[OSList] Facilitation Survey

Michael M Pannwitz via OSList oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
Sat Mar 18 11:14:44 PDT 2017


Dear Bhav,

smiling back at you.

Looked at the survey. And at the description of "What is facilitation".
Yes, there are varieties of facilitation, many I guess.
I did not find anything in the definition of the researchers that comes 
close to what I understand "facilitation" to be in the context of Open 
Space Technology.
Where it might apply is in the selforganized "facilitation" that takes 
place in breakout sessions or in the Action Planning part of an open 
space where folks are more in a mode of a decision making ... still 
selforganized, of course. All done by the participants all on their own.

The phases in an OST event (welcome, stating the theme, focusing the 
group, describing the process and inviting issues) that most of us call 
"facilitation" is simply an introduction into a process in which we try 
to stay totally present and at the same time attempt to stay invisible.

This is an approach that I have seen only in OST events.

In fact, when the facilitation of the kind that is meant in the survey 
is exercised  in an ost event (I have often seen that) it has the effect 
of a space invasion with the result of reducing the space for 
selforganisation to unfold.

I am also pretty certain that the idea of a neutral facilitation is not 
part of the kind of facilitation that is meant in the survey.
"Helping groups achieve their jointly agreed outcome" is not a "neutral" 
activity. This  contradiction is unavoidable but needs to be faced by 
facilitators.

So, what would be a more fitting term of what we do under the "label" of 
"facilitation"?

In German language events I use the term "Begleiter"... in the sense 
"walking together for a stretch".

What terms are used for "facilitator" in other languages or what other 
terms are being used in English?

Cheers and greetings from Berlin
mmp

PS: I imagine that issues like the one above and many others will be 
dealt with at the Germany language OSonOS in May in Germany, take a peek
> http://www.meine-openspace-praxis.de/Dateien/open%20space%20Flyer.pdf


Am 17.03.2017 um 16:52 schrieb Bhavesh Patel via OSList:
> Hi Friends,
>
>
>
> Are you from Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands,
> Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom?
>
>
>
> If YES and you have some time before the 31^st March, please fill out
> this facilitation survey which should hopefully provide us all with some
> interesting insights: http://www.kalinax.com/facilitationhome.html
>
>
>
>
>
> Smiles Bhav…
>
>
>
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-- 
Michael M Pannwitz
Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
++49 - 30-772 8000



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