement and Research in Education (CARE), James Madison’s Montpelier and the Center for the Constitution, and the David Mathews Center for Civic Life.

Over the three-year grant period, the project is expected to reach approximately 2,000 educators and 50,000 K–12 students nationwide through updated instructional materials, professional learning experiences, and sustained classroom implementation support.

NIFI’s role includes updating and distributing its nationally recognized Historic Decisions Issue Guides on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, developing a new “What’s Next, America?” issue guide for classroom use, and creating facilitator kits tailored to different grade bands. The partnership will also deliver place-based and virtual professional development seminars, individualized coaching, and professional learning communities for educators, as well as expanded student opportunities tied to America 250 programming.

$2.7 Million Higher Education Civil Discourse Investment

NIFI also joins James Madison University as a partner in a $2.7 million civil discourse funding allocation awarded through the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). The award supports a national initiative focused on strengthening civil discourse, deliberative learning, and institutional capacity across colleges and universities.

The project will establish a network of anchor campuses that embed deliberation not only within individual courses but across institutional culture and co-curricular programming. Key activities include revising and expanding NIFI’s issue guide catalog for higher education, launching a national faculty fellows program to develop new deliberative materials annually, hosting biannual pedagogy and issue-writing institutes, and implementing a rigorous evaluation framework spanning K–16 civic learning.

Across the life of the grant, the initiative anticipates reaching approximately 40 universities and 30,000 students nationwide, strengthening students’ ability to deliberate across political differences, build common ground, and develop habits of listening, intellectual humility, and collaborative problem-solving.

Advancing Civic Capacity Across the Educational Pipeline

“These awards accelerate the expansion of NIFI’s work nationally and underscore the power of sustained partnerships in advancing civic learning at scale,” said Cristin F. Brawner, Executive Director of the National Issues Forums Institute. “By working across K–12 and higher education, we are building a connected K–16 pathway that embeds deliberation into teaching, learning, and institutional practice — preparing students to engage complex public issues throughout their academic journey.”

Collectively, the awards reinforce NIFI’s capacity to scale evidence-informed deliberative practice nationwide while strengthening institutional infrastructure for civic learning across K–12 and higher education

Additional program details, partner announcements, and participation opportunities will be shared throughout 2026.