Open Space Technology is a broad-based group intervention methodology which invites the participation of all those who have an interest in an issue and which will yield organisational or community-based priorities for action. It may also assist in identifying people and organisations prepared to work on these priorities for action. Participants in Open Space processes receive a full report of the proceedings,often before they leave the session (with access to lap top computers,printer and a good photocopier and administrative support). Alternatively,reports of the proceedings can be on the tables of participants within a week –in hard copy or on disk.
Open Space is an innovative and,for most people,unfamiliar method in which they quickly learn to thrive and excel. While Open Space begins with no formal agenda,an agenda is quickly created by the participants within a theme and framework developed and communicated by the sponsors. It is this theme,or issue,rather than an agenda,which forms the essential core of the invitation that goes out to potential attendees.
Open Space is a highly effective and creative way of engaging those with a passion and an interest in an issue in ways that first,taps into their enthusiasm for an issue and second,challenges them to take some responsibility for the issue or an aspect thereof. It is characterized by shared problem-solving,leads to an emergence of community,is highly efficient,often leads to the identification of broadened leadership and is noted for high productivity and real creativity
Who has worked in Open Space?
It is currently being used worldwide,in groups ranging from 10 to 2,000 people,in organisations ranging from major banks and Fortune 500 companies to small community-based organisations and rural collectives. It is an ideal vehicle for planning. In as little as one day (you need more time for very large groups e.g. 500 +). Open Space has been used in rural areas of Zimbabwe,South Africa and Australia,in government departments (Cabinet Office,Department of Health,National Health Service,Treasury Office),in major companies (Royal Bank of Scotland,Morgan Stanley Investment Bank,Bank of Montreal,Rockport Shoes),in church groups,in women’s collectives and in a variety of not-for-profit and community-based organisations and networks in North America,Europe,South America and across the globe.
How does it work?
An Open Space event is organized around a well-defined theme. Such a theme might be “What are the issues,challenges and opportunities for XY organisation in the ABC sector over the next 3-5 years. This theme is communicated to potential participants who are asked to come to the sessions prepared to contribute to discussions on issues for which they have a passion which are related to this theme.
Open Space sessions have no agenda going into them:the agenda is created by the participants themselves in the first hour or so and consists of self-scheduled discussion groups on issues related to the theme which the participants themselves identify and lead (a structure for this self-scheduling is provided by the facilitator). Each discussion group provides a written report on their discussion as soon as possible following its completion (ideally,these are entered into an on-site computer by the participants and printed). These reports are posted for everyone to see during the event and become the basis for a final process of priority-setting/ convergence after the “Open Space” is over.
A report of the full session (including the summaries of all small group discussions and the prioritization results) goes to all those who participated in the session (ideally,before they walk out the door,but,in cases where this cannot be done for reasons of logistics,no later than a week after the session has been completed). Consequently,the end result of an Open Space event with a convergence process provides a set of prioritized issues and action strategies for use not only by the organizing group,but also by the participants in the event as well.
Open Space is one example of a “whole systems” intervention,which sits at one end of a continuum ranging from highly structured interventions to highly unstructured interventions. It draws considerably from what we are learning about organisations in the “new sciences” of quantum physics,chaos theory and self-organizing systems. Using Open Space is almost always a transformative experience for groups and organisations,and it does tend to alter culture in an organisation. It should be used only where there is a real search for organisational “truth”,no “hidden agenda” going into the process and a genuine willingness on the part of the organisation to be challenged and responsive to the outcomes.
Open Space works particularly effectively when the following conditions apply to an organisation and its issue:
- the issue is complex…no one person has the answer
- there is conflict or the potential for conflict in dealing with the issue(s)
- there is diversity in the organisation (professionally,culturally,etc.)
- there is urgency to the issue(s)
- there is need for collaboration between people and organisations and new relationships must be forged to move the project or the programme forward
Open Space works effectively for a variety of reasons,but perhaps at the centre of this effectiveness is the fact that individuals are invited to participate ONLY where an issue has heart and meaning for them and where they are prepared to take some personal responsibility for the issue. This is,for most people,a significant departure from the ways in which they live their organisational lives. Instead of being present at a meeting because they have to be or should be (even if the issues at stake hold no deep interest for them),people are invited into creating their own discussions or choose to be involved in other people’s discussions because each participant defines the issues in which they will engage themselves. The result of this is high energy involvement,a real sense of personally adding value and making a contribution to the resolution of the organisational issue and taking ownership and responsibility for it.
For More information on Open Space and how it may support your organisation please contact Lin Grist.