A Periodical Website Newsletter from Openfutures Ltd, Edinburgh, Scotland
June 2008  
 
  HIGHLIGHTS DURING 2008:   www.openfutures.com
  NEWS:   Events in 2008:

EVENTS THIS YEAR

It is a shock to realise how fast his year has flown so far – partly this is due to myself (Eddie Palmer) being involved with writing books in the tourism sector, and writing a blog for my publisher, a new effort for me!

So, apologies for tardiness in this newsletter.

The year got off to a different start for us; both Milda and I were involved in an extremely interesting conference held at Durham University in early January. Social Geographers were meeting from across the world to look at Action Research in their sector, and the organiser wished for an Open Space on the afternoon of the second day. Originally, good colleagues of ours from the Open Space community, Cliodha Mulhern, and Roma Iskander, were due to perform, but they had to withdraw due to health problems.

In the end, we mounted a workshop on the second morning, on both Appreciative Inquiry, and World Café, and then used the afternoon for an Open Space. Participants were very happy with the results, and no wonder, as most people there were using very similar methods to ourselves, and were relaxed about very participative methods.

We heard of great work being carried out in many African and Asian countries.

Out of this, we received requests to advise in several other places, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Leeds, and Durham itself.

We will now be working in June and July on events in both Durham and Stockton-on-Tees, on the relationships between the university and local communities; How can universities relate – who uses the Sports Centres? Computer centres? What are the volunteer opportunities for students? Results next time!

 

OTHER PEOPLE AND PLACES

Our colleague John Moore, from Open Futures Australia still has his Melbourne office, but has sold his house at Cockatoo, Victoria, and will be moving to France in the next few years. Look out for new work areas, new methods and new nomenclature and concepts! We will be seeing more of John soon in the U.K.

The World OSonOS Gathering takes place this year in San Francisco in mid-July, with much of the work done by Lisa Heft, a sure-fire OS groupie! Probably too busy to go, but we wish all of our colleagues all of the best.

Other work in the pipeline:

  • Pupils and parents, and new School Councils in Scotland
  • Detailed and local manifestos for Mental Health User organisations
  • Planning and opening new buildings

Eddie Palmer, May, 2008

  

February 2nd 2008, we ran one of the most exciting events for some time;

"Can you help us make Glasgow a more vibrant place to live?"
for the Glasgow Community Planning Partnership, administered by: Culture and Sport Glasgow, at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, one of the City’s favourite cultural icons. [more...]

2007 had great events…

  • June 2007 – Worked towards a Cultural Consortium for Shropshire and Telford – Open Space in Shrewsbury for 80
  • August/September 2007 - Interviewed over 100 water-users in the Great Glen (Caledonian Canal) for Forestry Commission Tourism Initiative
  • September 2007 – Saw reorganisation Issues for Arts Council North West in Manchester – Open Space for 100 [more...]
  • Summer 2007, lead up to the Birthday celebration at Aberdeen Conference Centre for the Reading Bus Project on October 4th – worked with parents and children on the differing reading ages for boys and girls in North Aberdeen (funded by Scottish Community Action Research Fund). Helped parents to prepare their ‘bus stop’ for the Conference.

SEE THE PHOTOS OF OCTOBER 4TH!

  • October 2007 – ‘Set the Agenda for a National Food Policy for Scotland’ – Open Space for over 100 for the Scottish Government Rural Affairs Department

  • November 2007 – Worked with the senior HR staff in Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) on development issues
Advice on logistics to clients

PURPOSE OF ADVICE

This advice primarily relates to Open Space events as this is the most common method used by us, but the principles apply to most of the other Large Group techniques used by Open Futures.

The purpose of the advice is to inform planning meetings for events, and act as a comprehensive record of our requirements. Our experience has told us that booking as suitable a venue as possible, and being as conscientious as possible about arrangements will to lead to a successful event. [more...]

Facilitators Manual The Large Group
Facilitator's Manual

This was published by Gower Publishing (details on our website) in the United Kingdom during March 2003 with the following positive reviews on the internet:

"There is plenty of detail making it a useful guide for beginners. A commendable addition to the literature... particularly suitable for change consultants, facilitators and conference organisers... the authors have allowed their passion for the subject to shine through without it ever dominating".
Graham O'Connell

"The authors deal with the subject matter in an easily accessible and digestible way... a useful addition to the literature."
Jo McHale, Hamelin Occupational Psychology, writing in People Management.

OFL seeks to build capacity in organisations to facilitate their own events without being dependent on outsiders. This can be achieved through training on either side of an actual event as follows: day one on planning, principles and mechanics; day two, participation in an actual event for your organisation; and day three, a de-briefing and Q&A session.

If you want to discuss this unique training package or a training workshop, please contact Eddie Palmer on:
eddiepalmer@classmail.co.uk or telephone 01307 820454.