There are Five Preconditions for Open Space:

• Real issues of concern
• Diversity of players
• Complexity of elements
• Presence of passion
• Decision time was yesterday.

In Open Space meetings, participants create and manage their own agenda of parallel working sessions around a central theme of strategic importance.

There are Four Principles of Open Space

• Whoever comes is the right people
• Whatever happens is the only thing that could have
• Whenever it starts is the right time
• When it’s over, it’s over.

There is One Law of Open Space

• The Law of Two Feet - if you find yourself in a situation where you are neither learning nor contributing, use your two feet. 

Open Space is without formal prescribed agendas and can appear to lack structure. Yet, an Open Space meeting is highly structured through the capacity of self organization. Those who care and are prepared to take responsibility for change step up and drive the change agenda with an energy and commitment that no imposed management–driven design could prescribe.

What will happen?

We never know exactly what will happen when we open the space for people to do their most important work, but we can guarantee these results when any group gets into Open Space:

• All of the issues that are MOST important to the participants will be raised.
• All of the issues raised will be addressed by those participants most qualified and capable of getting something done on each of them.
• In a time as short as one or two days, all of the most important ideas, discussion, data, recommendations, conclusions, questions for further study, and plans for immediate action will be documented in one comprehensive report -- finished, printed and in the hands of participants when they leave.
  

The meeting duration depends on the number of people and the number of issues they put on the agenda. With groups of 5 to 2000 -- working in regular weekly staff meetings, one-day workshops, three-day conferences, the results are powerful and effective

Impact of Open Space

It all begins with an invitation

• Palpable passion
• Voluntary responsibility and accountability for issues of concern
• Connection at all levels across all divides
• Opening of the mind and heart
• Energy for change and action

“In the 20 year period since 1985 when I created Open Space, it has been used in excess of 60,000 times in 108 countries with groups ranging in size from 5 – 2000. Typical applications have included such things as strategic and tactical planning for Rockport Shoes Inc – in which some 400 employees established goals and directions for their company in addition to developing a totally new product and redesigning their inventory system. All of this was accomplished in 2 days, and except for the opening and closing of the event there was absolutely no intervention by the facilitator (me) at any time. The people did it all by themselves.

In another case, some 2008 German Psychiatrists gathered for a single day’s event intended to synthesize their collective learning at the conclusion of their biannual conference and further build the common body of knowledge. In all they created 236 working groups in about half an hour, self-managed the entire process and produced a book of proceedings as a record of their effort.

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