[OSList] Research OST

Wed Mar 1 05:44:27 PST 2017

Dear Jan,

reading you review I was reminded of the Quakers initiatives after WWII 
in Berlin. They founded half a dozen Community Centers. In 1973 and the 
years after I was in contact with one of the centers (in the then 
American Sector of Westberlin) and experienced their work and approach.
In this particular community center (Mittelhof) conditions were perfect 
for introducing Community Organizing which was brandnew in Berlin in the 
early seventies.
One of the recurrent challenges was the hunch that selforganisation of 
communities could not really be and did not need to be organized. Out of 
this the "community organizers", me included, figured out what I would 
now put into the bag "Action Research" a way to "organize" ourselves in 
our attempt to find out how our work as community organizers should be 
conducted.
The result was what we then called "Collegiate Counselling". Basically, 
it was a time, task and roll structured process which I now know was 
very similar to open space (which I heard about as such 23 years later 
running into HO and The Lady Who Walked to the North Pole at an 
os-training in England).
We had taken great care to "exclude" professional guidance, 
professionals from the Schools of Social Work considered to be part of 
the establishment and chose "selforganisation", that which we had tried 
to organize in the communities we were working in. Subconsciously, we 
know that this was an oxymoron.
Ok, long story.
Point is, that "research" along the Quaker line, is what I think OST is 
the best approach to without formally being a Quaker. Taking our own 
technology to delve into the investigation of our work. We often do 
that, for instance during the WOSonOS or in the many other events we 
designed to bring out more questions about our art and what is behind it.
Having interviews before, during, after and a while later to get some 
light on some aspects of an OST event was done very well with the 
"US-West" video, also a while back. It can be had as a video or 
digitalized from the OSI USA. Hereis the intro

"US West Open Space- (available on DVD, VHS and PAL) – 16 minute video. 
If picturing or describing an Open Space event is difficult for you, 
this video gives you a feel for the experience. It takes you from the 
beginning of an event held by US WEST through its completion. It also 
follows several participants back into the work place. In addition, 
Harrison Owen, originator of Open Space Technology, describes the 
basics. Through participant interviews, scenes from the event and 
explanations by Harrison, you will begin to understand the potential of 
Open Space Technology. Price: US$40 (now available on YouTube)"

Here is the link
> http://openspaceworld.org/wp2/explore/books-videos/

Have a great day and thanks Jan for getting my old brain into recalling 
the old days

Peace
mmp

Am 01.03.2017 um 14:09 schrieb Jan Hoglund via OSList:
> Hi Hege,
>
>
> One book which can be interesting in relation to research on OST is "/A
> Quaker Approach to the Conduct of Research: Collaborative Practice and
> Communal Discernment/" by Gray Cox et al. I'm personally very interested
> in how communal discernment can be used as a practice to enhance
> collaboration between people, including research.
>
>
> Here's my book
> review: http://janhoglund.eu/book-reeview-a-quaker-approach-to-research/
>
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> Jan Höglund, Sweden
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* OSList <oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org> on behalf of
> Hege Steinsland via OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, February 22, 2017 16:54
> *To:* World wide Open Space Technology email list
> *Subject:* [OSList] Research OST
>
> Hello.
> I`m working on an article about the experience with OST in Norwegian
> work- places, in particular municipalities.
> I wonder if there are som kind of overview of earlier research on the
> field, published and unpublished
>
> Would be great :-)
>
> All the best
> Hege Steinsland
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-- 
Michael M Pannwitz
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