Thanks everyone for sharing your ideas! Ultimately it all worked out naturally, as I should have expected. The group had come together in a single circle toward the end of the meeting anyway. A couple of things had come up needing formal approval, such as using the organization's name on a certain legal filing (a permit to hold an anti-war protest). The issues had been considered sufficiently already, so -- when someone asked, "hey Justin, are you chairing this meeting or what?" -- we just went very briefly through Robert's formalities: motion, second, those in favor, those opposed; three motions were made, and all were approved unanimously.
I'll write more about the meeting in another email with a new subject... Cheers, Justin On 11/11/06, Chris Corrigan <ch...@chriscorrigan.com> wrote:
You could use Open Space to open space on the decisions that need to be made, to harvest some deeper wisdom about what your group might do. Then you could sit in a council circle as the closing circle, and have the proposals deliberated upon using a wisdom council sort of model, either formally or informally constituted. After the meeting is over, I'd be surprised if you felt it was necessary to take a vote, but if you needed to for legal reasons, you could do it then. But honestly, Open Space Technology and Robert's Rules of Order are just about the opposite ends of the spectrum of meeting methods. Keep us posted on this detente of process! Chris On 11/9/06, Justin T. Sampson <jus...@krasama.com> wrote: > Howdy, > > I'm planning to use Open Space for a small meeting on > Saturday. I described the context a while ago and got some > great advice on using OST for small groups. Some major points > I remember are to (1) trust the group and (2) get rid of the > tables. :) > > I have a more specific question now, pertaining to how the > organization operates formally. This meeting is the monthly > meeting of a local (city-wide) political party, usually a > friendly but somewhat dull Robert's Rules style (I serve as > chair). The main purpose of these meetings, in my mind at > least, is to bring together activists to talk about local > issues and get ideas and support for various projects, which > OST is perfect for. > > However, another important function of the meetings is to make > formal decisions as an organization, such as passing > resolutions, electing officers, or approving budgets. For > these things we are required by our bylaws to take a vote of > the members present. Do any of you have stories or ideas to > share about effectively calling for a formal vote on some > proposal in the midst of Open Space festivities? Should I just > schedule an abbreviated Robert's meeting after or before the > Open Space portion of the meeting, or can I safely hold a > Robert's meeting as just another Open Space session? > > The whole meeting is very short, 2-3 hours. We would likely > have only a couple, if any, formal motions to consider. But I > want to make sure I have some answer when it comes up! > > Cheers, > Justin
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