Evaluations of Open Space in Novi Sad, Serbia

[Birgitt Williams]

Elwin,
Thank you for taking the time with this. I am grateful to you for your
response.  It is exactly the information that I needed. There are
'givens' for the event itself in the invitation ie: 'you will decide
what needs to be discussed'. However, the standard 'givens' that we do
in the Genuine Contact program way of working with OST are 'givens'
related to the outputs of the meeting. There are always 'givens' be they
process givens for what happens to the actionable items following the
meeting, and financial givens for example...we simply allow that which
is implied (and thus really known by only a few--usually those in power
positions) to be made explicit and communicated clearly so that all
involved have the same information.

We learned over time that doing these creates a greater likelihood of
follow up from an OST meeting. This is more true within intact
organizations than with conferences. 
Blessings,
Birgitt

-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Elwin
and Joan
Sent: Sunday, April 02, 2006 6:30 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Evaluations of Open Space in Novi Sad, Serbia

Birgitt-

For some reason I have never figured out this thing called "givens." So
the best I can do is to give you a copy of what I wrote as the
Invitation to the Conference. For me, that is the given. 

The Invitation tried to capture what I learned in discussions with the
Project Director. he hired and paid me. In short, the objective was to
get 100 people with a common interest together and Open Space in the
hope that they would develop some strategy to sustain their activities
after USAID is gone.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the Invite: (Followed by my evaluation response.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Managing the Future of Our Festivals" 

You are invited to join 100 colleagues for a 2 1/2 day conference to
create a plan to ensure that Serbia’s cultural heritage will continue
to be shared with the world.

It is an opportunity for you to discuss, plan, and organize the
management of Serbia’s festivals and fairs at the village and national
level.

The Conference will have a professional facilitator.

However, YOU will create the conference agenda. 
YOU will decide what needs to be discussed. 
YOU will conduct the workshop meetings.
YOU will write and publish the plan.

This unique conference methodology has produced outstanding results
throughout the Balkans.

Start thinking about what should and can be done to improve the
coordination, cooperation and support needed for your festival. 

Bring those thoughts to the conference. 

They will become the agenda.

Finally, dress comfortably and be prepared to be surprised.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Birgitt, below is what I said to the Project Director that paid me
regarding his Staff's evaluation of the Reports issues.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
TKS FOR SHARING SANDRA AND DARJA'S THOUGHTS AND CRITICISMS. IT IS
HELPFUL TO ME.

ONE POINT IS PARTICULARLY VALUABLE, DARJA'S COMMENT/CONCERN ABOUT THE
REPORT OUTCOME/VALUE.

I CONCUR WITH HER FINDINGS. 

IF I COULD DO ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY IT WOULD BE TO CAREFULLY CHECK THE
"FORMAT" FOR REPORTING PROVIDED ON THE COMPUTERS. AS IT TURNED OUT,
VALDO DID NOT INCLUDE THE REPORT ELEMENTS:
"RECOMMENDATION(S) AND 
NEXT STEP(S). 

THAT WOULD HAVE PROMPTED MORE WORKABLE/SUPPORTABLE OUTCOMES. OH WELL,
IF ONLY I COULD READ SERBIAN.

I hope this helps.

Elwin Guild
Future Development International
Baltimore

--- Birgitt Williams <birgitt at dalarinternational.com> wrote:

> Elwin,
> Congratulations on your work. 
> 
> I have some questions about how the report was set up, and what the
> 'givens' or 'non-negotiables' for the event were. We also are doing
> work
> for organizations funded by USAID and they are looking closely at the
> investment in OST and whether it is worth it beyond simply an
> exchange
> of good ideas.
> 
> I am looking at the comment in the evaluation:
> "On the other hand, I am not sure exactly how the results of this
> great
> event can adequately be recorded (and what are they,in the most
> concrete
> sense, other than truly great exchange of ideas, meeting and coming
> together of people with similar problems who will now have the chance
> contact each other in the coming period...Which is perhaps more than
> enough). I understand the report was supposed to serve this purpose ,
> but looking through them, I believe there could have been a better
> way
> to put the actual results together - what that would be, and how it
> could have been implemented, I don't really know. Furthermore, I am
> also
> not sure how much follow up action will there be in the foreseeable
> future."
> 
> It would assist me greatly in our current USAID work and
> relationships
> re OST and the COSO to understand how the reports were done and what
> the
> 'givens' were. Thank you in advance for the time it will take to do
> the
> response.
> 
> Birgitt
> www.dalarinternational.com
> Providing a holistic approach to business success
> 
> -- 
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