Logistics Questions - large OS

[Meg Salter]

I am co-facilitating, along with Bruce Craig, a one day open space event sponsored by the FAST Co. Toronto Chapter of Friends, on Thriving in Change. We are expecting anywhere from 75 - 150 people; will know more closer to the day, but so far 50 have signed up. The location is the Business School at the University of Toronto, who are donating not only their central atrium but multiple rooms for breakouts throughout the entire school.

So here is my picky logistics question. The breakout rooms are of different size; small rooms have space for 8 - 10 people, larger rooms can hold 25. How do we ensure that discussion groups have a room adequate to their numbers??

We have two ideas so far - I'd like your reaction.
1)The usual, and let people work it out for themselves. i.e. issue nominators take a post-it with both time and room number on it (maybe it would also say "small, medium, large capacity" on it), and once people have signed up at the marketplace, then it is up to the nominator to ensure that their room is adequate to the numbers, swap rooms with others, etc. Certainly in line with the spirit of self-organization, but some folks on the planning committee are worried about needless confusion, time wasting, and sorting out rooms that no-one is familiar with.

2)We do a two-stage sign-up process. Nominators pick a time slot for their issues, and then once people have signed up at the marketplace wall, the OS facilitator can very quickly give them a post-it for room adequate to their needs. Smoother, more hassle-free, and more planned. The control-freak in me likes this one (yes, that's why I like OS - it's remedial!), but I'm worried it might close down the space a bit??

Would welcome your thoughts and experiences.............. ever grateful to the vast experience and wisdom we collectively access!!

Meg Salter

MegaSpace Consulting
meg.salter at sympatico.ca

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