Knowledge Cafe

[Peggy Holman]

Patrick,

Someone recently sent me a link to a great site on the World Cafe: http://www.theworldcafe.com/index.html

I've only participated in one once, about 4 years ago.  For me it felt very controlling.  Others seemed to think it was great.  I think the difference is once you've experienced Open Space, having someone tell you when to move to another group just doesn't cut it.

Peggy Holman

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Patrick McAuley 
  To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU 
  Sent: Monday, June 12, 2000 6:19 AM
  Subject: Knowledge Cafe


  Is anyone on this list familiar with a process called Knowledge Cafe?  Any thoughts on how effective it is as a collaborative learning process?  How it would compare with Open Space for the same purpose?
   
  I'm co-chairing a team to organize a half-day learning event for a business association and one of the team members has proposed using this process. Here's how she described it in an email.
   
  > Why not use a self-organizing format which doesn't require 
  > expert facilitators? A 5-10 minute introduction would be 
  > required. Place a tent card on each table with four 
  > guidelines: 1. Ask questions. 2. Play devil's advocate. 
  > 3. Move if the spirit moves you. 4. Record aha's!
   
  I asked her if she could describe where it works well, where it does not work well, and what risks it might entail.  Here is how she responded.
   
  > The director of knowledge management at American
  > Management Systems Inc. presented this format at a 
  > conference I attended in Scottsdale a few months ago 
  > called Braintrust 2000. Participants needed very little 
  > guidance (5-10 min. nuts & bolts intro.) Outcome is both 
  > the experience of being engaged with their own issues (has 
  > everone read The Experience Economy?) and a summary of '5 
  > best insights' from each table at the conclusion. At this 
  > particular conference, a ballroom full of people had time 
  > for two 45 min. roundtable discussions focused on 
  > sub-topics of their choice. 
  > 
  > My contact at U of T who organizes conferences for execs 
  > says, "We don't do talking heads anymore, we only use 
  > knowledge cafes." 
  > 
  > Risks: 
  > 
  > At Warner Lambert in NJ, organizers of an offsite were 
  > initially skeptical because the format seemed too simple 
  > to work. They tried it anyway, for a portion of the 
  > retreat. People liked it so much that they requested that 
  > the next retreat be entirely knowledge cafe-based. Lesson 
  > learned: required organizers to give up control and accept 
  > inherent risk, which makes some people 
  > uncomfortable. 
  > 
  In conversation later, I asked if she could compare Knowledge Cafe to Open Space.  She had participated in the Toronto Company of Friends (Fast Company magazine) Open Space event a year ago and she felt that the intro and wrapup took too long -- for the type of business clients that she deals with.  She feels Knowledge Cafe is more efficient and produces similar results for a learning event.

  Reactions?

  Patrick McAuley

  PTM Consulting                   Tel:  (519) 827-9396
  20 Magnolia Lane                Fax:  (519) 827-0956
  Guelph, ON  N1G 4X7         patrick.mcauley at sympatico.ca

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