1 Reporting on Open Spacewww.rhizome.coop

Reporting oon OOpen SSpace Rhizome guide to

One of the attractions of Open Space Technologyis the real time reporting on the conversations thatare happening. Traditionally each conversation isminuted in some way, such as on a report form oron flipchart paper. These are then displayed on thenews wall so that people can begin to read reportsof conversations they missed as soon as thoseconversations are over.

This encourages cross-pollinationas ideas are taken into laterconversations. In many Open Spacesthe participants also leave with acopy of all the conversation reportsin their hand, sometimes called abook of proceedings. Of course,given the progress in technology,hard copies of reports may no longerbe appreciated in the way that theyonce were.

Here’s a few of the options open tothe facilitators and organisers ofOpen Space for taking, displayingand sharing reports:

Self-organised spaceFrom an organiser’s point of viewanother attraction of Open Space isthat it’s a self-organised space. Muchof the usual post-event drudgery oftyping up minutes or trying todecipher and type up flipcharts isbuilt into the Open Space process aspart of the conversation hosts’responsibilities. Here’s some of themore obvious means of taking anddisplaying notes during the OpenSpace:

• Report forms or flipchart paperare handwritten and are thenposted on the news wallthroughout the event. Simple! Forlarger Open Spaces wall space canbe an issue. Extra wall space mightbe able to be created by the use ofwashing lines and pegs, or bystanding tables on their end toprovide a vertical surface.

• Report forms are written by handand then typed up at a bank ofcomputers provided for thatpurpose (called the newsroom).They can be printed and posted onthe news wall as well as beingsaved for the final report (seebelow).

• Increasingly people are takingnotes straight onto their ownlaptops. This simplifies the processof compiling a report for the end ofthe event. To ensure compatibilityprovide a downloadable templatereport form. Reports can simply beuploaded from the laptop to acentral computer or website, oremailed to a single email address ifthere’s a wireless internetconnection, and then collated.Reports are traditionally viewed ona news wall. If reports are uploadedto a website, people can view themonline, but you might want to thinkabout also printing them fordisplay.

Open Space with reports on the walls behind. Photo: Ed Mitchell

Photo: Rhizome.coop

Using computers effectively• Balance the number of

participants and the number ofcomputers.

• Given our addiction totechnology people may well beusing any computers youprovide to surf the web ratherthan read reports. This doesn’tnecessarily need to be a problem(after all it’s Open Space) unlessthey're causing a bottleneck thatprevents others catching up onthe news.

• A news wall might be easier tolocate close to areas in whichpeople naturally congregate,leading to a higher uptake ofreading reports. A bank ofcomputers may not be so easy tolocate in this way.

Spread the WordNow you’ve taken and displayed thenotes, how do you collate and sharethem as a final report?

• Handwritten reports arephotocopied and collated into afinal report and given toparticipants as they leave. If youdon’t have time to copy andcompile all reports during the finalplenary, do some as you go along –for example at the end of eachround of conversation, or at the endof each day.

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Reporting on Open Space www.rhizome.coop

Rhizome is a co-operative ofexperienced facilitators, trainers andmediators. We work with co-ops, andcampaigning and community groupsacross the UK, and with those nationalorganisations that support activism andparticipation in all its forms.

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• Handwritten report forms can alsobe scanned. They can then beuploaded to a website or emailedto participants. Depending on thescanning hardware and software inuse, this task can be added to theconversation hosts’ responsibilities.

• Typed reports: If you’re able toprovide a bank of networkedcomputers in your newsroom,conversation hosts can type uptheir notes. Choose a common andeasy to use word-processingapplication or a simple databasesuch as those provided in OpenOffice http://why.openoffice.org/.These can then be:

• typed directly onto a wiki website for viewing during and after the event. A wiki is a collaboratively written website. Many wikis are easy to use for those with experience of common word-processing applications.

• printed and handed out as a hardcopy at the close of the event.

• burnt onto CD/DVDsand handed to participants as they leave.

• uploaded to one of the many file-hosting websites or shared web spaces available, many of which are free. Participants leave with the web address and log-in detailsand can read the report online, orprint them if they so desire.

• emailed to the participants so that the report is in their inbox when they next check their mail. Be sure that everyone has email access.

• If you’re using flipchart paper totake notes from the conversationsyou can digitally photograph eachone as it’s posted on the news wall

and upload the images to awebsite or email them to

participants. Digitalphotos tend to createquite large files whichcan easily fill a webmailuser’s inbox. Reduce the

image quality setting onthe camera to reduce the

file size. Scaled down photoscan be dropped into a powerpointslide show which is easier to emailaround and view.

SupportThe best support you can offer is toprovide clear and accessible writteninstructions to your chosen reportingprocess. This both helps theparticipants use the process, andsaves you a lot of work helping themto do so. Simple graphics to illustratethe process will help immensely.

Flipchart ‘mind-map’ notes in an OpenSpace group. Photo: Ed Mitchell

TaggingMany websites now make it easyto tag documents and photographs– that is to attach one or more keywords to the document or image.This allows Open Spaceparticipants to browse the collatedconversation reports using thetags. In theory it’s possible for aparticipant to easily find anyconversation that took place overthe course of the Open Spaceevent that’s relevant to theirinterests. If people's names areused as tags, they can also easilylocate the conversations theyattended, for example.

It’s worth reminding ourselves thatthere are still many people out therenot fluent with all of thesetechnologies and you don't wantanxiety about filing a report to stopsomeone offering to host aconversation. There may be peoplewho are perfectly capable of usingthe technologies but don't want tohave to create a new online accountto access documents or photosshould they not already be a user ofyour proposed file-hosting website.A good rule of thumb is probably usethe minimum technology you feelthat you can get away with.

You can offer ‘technical support’ totroubleshoot issues that arise. But ifthe process is fairly straightforwardand explained well you can be trueto Open Space’s ‘self-organisedspace’ ethos and allow participants tosupport each other.

A good rule ofthumb is probablyuse the minimum

technology you feelthat you can get

away with.

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