Open Space Workshop

Suppose you wish to organise an inspiring meeting, without the confining setting of conferences characterised by a strict programme full of dull speakers, miscommunication and annoyance. On the contrary, you are looking for a more informal way of combining various cultures and starting points in enthusiastic working groups of varying composition and with possibilities for cross-fertilization; with spontaneous collaborations between separate disciplines in a dynamic context in which the participants are open to each other; with everyone being free to switch from one interesting development to the other; ranging from moments of fierce debate to setting to work together to moments of reflection and inspiration. In that case, an Open Space Workshop is the perfect solution.

ArtWorksAndMore has developed Open Space Workshops for various clients ­ as a concept for large-scale meetings such as consultations, merger talks, staff parties, conferences and days of reflection with dozens or even hundreds of participants communicating both creatively and effectively. Working together artistically and constructively on the one hand, while exchanging thoughts on essential themes informally on the other creates a transparent, open structure in which people frequently surpass themselves and each other, without the meeting ending up in aimless chatter or dreary chaos. Hidden powers and creative talents will germinate and bring about a colourful apotheosis, a euphoria none of the participants could have expected beforehand.

Open Space Workshops are a lively refuge where people are invited in a safe setting to share ideas, opinions, talents, views and experiences. This leads to inspiring forms of communication in which the enthusiasm, talent, know-how, perception and insight of all participants are the ingredients of personal commitment toward reaching a higher level collectively.

Open Space Workshops are based on the principle of Open Space Technology, in which optimal participation and commitment of the participants are achieved by constantly giving them ample time and space to immerse and express themselves in a series of creative workshops. A transparently structured narrative with recognizable elements and challenging assignments enhances the quality of the results. To this end, the Corporate Identity or Mission Statement of the organisation concerned are frequently quoted in the introductory texts to each item, but with tongue in cheek. This does not include dull speeches, or formal discussion groups on predetermined subjects, or questions at the end of the meeting, or obligatory preparations. During Open Space Workshops, all time and energy are used to create an optimal atmosphere in which the participants are given all the space they need to rediscover themselves and others in an informal situation.

Open Space Technology

Open Space Technology is based on the principles of self-coaching: participants put together their own programme through work sessions. Open Space has been used before at official work conferences and congresses of fellow workers who discuss what really concerns them in various simultaneous sessions. They explore new approaches and possibilities or try to formulate new answers to old questions. This is based on the principle that people are perfectly able themselves to develop and work out themes that are relevant to them, instead of experts pre-arranging this for them. Furthermore, Open Space is capable of bringing together large numbers of people with various backgrounds to share visions, ideas, creativity and actions, resulting in a collective and motivating happening.

Open Space Work is the process in which a small or larger group of participants can put their enthusiasm and energy into a joint approach of a subject or work method, ways of finding solutions, creating new techniques, and so on.

Open Space Work includes the following aspects:

• Monitoring processes of change.
• Enhancing mutual trust.
• Promoting self-coaching.
• Improving communication.
• Creating support.
• Developing mutual respect.
• Stimulating creativity and innovation.

How does an Open Space Workshop work?

During the meeting people are invited to form mixed work groups and participate in a workshop or studio, within a given framework. Everyone is given the opportunity to show their personal talents and gain new experiences. The work climate is characterized by openness, commitment, shared responsibility and self-coaching, with room for dialogue and the exchange of experiences in an informal yet inspiring atmosphere. On average, the various workshops take about an hour, after which the pieces of work that have been created can be presented on a central spot. If so desired, the work can be elucidated or commented upon by others.

Open Space Workshops are based on seven basic principles:

1. Whoever comes are always the right people
2. Whatever happens is for the good.
3. (Weather) conditions should be taken for what they are.
4. The composition of the groups is determined by chance.
5. Everyone may start whenever they feel like it.
6. Everyone may stop whenever they think it is time to.
7. Everyone is free to move around as they like.

Whoever comes are always the right people

In the invitation phase, as many candidates as possible receive a letter inviting them to participate in the Open Space Workshop. Interest may be enhanced through an appealing mailing or poster campaign. Creating a certain tension or expectations in the preliminary phase increases the chance of a large turnout and proves the ones who stay at home wrong.

Whatever happens is for the good

In consultation with the client and with assistants within the organisation a number of open workshops are presented. This course of action is not chosen to realize premeditated products or projects, but to get e process going in which all participants inspire one another to achieve a certain result, drawing frequently upon the collective memory and the (hidden) talents an skills that are present in each team.

(Weather) conditions should be taken for what they are.

According to the wishes and objectives of the Open Space workshop, an appropriate date is chosen and an appropriate location booked. Ultimately, the mood and the setting of the workshop will be influenced by all kinds of conditions. Whether the workshops are successful or not need not depend on the weather or the ambiance, however. One gets the weather one deserves and a good atmosphere is only created by the people involved.

The composition of the groups is determined by chance.

