Open Space Technology

Open Space Technology was first conceived by Harrison Owen as a means for the attendees of a conference to hold meaningful conversations and decide on the agenda items that are most important to them, and as a result the approach is used to provide highly interactive and self organising "un-conferences".

Principles

There are a few principles to help remind us of what to expect and how to maximise the value of our experience:

• Whoever turns up are the right people to remind us that we will have some fantastic interaction with like minded people who are interested in your topic, and if no one turns up maybe it wasn't the right time
• Whenever it happens is the right time to remind us that creativity has no schedule and even though there may be some sessions marked as a guide, it is just a guide
• Wherever it happens is the right place to remind us that the Open Space Technology format is based upon coffee conversations, and so even though we might have some spaces allocated, these are just a guide
• Whatever happens is the only thing that could have to remind us that we have the right people in the right place at the right time, and that we have to put our preconceptions to one side, and be prepared to be surprised
• When it’s over, it's over to remind us that the sessions are just a guide and then a conversation is over there is no point continuing it just because the session durations are marked, they are just a guide

One Law

There is only 1 law:

• The Law of Two Feet - to maximise the value of the experience, attendees are encouraged to take action and find another conversation if they find that they are not adding value or receiving value from the discussions. This then leads to two personality types:

• • Bumblebees - the people that jump from conversation to conversation and cross pollenate the ideas
  • Butterflies - the "beautiful" people who attract others to a new side conversation

See Also

• Open Space Posters