Open Space Technology: A User's Guide (Paperback)

by Harrison Owen (Author) "On 21 April 1992, 225 people or thereabouts gathered in Denver, Colorado, for a two-day meeting to develop cooperative arrangement for the effective expenditure of..." (more)
Key Phrases: village marketplace, breakout rooms, holding space, Medicine Wheel, Native Americans, South Africa (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Open Space Technology: A User's Guide is just what the name implies: a hands-on, detailed description of facilitating Open Space Technology (OST). Written by the originator of the method-an effective, economical, fast, and easily-repeatable strategy for organizing meetings of between 5 and 1,000 participants-this is the first book to document the rationale, procedures, and requirements of OST. OST enables self-organizing groups of all sizes to deal with hugely complex issues in a very short period of time. This practical, step-by-step user's guide details what needs to be done before, during, and after an Open Space event. 1

Owen begins by detailing all the practical considerations necessary to create Open Space. He begins with the most important question-should you do Open Space at all-and examines what types of situations are appropriate for Open Space Technology and what types are not. He goes on to look at nuts-and-bolts issues such as supplies, logistics, and who should come and how you should go about getting them there.

Product Details

• Paperback: 173 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; 2nd edition (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576750248
• ISBN-13: 978-1576750247
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #448,677 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for facilitators, December 6, 2000

By	Courtney L. Lewis "Sassy Librarian" (Kingston, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Harrison Owen, the creator of the facilitation concept of "open space", has written a fabulous user guide for anyone wishing to attempt this process. Not only does he outline in detail the nitty-gritty of effectively running a one to three day conference using this technique, but he also describes his own experience utilizing "open space". His stories are truly inspiring and do an excellent job of demonstrating the power of this method. I was especially impressed by the way he drew on several native american and west african philosophies to shape aspects of the facilitation.

Having participated in open space workshops, I had a good grasp of the idea and could easily picture what he described. For others who have not yet had that experience, reading another of his books, Tales from Open Space, might also be useful as it goes into more historical detail of the evolution of Owen's work and gives additional anecdotes.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Journey *Not* for the Faint of Heart, December 26, 2000

By	J. Brodnicki "TranceMeister" (Hendersonville, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I particpated in my first Open Space, a friend told me to trust the process. At first glance, Open Space seems not to make a lick of sense or too "airy fairy" to work. Its a powerful process I've used this book as a guide to help me facilitate many Open Space sessions.

I highly recommend this book if you want to facilite Open Space---it provides many good ideas for before, during and after the session, covers when and when not to use Open Space, and gives the would-be facilitor the mind- and heart-set to facilitate Open Space well. I would not recommend faciltiating Open Space without first experiencing it.

I've used Open Space with churches, as a partnership-building experience, in organizational change, and in forming national government programs---in the right hands and at the right time, Open Space is a powerful process---this book gives you tools to facilitate it. Use it wisely and well!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read!, April 23, 2001

By	Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract.com" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Harrison Owen presents a hands-on, step-by-step manual for putting on an open space technology workshop. In OST workshops, participants basically set and facilitate the agenda with some guidance from a facilitator. Here, the book's examples are particularly handy. Owen suggests conference duration, agenda and techniques including how to set up a meeting, invite participants, prepare the logistics and meeting site, facilitate activities and more. While these workshops generally involve hundreds of people, you can also put on an OST event with as few as five. If you want to read gripping business philosophy, look elsewhere - this is a practical how-to manual, a task it accomplishes quite well. We [...] recommend this informative guided tour of the OST process to those who want to know how, because they already know why