Susan: You're right about space needing to be opened up within the organization, that why the sponsor is the one who "opens the space." As a facilitator, I just do the opening, but only the sponsor can open space.
Regarding the other case of opening space for collaboration, there are still givens. Someone is opening space for the collaboration to happen, and that someone has givens. Of course, the idea is to reduce them as much as possible, and in the case of a OS like you're writing about, there is a lot of room for reducing givens. As for the letter of invitation, below is part of a letter from a recent one day OS I did which was sent to 300 organizations, and posted for community members. We had 250 people at the event. This letter was broadcast far and wide, and it's not the first time it's travelled on the Internet. The letter was signed by a federal Cabinet Minister and a local Chief. It was accompanied by a one page description of how OS works. Can you see how this opens space? We really worked hard at reducing givens, and I think that shows too... Here's the meat of the letter: Making things better for Aboriginal People and their communities in the Vancouver area Lets stop just talking about it Lets start doing it! Invitation to Vancouver Urban Aboriginal Forum This is a time of transition for urban Aboriginal people living in the Vancouver area. The Treaty process, the Aboriginal Peoples Council Round Tables, the Vancouver Agreement and a myriad of services and programs ..all have an impact on the lives of Aboriginal people and their communities in the Vancouver area. And yet, despite all the good intentions for beneficial results, urban Aboriginal people are still at the bottom of a wide range of social indicators: from addictions to health status, education to income, suicide rates to child apprehensions. For too many, conditions dont seem to be improving. We believe that it is time for change. It is time for those of us who can make a difference to step forward. On January 21, 2000, a new era will begin. An era of community action, responsibility and commitment. An era that we invite you to be a part of. Join us at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre for a one-day forum to share information and ideas, find others with commitment and passion and, most importantly, create solutions for the future of urban Aboriginal people in the Vancouver area. This will not be another consultation meeting with a lot of talk and no follow up. We are committed to seeing this process through. You will not see a collection of talking heads telling you what you already know. We will be meeting in Open Space, using the circle, a technology that is as old as the First Nations themselves. We promise to provide you with the space and support that will allow for the creation of solutions for the future. Most important, we will provide an opportunity for commitment for action. This unique opportunity will bring people who are prepared to work together. They will come from the urban Aboriginal community, from First Nations, from government, from Aboriginal and other service agencies, from the academic and business communities and from organized labour. We will be there for the whole day and we hope that you can join us at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre at 1650 East Hastings Street in Vancouver: That committment from the sponsors that they would be there for the whole day sold a lot of people on how serious a venture this was. One of the most important givens was that they wanted action, not talk... Chris Susan Lilley wrote: > Hello all of you, > > I am reading every message posted to this list and learning so much from all > of > you. What a great resource for ongoing learning! > > One question from Birgitt to Chris recently caught my attention and an > ah-hah!: > > > In the situation you describe, is there any open space that the sponsor has > > opened in the organization for Open Space Technology to be used in? > > I understand Birgitt to be saying that an OS *event* needs to reflect an > opening > of decision-making space *within an organization*. > > In my practice, what is more likely to happen is that I am asked to facilitate > an OS to bring people together from *different organizations* so that they can > begin to work together (partnerships - intersectoral collaboration and all > that). In this case, there is no one board or CEO to open up decision-making - > there is no hierarchy there at all. Am I right to think that in this case the > decision-making space is already open and just needs to be acted on? Wouldn't > there need to be space opened up for collaboration in every one of the > participating organizations? Does this need to be clear in a letter of > invitation? > > Should I be thinking about these multi-organizational open space events as > different in any way from those within one organization? What are the "givens" > they must consider in action planning - no structure, no money, no support, > you're on your own??? > > I'm not sure I'm very coherent here but my sense is there is a difference. I > hope those of you who have opened space in both types of situations will be > able > to shed some light on this. > > As a follow-up to my last posting - my first open space facilitation is now > officially set for mid-May, with another tentatively scheduled for early fall. > Both are multi-organizational. > > Thanks all for taking the time for sharing your experience and learning on the > list. > ---- > Susan Lilley > Dartmouth NS B2Y 4J5 -- CHRIS CORRIGAN 108-1035 Pacific Street Vancouver BC V6E 4G7 Phone: 604.683.3080 Fax: 604.683.3036 (GO LEAFS GO!)
