[OSList] Request for Government-sponsored Open Space stories!

Sun Feb 16 08:57:47 PST 2014

Thank you Harrison and Amanda!

HO - can I offer to connect the Pittsburgh Mayor, Bill Peduto, to Kai
Degner, and when writing to Kai say I was referred by you?

Awesome resources Amanda - thank you! I think I have accumulated a nice
portfolio of examples. I also look forward to checking out your Collective
Story Harvest work.

Proof - it's what's for dinner! I don't know what I meant by that...but I
do definitely agree with you both, and to the "burgh folks credit, they
didn't actually ask for proof and were not emphasizing the "doubting
Thomas" role.

They mentioned that it would be nice to see more examples of this work
being used in government. I did talk to them about the fact that you cannot
predict or guarantee any outcomes. They seemed cool with that, with the
biggest concern being the sense of safety for participants, and the
avoidance of prospective repercussions with internal participants - which,
I replied was up to them!

thank you!!! ....and very funny point Dan - I never even noticed the
Harrison-burg likeness :)

Tricia Chirumbole
Open Space Facilitator, Certified Scrum Master
Mojo Collaborative
www.mojocollaborative.com

571-232-0942
skype: tricia.chirumbole
twitter: @themojozone

On Sun, Feb 16, 2014 at 11:38 AM, Amanda Fenton <amsfenton at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Tricia,
>
> A little anecdote to add to your back pocket. In November 2012 and
> February 2014 (just last week) I hosted an Open Space for Governexx<https://www.facebook.com/Governexx>,
> which is an interdepartmental platform for building leadership capacity
> inside the Federal Public Service in Canada's government. Open Space isn't
> new to the government in Canada (there are likely others on this list who
> have stories), but it was the first time Governexx had used it.
>
> In 2012 I was brought in very late to the planning process and the OS was
> pretty short but enough to give them a taste. In 2014 we spent the morning
> in a Collective Story Harvest (a process from the Art of Hosting) and the
> afternoon in Open Space. You can see the Storify they put together from the
> day here <http://storify.com/Governexx/blueskies-2014-governexx-forum>.
>
> In our pre-work conversations for last week's event we talked a lot about
> "action". There was an urge from the planning team to ensure that action
> emerged from the Open Space, but when we explored it further the conditions
> to support action were not in place. We talked a lot about mandate, about
> what is possible is a 1/2 day OS and more... (Tim Merry has written a post
> on this<http://www.aohbtb.com/1/post/2013/11/getting-it-done-strategy-capacity-and-mandate.html> -
> strategy, capacity and mandate). Where we arrived was the central purpose
> of the day being about building relationships and connections, for people
> to find their 'tribe', and to cross-pollinate ideas. And we spent time in
> our pre-work process creating a harvest plan - in addition to the book of
> proceedings - which they are now working on bringing to life.
>
> Hope this is helpful - and like Harrison says there is no proof that it
> can/will happen again :)
>
> Cheers from a grey Canadian west coast morning,
>
> Amanda
>
> --
> Amanda Fenton
> participatory process designer and facilitator - hosting and harvesting
> conversations that matter
> amandafenton.com   Twitter: @amandafenton<http://twitter.com/amandafenton>
>  Skype: amanda-fenton   C: 604.802.7498
>
> *I've seen that there is no more powerful way to initiate significant
> change than to convene a conversation. ~ Margaret Wheatley*
>
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Feb 14, 2014 at 7:34 AM, Tricia Chirumbole <
> tricia at mojocollaborative.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi all!
>>
>> This is part 2 of a request for fodder for my discussions with the new
>> mayor of Pittsburgh, PA re: Open Space inspired civic engagement
>> initiatives. They watched the video of the Harrisonburg, VA mayoral Open
>> Space summits and said they were, "very cool", but apparently wanted more
>> "proof".
>>
>> *The scoop: *Good news so far! I was in the Mayor's office last week and
>> learned that they are very sincere about wanting to develop a civic
>> engagement platform, and they even said lovely things like they don't want
>> it to be top-down and they want participation in actual community
>> development - not just feedback/town halls.
>>
>> They also mentioned early on that they could use "something like this"
>> for *internal work* - citing low morale from the last mayor who left in
>> scandal and the fact that some of the people have probably worked there for
>> 30 years and never been asked their thoughts on anything.
>>
>> *Request: *They are interested in more examples of governments
>> sponsoring this type of citizen-directed and designed civic engagement.
>>
>> Three specific questions: 1) How do we make sure people feel safe?; 2)
>> How do we ensure that there are no repercussions for people sharing openly?
>> (in reference to an internal Open Space); and 3) How do we get a diversity
>> of people to participate?
>>
>> I gave responses to all of these that I think made sense, but *any
>> references, videos, examples of government external or internal open space
>> work * would be MUCH appreciated! I think any level of government in any
>> country would do.
>>
>>
>> Thanks so much for reading this lengthy epistle!  May you share and feel
>> the love today and always :)
>>
>> Tricia Chirumbole
>> Open Space Facilitator, Certified Scrum Master
>> Mojo Collaborative
>> www.mojocollaborative.com
>>
>> 571-232-0942
>> skype: tricia.chirumbole
>> twitter: @themojozone
>>
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