Well, just as I felt 17 yrs or so ago when I joined this community I am in awe of the contributions I get. Mostly on list but also off list which is appreciated but I do know many others would harvest gems from it too. So keep 'em coming -'big and small'. As with the butterfly. You never know when the most important 'flap' is. :) Lots happening in me now!
Skickat från min iPhone > 16 sep. 2016 kl. 22:19 skrev Peggy Holman via OSList > <[email protected]>: > > Thomas, > > I did a project many years ago to support a statewide conversation about the > arts in Washington state. We began with an all-day statewide Open Space, > followed by 16 3-hour Open Spaces in communities off many different sizes, > and ended with a second statewide conversation to set priorities. > > A brief description of what we did is below. Contact me if you want to know > more of the details. > > Peggy > > P.S. I’m working with a group to embark on a statewide conversation on > education right now! So I’m reading about what you’re doing and people’s > thoughts on it with interest! > > > > Washington State Arts Commission’s Strategic Plan: > > A Conversation about the Arts > > > > > The Governor’s Call for Action > > In 1997, recognizing the value of arts to citizens, tourism, business, > education and communities, Governor Gary Locke launched an initiative to > strengthen arts funding in Washington State. He appointed a Blue Ribbon Arts > Task Force to review State support of the arts and recommend ways “to ensure > that our cultural life remains strong.” > > …After a one-year review Governor Locke’s Arts Task Force called for > strengthening WSAC’s role and developing a “thoughtful plan for increased > funding.” > > With strong statewide support for those recommendations, the 1999 Legislature > approved a $750,000 increase to WSAC’s budget – the first budget increase the > agency had received in a decade. The funding increase came with the > requirement that WSAC submit a strategic plan to Governor Locke and key State > leaders by June 30,2000. This plan is the result of that charge, and the > outcome of a planning process that stretched across the state. > > > > > > Planning on the Arts: Voices of the People > > From the early states of this planning process, WSAC envisioned a statewide > conversation about the arts that would strengthen the State’s arts resources > and expand the impact and effectiveness of the arts for all residents of the > state. Through two statewide meetings, 18 community meetings, several > meetings of the Washington State Arts Commission, an online forum and a > dedicated phone line, WSAC recorded the views, concerns, ideas and dreams > from people across the State. More than 1000 people have been involved > directly in the development of this plan; their testimony, stories, > deliberation and reflection are the foundation for this strategic plan. > > In the statewide and community meetings, the format used was Open Space > Technology, a process to enable large groups of people to explore complex > issues. Participants at each session recorded the discussion in a summary > format that could be understood readily by someone who wasn’t there. True to > the spirit of Open Space Technology, the discussions were driven by passion > for the arts and responsibility for the issues and opportunities faced > individually and collectively. > > Excerpt from “Planning On The Arts: Washington State Arts Commission’s > Strategic Plan” > > > > > > Reflections on the process > > When WSAC first contacted me, their biggest concern with an open, > “conversational” meeting format was that community divisions would drown out > any possibility of a cohesive plan. East vs. west, big organization vs. > small organization, rural vs. urban; participants would focus on their own > agenda and fight over a small financial pie. In fact, just the opposite > happened. People came together and focused on their common hopes and > aspirations for strengthening the arts throughout the state. The plan became > an occasion for an unprecedented commitment to inclusion of many > perspectives. As a result, when sent out for comment, the plan was > enthusiastically received; everyone found their voice reflected. Ironically, > the fear of conflict was released so completely, that the significance of its > absence was barely noted. > > > > > > Behind the scenes: Supporting the meetings > > To support the 20+ meetings held by WSAC, a call was issued for skilled Open > Space practitioners in Washington State. More than 20 people agreed to > participate. They were convened for a train-the-trainer session that > introduced them to WSAC, the process, engaged them in finalizing the meeting > design, and provided them the logistical information they needed. > > Meetings ranged in size from 5 to 100. Depending on the anticipated size, > some practitioners worked in pairs, others alone. They took their work > seriously – every commitment to participate was honored by these > practitioners. In addition, at the train-the-trainer, we agreed to share > experiences via e-mail as the events took place. The unanticipated result > was a rich conversation among practitioners that enabled