Current National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI) board members Kara Dillard and Verdis Robinson along with former NIFI Board members Kara Lindaman and John Theis spoke with Campus Compact about their different experiences innovating with Common Ground for Action (CGA) and videoconferencing tools during the pandemic.

From December 2019 through the 2020 elections, National Issues Forums (NIF) took part in the Hidden Common Ground project, an effort to uncover areas of agreement among Americans on the most pressing public problems of the day, including political divisiveness, health care, immigration, and rebuilding the economy.

NIF partnered with Public Agenda, USA TODAY, the Kettering Foundation and the America Amplified public radio network to explore opportunities for people across the country to deliberate and exchange ideas about issues.

"We included students from Sinte Gleska University, Adams State University, Alcorn State
University, Tougaloo College and West Virginia University at Parkersburg. The students talked
to each other. The current generation of educational leaders listened, and the resulting
conversation was transformational."

On November 5, 2020, two Students Speak online discussions brought community college students together from different parts of the country to consider two important and difficult public issues. One group, made up of students from all nine community colleges in West Virginia talked together about how the economy is affecting them. Another group included students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), a Tribal College, and an Appalachian College to talk about racism and racial healing.