convergence query

[Wendy Farmer-O'Neil]

Hi Michael,

I'd likely just re-open the space same as for action planning, but  
instead the invitation is to a second round of deepening conversation  
on emergent themes and issues from the previous day's proceedings.   
Folks will pop up and post the themes and issues that have had all  
night and morning reading to percolate.  One of the benefits for the  
sponsor with this approach is that it identifies who in the system  
cares about the issue and is willing to take leadership around it.   
Very useful for implementing change down the road--and in looking for  
further input as the policy process unfolds.

Cheers,
Wendy

On 8-Apr-09, at 6:52 PM, Michael Wood wrote:

> I am doing an Open Space in a couple of weeks for about a hundred  
> people in Health Care around the issues of workforce flexibility and  
> structuring.
>
> The output will not so much be action plans as the raising of key  
> themes and issues which need to be taken into account by policy  
> makers within the Health Department. This has been communicated in  
> the invitation and will be highlighted again in the Sponsor's  
> introduction/welcome. We have also discussed feedback-loop  
> communications after the event so that people can see how their  
> input was used to shape policy.
>
> The sponsor believes (as do I) that it could be useful to invite the  
> group into some preliminary `first cut' analysis of emerging themes  
> as a 'convergence' activity. I am wondering how to do this is way  
> which is somewhat more conversational than the "red dot" system.
>
> I quite like the World Cafe convergence question "what do you see as  
> being patterns, themes and emerging questions?", and was thinking of  
> a convergence process which would involve some individual reading  
> time of group reports, then asking people to self organise into  
> groups/circles of 4 people to discuss that question for half an hour  
> or so, then pass the indian talking stick/microphone around to  
> invite reflections from each group.
>
> Could this `mixing' of processes (OST and World Cafe) have any  
> downsides I am not seeing? Any thoughts on this idea or alternative  
> ways of converging where it's themes rather than action that need  
> converging?
>
> Michael Wood
>
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Wendy Farmer-O'Neil
CEO Prospera Consulting
wendy at xe.net
1-800-713-2351

The moment of change is the only poem. -- Adrienne Rich

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