Future search versus Open Space

[Denis Cowan]

G'day.

I tend to see Future search ( I have tended to use the Bob Dick model) as a
process for building a shared vision and agreement on the steps necessary
to achieve it.   The relevance of the past. - Sometimes when people are
thinking about the future, they find it easier to think about those things
from the past that they want to take into the future and those things they
do not want to .

In Bob's model ( or how I have interpreted it) participants are requested
to put aside their personal view and try to think in terms of the community
they are part of.  Individuals do not have to justify their point of view
and all decision making is by voting.  I usually check at the end to see if
the outcome reflects what they as an individual would support.



I have less experience with open space but at the moment I see it as a
problem solving technique where we tap into the energy of the individual


As a facilitator - To my mind both are process driven with the facilitator
staying content free. The process involved is different but both open the
space. Possibly future search is more controlled.

Reflection.: Open space may be a logical extension of search ??

Regards

denis
.

At 12:13 27/01/00 +0100, Agneta Falk wrote:
>Hi everybody!
>
>I  will also, as many of you have done, express my thanks for the many
>inspiring and wise conversations on the list. I open my Email  every day,
>eagerly looking for your contributions. Now I would like to have a little
>feedback on my thoughts after a  four day workshop on how to facilitate a
>Future Search Conference, it was the first time I´ve experienced this
>meeting form.

denis cowan , brisbane , australia.  fax ** 61 7 32681869 tel ** 61 7 38363056
email:  cowandp at gil.com.au