FW: Open space - case studies related to waste

[Joelle Lyons Everett]

Claire--

I have a case study about waste management, but it was many years ago, and 
did not use an Open Space format.

I was contacted by a large forest products company which had just learned 
that their use of landfill for industrial wastes would be limited in the near 
future.   They asked me to work with their research team to design and facilitate 
a series of meetings to explore possible ways to use waste materials, 
reducing the total waste to be disposed of.

We planned a series of three meetings, one focused on wood waste, one on 
sludge, and one on ash.   I learned more than I ever thought I wanted to know 
about sludge and ash!

In each meeting, we asked participants, in small groups, to identify 
potential uses for the waste product.   In the late afternoon, all ideas were posted, 
and participants used sticky dots to vote for innovative and/or feasible 
ideas.   Recognizing that good solutions sometimes come from out-of-the-box ideas, 
each person also had a few monster stickers to vote for outrageous ideas.

Every group generated lots of ideas, some of which were determined to be 
feasible, and implemented.   In some cases, the waste product was sold for some 
new use, rather than the company paying to dispose of it in a landfill.

These meetings confirmed for me that group processes were an effective way to 
address this kind of issue, and that participants could be engaged in solving 
rather specific, technical problems.

Reflecting on that experience, I think that the meetings would have been even 
more effective in Open Space.   Participants could choose what aspect of the 
issue to address, increasing their level of engagement in the problem, 
solution, and implementation.   Give that freedom, I'm sure that some groups would 
choose to examine root causes for a problem, leading to better, long-range 
solutions.   Bumblebees and butterflies would cross-pollinate the discussions and 
find themselves in serendipitous conversations.   The whole process would be 
more fun--High Play instead of just playfulness.   I think I would see a higher 
level of creativity and engagement.

Good luck to you in this project--it is an important and timely subject!

Joelle Everett
Sound Resources
Shelton, Washington, USA
360-426-8517
jleshelton at aol.com


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