The Misnomer of Open Space

Recently there has been an explosion of “Open Space” events and sessions at conferences across the world. Suprisingly (or not-so-suprisingly) the results of these aren’t always this wonderful touchy-feely explosion of experience and sharing that open space events are made out to be. Why is that?

First, there are actually two types of events labeled in the “Open Space” realm:

• A big open space with a sign-up board where anyone walking by can jump into a conversation with whiteboards, markers, etc. Sessions in this type of event are extremely transient, and very much a “right-place, right-time” type of experience.
• “Open Space Technology” (OST) which is a much more focused event. OST is termed as a method for “running meetings of any size” which should give a clue to the focus.

The problems come when people fail to recognize what type of event they are trying to run, and slap a label on it without understanding the connotations of the name.

Let’s give some scenarios:

1. At a recent global technology conference, there were specific topics being discussed. There were pockets of groups wanting to collaborate, but struggling to fit into the session schedules provided. In this context, since there was a defined business purpose, an OST type session would be appropriate. A half to full day would be set aside to have the participants understand the purpose, devise sessions, and ebb and flow to explore the topics and come to solutions.
2. At a recent conference, an “open space” was provided for the several hundred attendees. The open space was run as an OST event, with formalities such as Walking the Circle, Closing Circle, and other ceremonies. However, since the group did not have a defined purpose, the OST style was not considered a success since the collaborative nature of an OST event couldn’t come into play.
3. At another recent conference, an “open space” area was provided without predefined sessions. Stations were provided with tables, whiteboards, markers, flip charts and other items. A centralized “schedule board” was available for those who wanted to schedule something, but mostly it was used as a collaboration place in between and after sessions, and worked very well.
4. At KaizenConf in Austin, TX, the entire conference was run as an OST-style event. Pre-sessions were given to give the participants a base level of knowledge, and a key theme was provided throughout the conference. The opening and closing circles helped hone in on the topics at hand and unite the threads that were formed.

With just a little bit of context, one can choose the right type of event for the crowd at hand. Sadly, many times organizers prefer to just provide something without the understanding of the purpose, or miss out on wonderful collaboration opportunities because of bad experiences with mis-named events.

So the next time you are planning on an “Open Space”, give thought to what your goals are, and really consider if what you are doing is appropriate to your attendees, your conference, and the topics at hand.