Chris: I think it is possible to Open some Space in that format, and I have done so, but not called it OST. I have gathered topics and group initiators from the front or middle of the room of table groups 300 to 500. I have recorded those on electronic projection and make group location assignments in a pre-prepared grid. It takes some doing to get volunteers group initiators, but Ive had it work. The key for me is to be sure the room or other space is set up to enable self-organizing breakout sessions from the table group set up to the sides/corners of the room or maybe even back to the tables. People need to get out of table groups (usually experienced as a traditional meeting) and into flowing self-organization based on emergent leadership. It partly depends on how much time is available how many rounds of self-organizing discussions? If it is one I dont think much space has been opened but it can still lead to great discussions. How will the reports be made or collected? What outcomes is the client seeking.
With a group of 250 and a short time frame Andrew and I did an Open Space Fishbowl in Australia. It provided a great basis for conversation it was not a way to identify and enable emergent leadership of action groups. If the client can only tolerate table group processes (which is true for some Ive experienced) then I use the design of the table groups to enable conversation a la Conversation Café. Good luck with this client. Larry Larry Peterson & Associates in Transformation Toronto, Ontario, Canada <mailto:la...@spiritedorg.com> la...@spiritedorg.com 416.653.4829 <http://www.spiritedorg.com/> http://www.spiritedorg.com From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu] On Behalf Of Michael Herman Sent: March-31-09 5:30 PM To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu Subject: Re: [OSLIST] Help! hey man. first thought, if you must post on a (vertical) wall... canadian tables. next, better thought, i think... tabletops as the wall. current topic on top of the pile. frame it as a move toward major compliance... make the tables the focus and gathering points. some groups will be too big and will push some tables around. let the people move the tables out of their way. let them open as much space as they need. i like the laptop and wifi option, too... but don't think it's essential. good luck! m -- Michael Herman Michael Herman Associates http://www.michaelherman.com http://www.ronanparktrail.com http://www.chicagoconservationcorps.org http://www.openspaceworld.org 312-280-7838 (mobile) On Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 2:38 PM, Chris Corrigan <ch...@chriscorrigan.com> wrote: I've been at this a long time now, but I've run up against a situation like this. I'm stumped and looking for help. I;ll be opening space for a gethering of 500+ people. The client is completely unwilling to set the room in a circle. Instead, we will have 96 tables with 6 chairs at each table packed into a spacious but full ball room facing a stage. The walls of this room are incredible...they appear to be actually stuffed with cotton and covered in fabric. There is little hope of putting anything on the walls. On the plus side we will have lots of AV, so there is a goodly amount of technology available to play with for agenda setting and huge screen projection. I'm worried on a number of levels as you can imagine, but at the moment I'm trying to put that all aside and figure out, in this worst case scenario, what is the best thing we could do to Open Space? Anyone been faced with similar constraints? Help me out here... All tips and support I get on this, I'll roll up into a little document on "what to do when nothing is what you need it to be" and we can share it out. OSLIST group mind...activate! Chris -- CHRIS CORRIGAN Facilitation - Training - Process Design Open Space Technology Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot Site: http://www.chriscorrigan.com Principal, Harvest Moon Consultants, Ltd. http://www.harvestmoonconsultants.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 * * ========================================================== 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
