A simple but powerful way to get individuals and organizations moving - whenever and wherever that movement is needed most.

Open Space facilitation works best when the:

• Topic of the meeting involves a real issue(s)
• Participants really care about that issue(s)
• Those issue(s) has so much complexity that no single person or small group can fully understand it
• Issue(s) requires highly diverse skills and people for a successful resolution
• Participants have genuine passion or are invested in the issue(s) – that is there is a passion for resolution and high potential for conflict
• Issue(s) requires immediate action

While Open Space might be known for its lack of structure and welcoming of the often what might be seen by some as the disruptive nature of authentic, dynamic interactions between participants, the process is actually quite structured.

However, it is structured in such a way as to flow with the dynamics of the individuals involved.  Open Space facilitation works to support and not block the creative process within the uniqueness of the team members present. 

It is a process that by its very nature plants responsibility for attaining creative and doable ways of moving forward squarely on the shoulders of the team members themselves. 

As a matter of fact the work-plans and way-forwards created during the Open Space process are generally more complex, robust, durable and their attainment often move at a much faster pace than expert or leader-management driven action plans.   

There is no exact way of knowing what will happen when a group enters an Open Space. However, these are some of the crucial elements of the process:

• All the relevant issues that are of crucial importance to creating a productive way forward will be raised during the process
• Those key issues key issue which are raised are addressed, by the end of the process, by the individuals who have the capacity and capability to make them happen within the organization
• In a session (which can be as short as half-a-day or as long as a week, depending on the complexity of the issue or desired results) all of the key ideas, discussions, data, recommendations, conclusions, and plans of actions are documented and shared
• This documentation is most often used to fuel subsequent and immediate action to attain the desired outcomes of the group and organization
• This documentation is a call to action for each and every stakeholder in the desired outcomes

There are four Principles of Open Space facilitation:

• Whoever comes are the right people: this alerts the participants that attendees of a session as "right" simply because they care to attend
• Whatever happens is the only thing that could have: this focuses the attendees on paying attention to events of the moment, instead of worrying about what could possibly happen
• Whenever it starts is the right time: clarifies the lack of any given schedule or structure and emphasises creativity and innovation
• When it's over, it's over: encourages the participants not to waste time, but to move on to something else when the fruitful discussion end

The One Law of Open Space – The Law of Two Feet
If at any time during our time together an individual finds themselves in any situation where they are neither learning nor contributing, they use their two feet and go to some other session where they may learn and contribute.

This law is intended to ensure that no individual sits in a session that they are not entirely invested in - only people genuinely interested in the dialogue at hand should attend the discussions and Why?

Contact Ruth to set up an initial discussion, which will assist in clarifying and fully appreciating your individual or organizational needs.