To get a large group of participants going and prevent cliques from forming, a random division into workable teams is made. Upon arrival, everyone is issued a badge at random with a text or colour indicating which team they belong to. Subsequently, large boards indicate with which workshop each group will start and from then on, people are referred to each successive item on the programme. Some groups will develop strong bonds, others may fall apart because team members quit and join another group. Anyone is free to choose.

Everyone may start whenever they feel like it.

None of the participants know in advance what is going to happen ­ nor can they anticipate the situation. Some of them may have expected something completely different, hoping for a sports day or a trip to a theme park. Other may show a rigid attitude: 'I wasn't hired for this, was I..?' and need more time to get acclimatized. Allow them some time to adjust; the supervisors will frequently encourage them to join in anyway and be loyal members of the group.

Everyone may stop whenever they think it is time to.

In most workshops the participants do unusual things and show unfamiliar sides of themselves in ways they are not used to. The aim is to create a stimulating work atmosphere in which people go from one surprise to the next, but surpass themselves and each other frequently as well. Not everyone has the same tension arc, however; at times one just runs out of energy. People tend to feel they are judged personally on their individual piece of work or their own commitment. Everyone should be accepted as they are and be free to decide when 'it' is ready.

Everyone is free to move around as they like.

As stated before, you have the right to move around as you like. If you feel you have landed in a situation from which you cannot learn anything or to which you cannot contribute anything: use your own two feet to walk to a more appropriate place. Feel free to walk around to look and discuss what is going on in other groups and join in when you like it. This way, participants take ideas and experiences from one group to another, which leads to cross-fertilization.

What does an Open Space Workshop do?

An Open Space Workshop brings together large numbers of people from various backgrounds in a very concrete way. Initially, the way the groups are arranged is determined by chance, but eventually one decides oneself where and what you are going to do when and with whom. This way visions, ideas, plans and experiences of all kinds are shared from various cultures and points of view. Open Space Technology offers a large number of advantages for various organisations, namely:

• For a limited time and in a creative way, it focuses everyone's attention on a subject or moment that is important to the organisation or group.
• It brings into the picture common interests and concerns that do not receive sufficient attention or no attention at all in the daily routine.
• It offers everyone the opportunity to quit activities that no longer hold their interest in order to find a more inspiring situation or create one themselves.
• It is an excellent equalizer, because it invites a wide variety of participants to bring up what matters to them, both individually and in smaller or larger groups.
• It generates new points of view, creates innovative solutions and clears the way for future actions.
• It offers individuals the opportunity to manifest themselves in a different way from what they are used to. Masks are removed and traditional working relations are sidelined for a brief moment.
• Language barriers are broken with ease; for this reason, Open Space Workshops lend themselves perfectly for breaking the ice in multinational meetings in which participants have to get familiar with one another

At what occasions are Open Space Workshops used?

Open Space Technology is a lively process, allowing small or large groups of participants to invest in the visualisation of a common subject or a collective problem, in the search for solutions or the creation of new possibilities, developments and techniques, and so on.

Examples of this are:

• Getting a picture of what people within the organisation are really committed to.
  Exploring new issues and possibilities.
• Motivating a culture of independent working and decision-making.
• Developing creative, innovative or problem-solving plans and techniques.
• Stimulating community spirit.
• Analysing and solving differences of opinion or serious conflicts.
• Embedding new processes and procedures in organisations.
• Remotivating people when things become disordered.

How long does an Open Space Workshop take?

Cause and reason, previous history, new plans and objectives of the organisation affect the nature and organisation of each Open Space Workshop. As each organisation is different, each Open Space Workshop will be different too. It usually takes one, two or three daily periods, in most cases consecutive ones, though they may be interrupted by brainstorming sessions, discussion groups and plenary meetings.

How many participants does an Open Space Workshop have?

A minimum of around twenty persons should participate in an Open Space workshop. The maximum number of participants is only limited by the budget and the location's facilities. Workshops of several hundreds of people are a regular phenomenon, and even a group of over a thousand participants does not pose any organisational problems. This is the ideal event for realising bottom-up participation. During the workshops, all staff members are given the opportunity in a non-confronting way to contribute and further develop their ideas and creativity. The process is fed by the energy and the enthusiasm of the participants for the common cause and by their individual actions.

Supervising an Open Space Workshop

Supervising an Open Space Workshop requires experienced supervisors from outside the system of the organising party. ArtWorksAndMore has an extensive network of professionals trainers and artists, who through their personal vision and working method can act as catalysts for the functioning of the various groups. From their daily practice they are used to reacting alertly to chance and use serendipity optimally.

A rough outline of an Open Space Workshop

An Open Space Workshop is divided into a number of separate workshops in which various artistic disciplines are practised and smaller or larger groups of people work together in various ways to achieve certain results. Depending on the number of participants, the facilities of the location concerned, the theme chosen and the object in view, a tailor-made trajectory is planned with creative workshops.