Open Space Technology (OST), used across the world in companies and organizations, communities, schools and groups, large and small, enables people to share knowledge, resolve differences, and creatively solve problems themselves.

It is an alternative to other meeting processes that enables the participants to identify what’s important to them. It taps into people’s passions and gives them an opportunity to take responsibility. No-one is in charge (an unusual experience for many people) and everyone’s experiences and views are honoured. There are no key-note speakers and no pre-set agenda.

OST is best when there’s no pre-determined outcome, the issue being explored is complex, and there’s a diversity of experience and views. It also works well when there’s conflict or when a crisis means decisions need to be made urgently.

Where it all began

In the 1980s, Harrison Owen, a Washington DC-based consultant, organised a large international conference for a couple of hundred people. It was a traditional conference with plenary sessions, key-note speakers, abstracts and proceedings prepared in advance. Due to some mix up with the timings, the coffee breaks ended up being an hour long. The program was printed, so it was impossible to change the timings. Owen was surprised that the best aspect of the conference for many people was the coffee breaks – the one thing he had no control, or even influence, over. He wondered if it might be possible to design a way of meeting that incorporated what people experienced during those coffee breaks.

Let’s explore what happens during a coffee break. Generally people gather in small groups and chat. When they need to speak with someone else, or become bored with the current topic, they move to another group, or join up with another person. They often become deeply engaged in their conversations and may be reluctant to move back to the main event.

While Harrison Owen’s name is most closely associated with the approach, and its design and development, the creation of OST was a collaborative project. Owen says, “Many of the basic ideas come from a small West African village, the Native American Tradition, and the Wisdom of the East. To this should also be added the work on group dynamics, and the special contributions of many friends and colleagues. The list could go on and on, but the reality is, Open Space Technology is a World Product.”

The nuts and bolts of Open Space Technology

Open Space meetings can last for a couple of hours or a number of days, and are suitable for groups of any size. Typically, most open space meetings last 1 – 2 days and involve 20 – 200+ people. A large main space is needed where participants can sit in a circle. This space also needs to have an agenda wall where the ‘market place’ is created, as well as additional wall space to post various posters relevant to open space and where completed session reports can be enlarged to A3 and displayed. Break out spaces are also needed – usually one space for every 10 participants.

An OST event always starts with everyone in a circle, and this is where the facilitator ‘opens the space’. The facilitator walks around the circle, providing a focal point and connecting all the individuals in the group. While walking around the circle, s(he) explains what’s going to happen: the theme of the gathering, any ‘givens’ that are not negotiable, the blank agenda wall, and the times and spaces that are available to the group to fill up with concurrent topics.

The facilitator will emphasise the importance of the duel platforms of OST – passion and responsibility – whereby participants are invited to raise topics that they have some passion for, and for which they are willing to take some responsibility. This doesn’t mean that someone has to be an expert in the topic, quite the contrary. They may be puzzled or intrigued, but are prepared to select a time and place where others with a similar interest can gather to discuss the topic. This is one part of taking responsibility – naming a topic they are passionate about and selecting a time and place to talk about it. The other aspect of responsibility is ensuring that there’s a record of the key discussion points and any suggested actions that can be shared with the larger group, and later used for action planning. A simple recording sheet is usually provided and these can be hand-written or typed if a bank of computers is available. The facilitator collects the reports as they are completed and makes sure that they are enlarged and displayed as well as collated and made ready for copying.

During the opening of the space, the facilitator will explain the five principles of open space and the one law.

Whoever comes are the right people: working with the people who show up, rather than bemoaning those that didn’t.

Be prepared to be surprised!

Whatever happens is the only thing that could have: focusing on what is to come, rather than what happened and why, and recognising that the quality of your experience of open space will depend on the choices you make.

Whenever it starts is the right time: acknowledging the unpredictability of human creativity, and an invitation to pay attention to when the time is right for a conversation to begin, and end. When it’s over, it’s over (and it’s corollary, when it’s not over, it’s not over).

There is only one law in open space. It’s called the Law of Two Feet and prescribes that if, at any time, you are neither learning nor contributing where you are, then use your two feet to take you somewhere else where you can be more productive. It may be to another topic or it may be to some quiet time-out.

In a multi-day event each day begins and ends with a full gathering of the participants in the main circle to share experiences, make announcements and reconnect as a community.

While the concurrent sessions during an open space event allow divergence, the action planning phase, if required, enable convergence and decisions to be made about future actions to be developed. The same principles of passion and responsibility underpin action planning.

An open space gathering always ends with a closing circle, allowing participants to comment on their experience, and providing a bridge to the everyday.

The key to successful facilitation of Open Space Technology is letting go – the capacity to allow the group to self-organise and self-manage. This is harder than it sounds, especially for facilitators trained in processes that are more control-based or who like to be helpful and ‘fix’ things for people.