[OSList] Opening Space for Developmentally challenged adults

Sun Mar 30 17:53:50 PDT 2014

Thank you!! This is what my instinct has been saying; and of course it is
what self-advocacy is all about!

If anyone is in central New York and would like to join us, check out the
Srlf-Advocacy Association of NYS. We'll be weaving their Self-Advocacy
training into a pilot summer day camp at Robert Treman State Park in Ithaca
in late July.-  and I'm hoping for a one-day OS on what this camp can
become in the years ahead, based on what the folks themselves want.

- Patricia
On Mar 30, 2014 8:37 PM, "Harrison Owen" <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:

> Pat ... can't recall the names. Been a long time ago. But the answer is
> Yes, and the results were remarkable. A Canadian group running sheltered
> workshops used Open Space for their annual conference. They held the event
> in one of their facilities, and when the clients came down in the morning,
> they found the main room set up with a circle of chairs. They sat down, and
> the staff then had to figure out what to do with them. Wisdom prevailed,
> and the clients stayed. Open Space worked as usual with everybody
> participating. The CEO of the organization wrote me some months later to
> say that a most remarkable thing had happened. When they came to their
> yearend financials, they discovered that they had doubled their services
> for the same cost. Seems that 1/2 half of the services offered were neither
> wanted nor needed, but nobody had ever bothered to check with the clients.
> All that happened in Open Space, and the result was a tad mind blowing. But
> not the least mind blowing...
>
>
>
> A year or so later I got another letter from the CEO who said that they
> had just finish their biannual client assessment in terms of coping skills.
> In the interim they had done a number of Open Spaces always involving the
> clients. She told me that the clients involved scored the greatest gains
> ever seen. She concluded by saying that she was sure I never had thought of
> Open Space as a treatment modality, but that in their experience it was the
> most powerful one they had ever seen.
>
>
>
> I can't prove any of this. Can't even remember the names of the client or
> the institution. But I sure do remember the letters. So I guess, opening
> space can do some good for just about anybody.
>
>
>
> Harrison
>
>
>
> Harrison Owen
>
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> *From:* oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org [mailto:
> oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] *On Behalf Of *Patricia Haines
> *Sent:* Sunday, March 30, 2014 8:04 PM
> *To:* World wide Open Space Technology email list
> *Subject:* Re: [OSList] Open Space and Authority
>
>
>
> Has anyone done an OS with developmentally disabled adults? I'm starting
> to work with the Self-Advocacy Association, and think such a gathering
> could be transformative.
> - Patricia Haines, Ithaca, NY
>
> On Mar 29, 2014 4:57 PM, "Daniel Mezick" <dan at newtechusa.net> wrote:
>
> I am asking for help. Will you help me clarify my thinking?
>
> I'm wondering if 100% equivalence in authorization for all participants is
> actually a key/defining characteristic of any genuine and authentic Open
> Space event...
>
>
> First things first. Definitions:
>
> Authority: The right to do specific work
>
> Authorization: The conferring of authority
>
> Formal Authority: Authorization conferred from the formal organization to
> a person. Example: "the CEO".
>
> Informal Authority: Authorization conferred from peers, colleagues and
> co-workers. Example: "emergent leadership".
>
>
> Now let's get into it. I currently think, and believe, that:
>
> 1. For an Open Space event inside an organization, the Sponsor must occupy
> a role with substantial formal authorization, definitely more than enough
> to actually authorize that OST event. The higher the level of formal
> authorization of the Sponsor, the better it is for the event overall.
>
> 2. The Sponsor authorizes the participants- the "invitees"-- to meet
> together, and do the specific work of exploring and investigating the
> Theme. This "authorized work" is done in "authorized space"...in that
> specific place, for a specific period of time. The Sponsor explicitly
> authorizes all of the above and conveys this message after they stand up,
> and before they sit down, at the opening.
>
> 2. The Facilitator is formally authorized by the Sponsor to do the
> specific work of OST event. Absent this authorization, the Facilitator has
> no standing.
>
> 3. This is the big one: Everyone else, Sponsor included, has 100%
> equivalent authorization (100% equivalent "right to do work") as of the
> moment of opening of the Bulletin Board and/or the opening of the
> Marketplace.
>
> 4. As the event progresses, authorization dynamics are in play. These
> "informal authorization" dynamics occur continuously throughout the day in
> real time, moment by moment. Those who experience net increases in levels
> of informal authorization as of the end of the meeting have membership in
> the "emergent leadership" group.
>
> I am very interested in what experienced folks think about the validity of
> the assertion in (3) above.
>
> Ex the Facilitator, does everyone else actually have 100% equivalent
> authorization in an OST meeting? Why or why not?
> Is this 100% equivalence of authorization actually a key/defining
> characteristic of any genuine and authentic Open Space event?
>
> Thanks for any insight you may be able to provide, and
>
> Kind Regards,
> Daniel
>
> --
>
> Daniel Mezick, President
>
> New Technology Solutions Inc.
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> (203) 915 7248 (cell)
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