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The Open Space Discussion is an idea for making meetings grass-rooted and even more effective, now and in future. It follows the law of two feet: if you find yourself in a situation where you are not contributing or learning, move somewhere you can.
The Four Open Space Principles:

• Whoever comes is the right people.
• Whatever happens is the only thing that could have happened.
• When it starts is the right time.
• When it's over it's over and when it's not over it's not over.

World Cafe
World cafe is another effective hosting method. Similar to open space, World Cafe was created because of the realisation that the most important conversations happen in the coffee break. World cafe has the setting of a hospitable cafe and creates a living network of collaborative dialog around questions that matter in real life situations. It makes the collective knowledge visible.

What is Open Space Technology?
Open Space Technology is one way to enable all kinds of people, in any kind of organization, to create inspiring meetings and events. Over the last 20+ years, it has also become clear that opening space, as an intentional leadership practice, can create inspired organizations, where everyone works together to create extraordinary results with regularity.

In Open Space situations participants create and manage their own agenda of parallel working sessions around a central theme of strategic importance, for example: What is the strategy, group, organization or community that all stakeholders can support and work together to create?

With groups of 5 to 2000+ people - working in one-day workshops, three-day conferences, or the regular weekly staff meeting - the result is a powerful, effective connecting and strengthening of what is already happening in the organization: planning and action, learning and doing, passion and responsibility, participation and performance.

• For information about Open Space see the User's Guide.

Though Open Space Events can appear chaotic, it can be helpful to use some organisational tools in Open Space. Methods to do so can be Moderation sometimes referred to as as Metaplan technique.

Whereas the moderators or facilitators take care of structuring discussions, encouraging participants, visualizing ideas and results, try to establish a positive climate ... the community concentrates on ideas, creativity and achieving results.

• See for example Moderation in agenda-processes, which holds many advices on what moderation in this context is and how to moderate,
• Advices on Moderationsmethode on one sheet of paper (pdf)

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When and Why?
Open Space works best when the work to be done is complex, the people and ideas involved are diverse, the passion for resolution (and potential for conflict) are high, and the time to get it done was yesterday. It has been called 'passion bounded by responsibility', 'the energy of a good coffee break', 'intentional self-organization', 'spirit at work', 'chaos and creativity', 'evolution in organization', and a 'simple, powerful way to get people and organizations moving - when and where it's needed most'.

While Open Space is known for its apparent lack of structure and welcoming of surprises, it turns out that the Open Space meeting or organization is actually very structured - but that structure is so perfectly fit to the people and the work at hand, that it goes unnoticed in its proper role of supporting (not blocking) best work. In fact, the stories and work-plans woven in Open Space are generally more complex, more robust, more durable - and can move a great deal faster than expert- or management-driven designs.

More information:

• Open Space World