Open Space Technology

wikipedia:: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology tags:: #unconference, #facilitation

  • In contrast with pre-planned conferences where who will speak at which time will be scheduled often months in advance, and therefore subject to many changes, OST sources participants once they are physically present at the live event venue. In this sense OST is participant-driven and less organizer-driven. Pre-planning remains essential; you simply need much less pre-planning.

    The agenda and schedule of presentations is partly or mostly unknown until people begin arriving. The scheduling of speakers, topics and locations is created by people attending, once they arrive. At the end of each OST meeting, a debriefing doc is created summarizing what worked and what did not work.

  • id:: 63c2ddcb-fe9c-4d78-9e8c-49c174889800

    Harrison Owen convened the First International Symposium on Organization Transformation as a traditional conference. ==Afterward, participants told him the best parts were the coffee breaks.== So when he did it again, ==Open Space was his way of making the whole of the conference one big coffee break==, albeit with a central theme (purpose, story, question, or “myth”) that would guide the self-organization of the group.

  • Several other approaches share one or more features with OST: “unconferences”, e.g. FooCamp and BarCamp. Both #FooCamp and #BarCamp are participant-driven, like OST, but neither is organized around a pre-set theme or aimed at solving a problem. The first Foo Camp was organized by Tim O’Reilly and Sara Winge; because Sara had been a student of Harrison Owen, many elements similar to OST are used in Foo Camp.

  • https://openspaceworld.org/

    • a simple  way to run productive meetings, for five to 2000+ people, and a powerful approach to leadership in any kind of organization, in everyday practice and turbulent change.

    • What is Open Space Technology?
      • With groups of 5 to 2000+ people — working in one-day workshops, three-day conferences, or the regular weekly staff meeting — the common result is a powerful, effective connecting and strengthening of what’s already happening in the organization: planning and action, learning and doing, passion and responsibility, participation and performance. See also Working in Open Space: A Guided Tour.
      • When and Why?
        • Open Space works best when the work to be done is complex, the people and ideas involved are diverse, the passion for resolution (and potential for conflict) are high, and the time to get it done was yesterday. It’s been called passion bounded by responsibility, the energy of a good coffee break, intentional self-organization, spirit at work, chaos and creativity, evolution in organization, and a simple, powerful way to get people and organizations moving — when and where it’s needed most.

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