Thanks Lisa.
"Convergence Approaches" http://www.openingspace.net/openSpaceTechnology_method_resources_Convergence_Approaches.shtml
...was very insightful. While I can imagine the report backs (written, skit, or other format) being useful way of capturing some convergence, I can imagine that it would still leave the community with a need to clarify and prioritize options for their required votes. The process of signing up for taking responsibility for posted action plans could be very helpful for recognizing which ideas have the most volunteer support, although I worry it may not recognize important plans that people are not comfortable with taking responsibility on, e.g. fixing high voltage fuses. In such cases it may only take one volunteer to coordinate with a 3rd party service provider. I guess it depends how they perceive "taking responsibility". Grouping similar and related ideas into "families" makes definite sense but still lacks clarity of what items the community agrees should receive most attention first. For example: 1. Increasing water pressure in the community centre, and 2. Setting-up water heating. They are both in the same "family" but which one should be funded first? The idea of using software to prioritize ideas is not an option in most of the communities here. In fact even asking the people to use markers, easels and easel paper is a bit of a stretch, considering most of the meetings are in the street. The use of dot voting to prioritize ideas could definitely work. To be honest, this was the answer I was thinking, but I did not want to assume. I have developed an upgrade to traditional dot voting called "advanced dotmocracy" that doesn't use stickers and avoids concerns about vote splitting. See http://dotmocracy.org After ideas are dotted the assembly could then vote to formally approve a plan that includes the top dotted ideas. Council members and volunteers could then follow through on the plan. Are there other prioritization techniques better than dot voting that could be used easily and reliably with 100 participants and no computers? Also, any thoughts on how OS could fit within a format of weekly 3 hour meetings? Any suggestions for introducing this break-out groups into communities that have a strong plenary tradition? You can read more about the Venezuelan communal councils at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuelan_Communal_Councils Thanks so much! -jd On 04/06/07, Lisa Heft <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi, Jason -- Welcome ! Jason wrote: <My main question is how OS could fit in when they are used to open plenary debate followed by hand votes? They need formal decisions for the democratic governance of their communities but OS does not seem to provide such clear conclusions. Am I missing something? Are there any good examples of how OS could slide nicely into some kind of voting process?> I'm on the road with shifting access to email, so maybe others have answered this but here's a thought: Maybe it would be useful for you to read some peoples' thoughts on convergence. Yes, you can include various forms of decision-making or action planning at the end of an OS - but my recommendation is to be very clear whether it is needed - or just assumed that that is the way to go. Often just the process of dialogue is important, then letting folks 'percolate' on that - and have some more...without feeling that every single dialogic situation has to end in / be measured by a vote. Sometimes the dialogue is essential first to pool the data needed for good clear decision-making, then a bit of time for reflection. Then decisions. Other times, yes, it's quite appropriate to engage in dialogue specifically for participatory decision-making - then the issue is which design to choose for making decisions. Take a look at these papers on my site for those thoughts on convergence... "Convergence: A Conversation" http://www.openingspace.net/openSpaceTechnology_method_resources_Convergence_A_Conversation.shtml "Convergence Approaches" http://www.openingspace.net/openSpaceTechnology_method_resources_Convergence_Approaches.shtml As you're new to OS, you might like to take a look at some of the other papers on my website, see: Open Space Technology / The Method -or- http://www.openingspace.net/openSpaceTechnology_method.shtml And you might want to take a look at the Gallery portion of the website as well to see photos and explore the captions there: http://www.openingspace.net/gallery/agora.cgi?cart_id=6226101.32435*Gl8qP5&xm=on&product=Anatomy_of_an_Open_Space_Event Ask us a million questions - we look forward to supporting your learning and your use of Open Space, Lisa ___________________________ L i s a H e f t Consultant, Facilitator, Educator O p e n i n g S p a c e [email protected] www.openingspace.net * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
-- ------------------------------------------------------- Jason Diceman Co-op Tools [email protected] www.cooptools.ca 416-538-2667 1-866-519-co-op ------------------------------------------------------- * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
