This is fantastic! thank you! SO glad you had such a success! Lisa On Jan 29, 2014, at 9:32 PM, Brendan McKeague <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hi folks > > I've recently completed a one-day OST meeting with around 150 participants. > It went very well and the sponsor was delighted (and much relieved) as he had > 'put his neck out' with his 'higher-uppers' all along the way in order to > have the event in the first place. One of the hoops he had to jump through > beforehand was to to present a business case and justification for using OST > in this context....I've recorded some of the email conversation that we've > had as we progressed the discernment towards decision - over about three > months. I thought some co-learners might be interested in parts of the to-ing > and fro-ing dialogue - and would love to hear your comments around the > questions this first-time user of OST is asking....or rather, being compelled > to ask. > > Cheers > Brendan > > > Q: Does OST work with bigger numbers - the work shop will be large with an > estimated 150+ diverse state and local government, industry, NGO and possibly > some citizens attending. > R: Open Space Technology (OST) is applicable regardless of numbers and > diversity - indeed, we often find that the more stakeholder complexity, the > better it works. I have worked with up to 350 participants and colleagues > elsewhere with over 2000. > > The workshop is part of the finalisation of the Draft Strategic Plan and is > being held to respond to the various propositions and issues raised in the > public comment phase early this year. I have very briefly outlined the draft > objectives and role of the selected facilitator below: > > Objective: > The Strategic Plan is a new format for xxxxxx planning that challenges the > current status quo of planning. Further consultation is required to provide a > greater level of understanding of the ‘systems’ concept, and seek input on > content and implementation issues. Main objectives include: > > · To build a collaborative environment ; > R: OST certainly creates the opportunity for this - with the benefit of no > predetermined agenda, all participants are invited to collaborate in > co-creating the agenda around what's really important to them. > > · provide a greater understanding of the legislation impetus; > R: OST allows participants to diverge and engage with others who have similar > questions/issues in order to clarify understandings and pursue ideas that > matter to them > > · genuine input and actions to assist in the finalisation of the > Strategic Plan > R: OST invites those who wish to contribute according to interest (passion) > and responsibility - and then to offer to be part of ongoing actions beyond > the event itself > > Main role for Facilitator: > > · Organisation of 150 stakeholders – some groups will be considered > high risk. > R: In OST, the participants self-organise and self-manage around what they > care about - its a marvellous, fluid way to enable genuine/transparent > collaboration, participation, inclusivity and emergence - thereby diminishing > the likelihood of distraction by the disgruntled or a hi-jacking by the > heavies > > · Creating a strategic, dynamic and collaborative process in and out > of the workshop > R: OST is a world-leading technology for this type of process > > . memorable, positive, inspiring – has to have the same takeaway as > previous (Deliberative Democracy) forum i.e. participation was worthy of > time, feel inspired, have made a difference - > R: no process (or facilitator) in the world can guarantee these outcomes - > unfortunately for me! OST can create the space where they are most likely > to show up, provided that the sponsors have done their preparation properly - > i.e. asked the right question, issued the right invitation, created the > right space....then, the folks who care to show up in response do the rest by > themselves. The power of a great OST mtg comes from the release of > passionate energy when people are given the freedom to do what they really > care about > > · Participants must go home with a greater more positive > understanding (including impetus for use) of the SPS and systems thinking > R: its very difficult to enforce the 'must go home with' aspiration when > working with a group of mature (and diverse) adults. I can however say, from > my experience of facilitating over 250 OST mtgs around the country in the > last 15 years, that OST does provide everyone with the opportunity to > participate at the level they chose, to ask the questions they bring with > them, to engage with others who care about similar issues, to record their > conversations, to contribute to action outcomes and to learn more about the > topic about which they're meeting. And in all of that, they usually have a > lot of fun too! > > · Defining clear objectives and parameter of discussion > R: Once again, this is the work of the sponsors beforehand - we call these > 'the givens' that form part of the invitation in OST - the container in which > 'the space is open' - then let the people get to work around what they came > to do > > · Day round up > R: OST usually finishes with a Closing Circle for comments from participants > and sponsors > > Dear Brendan, > > In an attempt to manage stakeholders expectations and ensure effective > facilitation of diverse ~150 stakeholders within the broad scope (theme: > Making the Planning Strategy a Success) , could you please kindly advise > based on the desired outcomes (below) as to whether any other facilitation > method would achieve the same outcomes as Open Space Technology (OST). > > · Time and labour efficient > R: I know of no other process that will get 150 people working on what they > want to work on together as quickly as OST; with the opening explanation and > agenda creation taking about 45-50mins, the whole 150 participants can get > down to work quickly on issues that are important to them. > > · Memorable and inspiring > R: This is a product of participation on the day. The participants will > create their own agenda around what's important to them and so they are > invited to take responsibility for what they offer and engage with i.e. if it > is not memorable and inspiring, then it may be that they have not responded > fully to the invitation and they are in the wrong place - they can use the > Law of Mobility to move elsewhere - or even leave if what's on offer is not > why they came. Hence the importance of creating a clear, transparent and > irresistible invitation for those who wish to make this Strategy a success. > It is extremely important for the Sponsors to be familiar with, and endorse, > the guarantees of an OST meeting - see attached explanation. > > · collaborative > R: There are many levels of collaboration. Mature collaboration is about > engaging with others - who may have very similar or very different views- and > taking time to listen well, to speak truthfully about issues that are > important and to be open to what emerges. Lesser forms/models of > collaboration adopt coercion, compliance and competition as a container for > obtaining predetermined desired outcomes. OST provides a container for > self-organising around what is identified as important by those who wish to > (or even, 'have to') do something about implementing this strategy. The OST > process models the intention of seeking more mature collaboration around > complex issues involving multiple stakeholders. > > · Enables strategic thinking > R: The Planning Strategy has been developed - i.e. the diagnostics have been > completed - based on various previous consultations. Now is the time for > moving into implementation and operationalising the outcomes. This requires a > dialogical process - where those responsible for implementation have > opportunities to interpret, clarify, be creative, innovative and consider how > they are going to do this within their own circles of influence. As I > understand it, it's exploratory and open - there is not one uniform way of > making this work successfully - it there is, then OST is not needed - people > are told what to do and resourced to do it. OST provides space for > creativity, diverse views and novel ideas to be named and explored. This > cannot be legislated in advance - it needs to emerge from the confluence of > energy, knowledge, skills, experiences and potentially contentious views of > those who show up. OST is the most transparent process for this, with inbuilt > principles of self-determination that enable high levels of passionate > energy, high levels of learning and high levels of 'fun' to show up on the > day. > > · Rapid consensus > R: This is another question entirely. In a one-day meeting of 150 diverse > stakeholders, what are you seeking 'rapid consensus' on? > I would need to hear more from you about your purpose and intentions here. In > my experience, when consensus is an expectation in such a short time-frame > with so many people, there are too often 'winners and losers' and people can > easily get bogged down in detail around language interpretation, aggressive > defensiveness and even destructive competition to try to force a neat > outcome. There are other, often more appropriate, ways of creating and > sustaining alignment with the Strategy into the future (e.g. by creating and > supporting 'communities of practice' around key themes emerging from the OST > meeting) > > > R: Thanks for asking these key clarifying questions. I realise how > important this conference is in terms of creating a platform for > implementation of the Planning Strategy. I agree that the process on the day > needs to be the best match for your purpose. > > I have inserted a few comments and attached a brief 2 page explanation of OST > and its 'guarantees'. > > In a nutshell, OST is not driven by 'predetermined outcomes' (my words) - it > is about creating space for engagement and emergence with those who will be > doing the work of implementation. It is a self-organising dialogical process > that, in my opinion, is most suitable for this stage of your Planning > Strategy. > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list > To post send emails to [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
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