----- Original Message ----- Can you (or any other) please make a summary in a few sentences about what is Open Forum amd how it compares with OST. Artur Artur,
Dannemiller-Tyson folks call an "Open Forum" a sequence of specific steps to work on informations (especially in organizations). Here we go: . The basic setting: Participants are sitting in groups of (about) 8 in circles, sometimes around tables. People are conscious seated and preferable every table has a max-mix constellation of persons and is a microcosmos of the organization itself. 1. step: The "Head" of the organization gives a presentation e.g. on "What happend, where we are, which directions we go" for 20, maybe 30 minutes. Sometimes I prefer an interview instead of a presentation, because it shows more lively aspects. 2. step: Groups choose a facilitator, recorder (writer) and a questionasker and work on the questions: "What did we hear? What were our reactions? What are our burning questions" In most cases 10 to 20 minutes of workingtime. 3. step: Reporting brief impressions of mood (one sentence only!) and burning questions (1 or 2 max. each table) by tablespeakers. 4. step: Answering of questions by "head" or other VIPS. It takes altogether between 1,5 and 2 hours of time, even in very large groups. Compared to Open Space: There is a lot of structure, there is a lot of speech, there is a lot of facilitation, for openspacnics a horrible lot of control. At the other side: If you decide to go this path a little, you can gain a lot of advantages. I found this procedure always very satisfying, because it initiates a dialogue of "what really matters" between stage and back in very short time. And though the outcomes of the conversation are all public, it is an intimate frame at the same time. It supports a realistic common view "what is on". And that is in many cases (e.g. when the participants are not volunteers) a beautiful basic to start an Open Space. greetings Erich * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist