What is Open Space Technology?

Have you ever been to a conference and found that your highlights didn't necessarily come from the programmed sessions, but from the conversations you had during the breaks?

Then perhaps attending an Open Space Technology conference would suit you.

What is Open Space Technology?

It is a way to enable all kinds of people to create inspired meetings and events. Over the last 20+ years, it has also become clear that opening space, as an intentional leadership practice, can create inspired organisations, where ordinary people work together to create extraordinary results with regularity.

In Open Space meetings, events and organisations, participants create and manage their own agenda of parallel working sessions around a central theme of strategic importance, such as: What is the strategy, group, organisation or community that all stakeholders can support and work together to create?

The common result is a powerful, effective connecting and strengthening of what's already happening in the organisation: planning and action, learning and doing, passion and responsibility, participation and performance.

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-organisation, spirit at work, chaos and creativity, evolution in organisation, and a simple, powerful way to get people and organisations moving -- when and where it's needed most.

And, while Open Space is known for its apparent lack of structure and welcoming of surprises, it turns out that the Open Space meeting or organisation is actually very structured -- but that structure is so perfectly fit to the people and the work at hand, that it goes unnoticed in its proper role of supporting (not blocking) best work. In fact, the stories and workplans woven in Open Space are generally more complex, more robust, more durable -- and can move a great deal faster than expert- or management-driven designs.

To read more on What will happen and how to make it work check out Open Space World.

I personally have attended an Open Space Technology half day after a more tradtional in structure 2-day conference. I was blown away by how much I got out of it!

Source: Open Space World