each meeting to > build on the learnings from the ones that came before. > > > > > > _________________________________ > Peggy Holman > Executive Director > Journalism that Matters > 15347 SE 49th Place > Bellevue, WA 98006 > 206-948-0432 > www.journalismthatmatters.net > www.peggyholman.com > Twitter: @peggyholman > JTM Twitter: @JTMStream > > Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity > > > > > > > > > >> On Sep 16, 2016, at 11:53 AM, Judy Gast via OSList >> <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> To chime in here, I agree with Birgitt. The key to success is insuring >> that there is a commitment to follow up through an officially sanctioned and >> supported process and infrastructure. And as Michael has said an >> appropriate communications plan so that everyone who wants to come knows the >> details with appropriate lead time and accessibility, including how to get >> involved in the implementation. And the results are linked back to the >> meeting, and perhaps even the person or persons who initiated the topic. >> This is true for any open space, however these type of "public forum" >> sessions have more propensity to be seen as an opportunity for people to >> complain and grandstand their issues. >> >> Look forward to reading more about it! >> >> Judy >> >>> On Sep 16, 2016, at 12:15 PM, Birgitt Williams via OSList >>> <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> Hi Thomas, >>> >>> I see that you are hoping to use OST and yet not totally sure if it will be >>> your chosen method. I believe that OST is the only method that will be >>> sufficient for what you want to accomplish. It meets all the criteria for >>> when OST works best. The most important factor for me though, is the Law of >>> Two Feet so that people can choose to stay or leave if there is hard >>> lobbying for particular issues. I trust that with the Law of Two Feet and >>> how it is explained, all such attempts will have only the effect that there >>> is energy for...and no more. >>> >>> Long ago, Larry Peterson, Judy Gast, and myself were the three facilitators >>> for three different OST meetings in the same big building at the same time. >>> It is how the sponsors figured we could work well with about 600 people in >>> meaningful ways around a very conflicted issue in the educational sector, >>> in a short time. This allowed the reports of all three sessions to be >>> available simultaneously and there were advantages in this for convergence >>> of themes and the surprise that surfaced at the similarities and also >>> dissimilarities of what came from the three separate OST meetings. Despite >>> the conflicted issue and people picketing outside and us being briefed on >>> the potential for violence and heave lobbying erupting in our meetings, >>> there was no violence and the Law of Two Feet took care of the lobbying. I >>> think you get a very different effect/outcomes if you have three concurrent >>> OST meetings with three facilitators than you do if you have a sequence of >>> meetings in which people who really want to get their agenda through go to >>> all of the meetings. >>> >>> The givens are very important in relation to outcomes. When I work in a >>> political context, I negotiate ahead of time with the political body who >>> must 1. make decisions, 2. assign budget to future action and 3. be held >>> accountable by the public including media. There are endless stories about >>> successful OST meetings in which people feel so good at the end of the >>> meeting. However, the more important stories are the ones in which after >>> some months there was significant positive change. It seems that the job is >>> not only to open space for people to have conversations and reach agreed >>> upon recommendations....it is more importantly to open space in a rigid >>> system that is well entrenched, political, and has certain accountability. >>> I am rather curious about how you have set up for this. >>> >>> So...when I work in a political context, part of my negotiation is about >>> whether action items can move forward by anyone in attendance ie: >>> businesses, other organizations, individuals OR if the action items have to >>> wait for a decision/vote by a particular political body like a school >>> board. My favorite and most impactful experiences have been when the >>> political body says right up front that any agreed on recommendations that >>> do not need to access extra budget through the political body can go >>> forward by anyone who has the passion and resources to do so....without >>> waiting for some agreement on a bigger plan/budget. I admire political >>> groups who are willing to open that much space in their communities to take >>> action on solutions, >>> >>> Best wishes for a fantastic experience! >>> Birgitt >>> >>>> On Fri, Sep 16, 2016 at 3:37 AM Thomas Herrmann >>>> <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> Dear friends in Open Space >>>> >>>> I write to share about an exciting project and to ask to have >>>> feedback/ideas/experiences assisting me to refine/decide on the design I >>>> am working on. