Interactive Online Lessons
Perspectives consists of eight online lessons (30 minutes each) that weave together psychological concepts, practical skills, and interactive scenarios.
Political polarization is the leading social rift of our time and won't be an easy problem to solve, but there is a science-backed method that can help to bridge political divides. We've partnered with Constructive Dialogue Institute to bring you Perspectives, an online program that helps teams create the best ideas across divides to develop public finance solutions greater than the sum of their parts.
Research: Bridging Political Divides in Local Government
GFOA’s Rethinking Budgeting initiative urges local governments to confront complex problems by understanding the root causes. This report describes the psychology of polarization and what the science of “Moral Foundations Theory” can teach us about polarization.
Perspectives consists of eight online lessons (30 minutes each) that weave together psychological concepts, practical skills, and interactive scenarios.
Participants have the option to dialogue with a randomly assigned partner during four guided conversations (45 minutes each).
At the end of the program, participants can gain one CPE credit by joining a facilitated capstone session (1 hour) with peers, to put newfound skills into practice.
GFOA and Ethical Systems Research
View research reports on fairness in budgeting and applying behavioral science to public finance.