Open Space Technology
Open Space Technology is a wonderful approach to dealing with some of the most challenging and complex issues that organisations face. It is in many ways a radical departure from traditional approaches to change and yet, or rather because of this, it has proven to be a highly effective.
We have used the approach in a wide variety of situations and contexts.
These include:
Helping hundreds of members of an organisation find ways of positively responding to severe workforce cuts in one large organisation. As a result people lost their sense of powerlessness and found ways of turning the situation around for themselves and for many others.
Bringing together the leadership of a local authority to unleash the creative power of the wider leadership body to find creative ways of moving the organisation forward. Significant new approaches came out of the meeting and the organisation was able to identify cost savings that had not been visible before, saving many jobs and increasing productivity significantly.
Open space works well when …
There is a serious, pressing issue that needs immediate attention, creative thought and participation from across an organisation or organisations
The numbers of those concerned are large and diverse
There issues are complex, often laden with conflict of interests and perspective and go beyond the ability of a few people at the top to arrive at rich enough solutions and strategies
People care and are passionate about making a difference and are committed to taking action beyond their participation at the event
Its applications include:
Reorganisations
Product development
Strategic planning
Opportunity discovery
Mergers and acquisitions
Creating and Conceptualising and Implementing change including systems change
Conflict resolution
Visioning and planning
Organising networks, including communities of practice