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> The project is in a neighbouring town of about 35 000 inhabitants. They >>>> are inviting everyone living there to explore ways to contribute to >>>> enhance the learning amongst children/youth complementing/supporting what >>>> is happening in the school. The top politician in the town, responsible >>>> for education/schools is my sponsor. During the spring I had a couple of >>>> meetings with the top politicians and managers for the school system. Then >>>> we widened the circles and had some meetings with other interest parties , >>>> to invite more engagement for this idea. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> We have a plan that includes follow up, to support what is emerging, >>>> decide on next steps and make sure there is report back to what is >>>> happening and not. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> A couple of days ago we had our “final” planning meeting getting the >>>> theme etc. Still working on wording but something like “For the future of >>>> our children. How do we create conditions for enhanced learning for pupils >>>> in our community?” Of practical reasons evenings are considered the best >>>> options. Parents, pupils, teachers, business people, public workers etc >>>> etc are all busy daytime and weekends are not considered a good option. >>>> “Everyone” will be invited but it’s hard to say how many will come to each >>>> meeting. I guess between 10-200 J >>>> >>>> Now the plan is to have three 3-hour meetings in three different parts of >>>> the small community. I have suggested a fourth meeting where all are >>>> invited for convergence/action planning. There are of course several >>>> challenges. I am not even sure I will suggest we use OST even though I’d >>>> love to. I think a 3-hour meeting is the bare minimum for the simplest >>>> form of an OST meeting. On the other hand I see possibilities for this to >>>> be looked at like an OST meeting consisting of three occasions á 3 hours + >>>> convergence in a fourth meeting for another 3 hours… That looks better, ey? >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> There are some opportunities with this: >>>> >>>> 1. More time for the divergent process before converging. >>>> >>>> 2. People can choose to join several meetings, deepening their >>>> thinking >>>> >>>> 3. People can get access to more ideas/material from the 3 meetings. >>>> >>>> 4. There can be continued conversations online in between meetings >>>> and approaching meeting nbr 4. >>>> >>>> 5. There will be opportunities for people to create joint projects >>>> over “boundaries” in the community (meeting nbr 4 and online) >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> There are several challenges with this too. >>>> >>>> 1. There will be different people in all of the meetings >>>> >>>> a. There needs to be a proper opening each time >>>> >>>> 2. 3 hours is very short. My plan: Opening/agenda 45 mts. Session 1 >>>> (45 mts). Session 2 (45 mts). Individual reflection/personal commitment >>>> (15 mts). Closing 30 mts. >>>> >>>> a. For the actionplanning meeting (meeting nbr 4) I will probably >>>> use re-opening, after a brief opening and reading reports/reflecting. A >>>> couple of action planning sessions, 1 minute reportback/group and then >>>> closing. >>>> >>>> 3. How to bind everything together to one whole >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> So far I lean towards this plan but I would love to hear to your ideas, >>>> thoughts, experiences and/or suggestions! >>>> >>>> All the best >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Thomas Herrmann >>>> >>>> Open Space Consulting AB >>>> >>>> www.openspaceconsulting.com >>>> >>>> You reach us via phone: +46 (0)709 98 97 81 or email: >>>> [email protected] >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Open Space Consulting is a small company with BIG ambitions to assist >>>> leaders and organizations as well as local communities to tap into their >>>> full power to achieve their dreams. We bring practical tools and knowhow >>>> to empower you to find your way forward. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> More info >>>> >>>> LinkedIn profile: >>>> https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasherrmannopenspaceconsult >>>> >>>> Facebook Company page: https://www.facebook.com/OpenSpaceConsulting >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "Genuine Contact" group. >>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>> [email protected] >>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>> http://groups.google.com/group/genuine-contact?hl=en?hl=en >>>> --- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>> "Genuine Contact" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>>> email to [email protected]. >>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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 >>> Past archives can be viewed here: >>> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 >> Past archives can be viewed here: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > Past archives can be viewed here: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
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