All you folks doing academic research on OS...we've been chasing this for a few years now and trying to get bits and pieces of research organized and in some cases even conducted on OST. I know there is lots of it happening and in my fantasy world it would be gathered and linked in one place. <br>
<br>So we have that place, at <a href="http://openspaceworld.org">openspaceworld.org</a>: <a href="http://openspaceworld.org/cgi/wiki.cgi?ResearchActivities">http://openspaceworld.org/cgi/wiki.cgi?ResearchActivities</a> where some research has alrady been collected. A few years ago Larry Peterson, Peggy Holman and I tried to do some research but it never really caught on.<br>
<br>Bottom line is that if you guys - Jamie, Sirin and others - start talking and discovering other research that is done, or somehow you begin a series of conversations about this topic, it would be great if you could share the results and buttress the OST academic research component in the world.<br>
<br>Also Jamie, I'm in BC and most of my work is with Aboriginal communities in Canada, and I'd be very interested to talk to you about a few initiatives that I have going on that needs someone who can lend a research eye to using Open Space for community governance. We even have some SSHRC money available for someone who would help us look at action based governance models for urban Aboriginal communities, stemming out of work we did in Prince George BC four years ago. There is a post at my blog which is an invitation to academic researchers: <a href="http://chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot/?p=1796">http://chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot/?p=1796</a> <br>
<br>Let's talk!<br><br>Chris<br><br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Dec 5, 2008 at 7:36 AM, Sirin Bernshausen <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:Sirin.Bernshausen@web.de">Sirin.Bernshausen@web.de</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">Hello Jamie,<br>
<br>
I am sorry for the delayed reply, but I really wanted to add my perspective to the discussion on Open Space and action research.<br>
<br>
For my PhD I am using a systemic action research (SAR) approach which I am particularly fond of because emergence and intuition are built into the research process. Several strands of inquiry are pursued alongside. Different kinds of knowledge experiential, analytical, etc. are co-generated among researcher and research participants. Evidence can come in various forms, including maps, stories, statistics, images, film or questionnaires. It just makes so much sense to combine systemic thinking with action research. Similarly, I am not interested in doing research just for its own sake. I prefer to conduct a form of research that contributes to increased knowledge and understanding of an issue while enhancing social transformation and whole system change.<br>
<br>
Since my research still is in its early stages and because of its emergent nature I cannot say an awful lot about the details yet. However, in a nutshell, I explore ways of enhancing attitude/behaviour change and facilitating resilience management in the context of climate change/peak oil. Initiatives like Transition Towns are use Open Space in order to engage people and plan for local resilience and energy descent. Danny Burns, author of Systemic Action Research, explicitly mentions Open Space, World Café and similar large-scale events for developing action inquiry strands that may run alongside or even develop into major inquiry streams. Large-scale events are particularly useful for opening up new inquiry questions, testing resonance of issues (whether they are sufficiently relevant to deserve further investigation), to generate a systemic (i.e. diverse, multi-faceted) picture of views and opinions and to tap the collective wisdom present within a system.<br>
For my own research, I plan to use Open Space mainly for generating new issues and for resonance testing. In addition to Open Space I carry out semi-structured in-depth interviews with change agents , explore public perceptions of global uncertainties and experiment with different workshop designs.<br>
<br>
Besides my PhD research I am also involved in a cooperative inquiry process a variant of action research where we map and reflect on the scope, nature and impact of conversations people have about vulnerability and resilience . What I like about cooperative inquiry (and action research in general) is that it is a participatory methodology which respects the agency and intelligence of individuals as capable researchers rather than viewing research as the preserve of trained professionals. In my opinion, this corresponds very much with the basic premises underlying Open Space and similar methods. This type of inquiry can at times be rather cumbersome and it may not produce the type of hard factual knowledge that conventional (positivist) researchers like to see. Yet this isn t necessarily a bad thing - findings may be more ambiguous but they are very rich and (in my view) much more in line with reality and how people make sense of the world. Plus, doing an Open Spac!<br>
e on, say, energy descent may generate valuable insights into people s thoughts and degree of awareness, while simultaneously changing people s views and attitudes. I thus hope to both enhance and document positive social change.<br>
<br>
For my MA thesis I have explored Open Space as a form of conflict resolution (i.e. I just wrote about Open Space but I did not put it into practice - something I'd certainly do differently today!). Jamie - I'd be very interested to learn more about your ideas and the evolution of your research ...<br>
<br>
<br>
Cheers, Sirin<br>
<br>
<br>
-------------------------<br>
<br>
Betreff: [OSLIST] Action Research Von: Jamie Snook <<a href="mailto:jamiesnook@YAHOO.COM">jamiesnook@YAHOO.COM</a>><br>
An: <a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a> Datum: 28.11.08 14:27:28 Uhr<br>
<div class="Ih2E3d"><br>
Hi Everyone,<br>
<br>
I am new to this list. I am a MA candidate from Royal Roads University in<br>
Conflict Analysis and Management. The ideas of systems thinking are less<br>
that 6 months old to me and recently I took the step of hosting a staff<br>
systems retreat for 25 staff members of the Labrador Metis Nation where I<br>
am the General Manager.<br>
<br>
We used Appreciative Inquiry, World Cafe and of course Open Space. The<br>
results were great and outside the scope of this email. I am just curious<br>
to see how well this Listserv works.<br>
<br>
I'd be interested to hear views from people on the use of Open Space to<br>
conduct thesis and or PHD research. I have ideas for my MA thesis and<br>
thinking Open Space might be a fun way to do the research.<br>
<br>
I am also wondering if anyone is conducting Open Space sessions or events<br>
online using forums or other technology?<br>
<br>
Thank you :-)<br>
<br>
Jamie<br>
<br>
<br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>CHRIS CORRIGAN<br>Facilitation - Training - Process Design<br>Open Space Technology<br><br>Weblog: <a href="http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot">http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot</a><br>
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