Maya, as you have doubtless discovered there is no shortage of material on Open Space Technology (see websites below) but there is virtually nothing in the academic literature with the exception of a few dissertations. This would seem to be a strange state of affairs given the fact that OST has been fully functional since 1985, been used in excess of 200,000 times in 136 countries with millions of people. But if you consult the academic literature it would appear that Open Space Technology never happened. Strange indeed!
But maybe not so strange. As near as I can tell, Open Space violates essentially all principles, practices, and theory in terms of the organization of meetings and indeed organization itself -- along with related issues of management, leadership, levels of performance, and more. According the accepted theory and practice, Open Space simply could not happen. It is essentially impossible, wrong, and probably illegal, immoral, and fattening. Unfortunately Open Space not only exists -- it works, and has done so in thousands of iterations for more than 20 years. And here we may be coming to the nub of the problem. If Open Space actually works, most (all?) of accepted theory and practice would require radical revision. This could be profoundly troubling for all those individuals, departments, and schools in Academe who have built their reputations on the accepted theory and practice. And obviously this situation could create genuine problems for all students who are spending large amounts of time and money studying same. So be very careful! Venturing into Open Space could be hazardous to your academic career. It could also be very exciting. However, do not take this plunge lightly -- you have been warned! Harrison Ps -- I am not sure that I qualify as an academic, but I have written a number of books attempting to explore the mysteries of Open Space. You will rarely find them on the reading lists of academic institutions, but they are generally available. I suspect that my good friend Tova has a few of them (but don't blow her cover!). You could also check out http://www.openspaceworld.com/literature.htm for a full listing. Of particular interest might be my latest and last, "Wave Rider: Leadership for High Performance in a Self Organizing World" which will be published in the fall by Berrett-Koehler. Harrison Owen 7808 River Falls Drive Potomac, Maryland 20854 Phone 301-365-2093 Skype hhowen Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org Personal website www.ho-image.com OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit: www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu] On Behalf Of Maya Negev Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 2:57 AM To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu Subject: Academic articles on OST Dear OST community, I am a PhD student in Israel. while looking for a participatory method to research "multicultural approaches to environmental education", i reached Tova Averbuch, the leading OST consultant in Israel. OST seems to be the method I was looking for, thanks to it being fully participatory, and thanks to it enabling people from very diverse backgrounds to voice their priorities and concerns. As I am writing a research proposal, I am searching for academic articles and book chapters on OST, both about using and researching the method. so far I found very few such resources, and therefore I am writing to you: should any of you be aware of academic resources on OST, I will be very grateful if you bring them to my attention. All the very best, and thank you very much, Maya maya.ne...@gmail.com * * ========================================================== 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 * * ========================================================== 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