Erika Sprey, Hans Bryssinck & Heike Langsdorf
In this co-learning day we will map some of the tried and tested methods for collective decision making. We kindly invite you to participate in an Open Space meeting about the following question: how to develop better practices in taking decisions as a group?
To this end, we are holding a preliminary Open Space Technology that allows the already present knowledge and experience in the room to surface and circulate freely, in an at once radically open and contained way. The technology is a self-organising method that was developed in the eighties by Harrison Owen when he discovered that most meaningful conversations happen at the coffee table - and not the actual meetings themselves. Turning the meeting inside out, he developed an impersonal frame ('technology') that welcomes energy and commitment and unwelcomes control.
For more information on Open Space technology, see here.
This is the 1st in a series of 3 co-learning days, dedicated to this topic. This day will serve as a first exploration pointing the way to the next co-learning day. The next 2 days will take place in 2019 (dates to be confirmed).
Some context: Horizontal artistic and activist collaborations often rely on spontaneity, openness and fluidity. But whereas these groups excel in creating a free-floating exchange of ideas, the transition from reflection to action, from divergence to convergence, from opening up to a narrowing down often proves to be challenging. How can we take all the different stakeholders, force fields, interests and voices into account if we want to make informed and joint decisions? What kind of decisions could any medium to large sized group - collaborations, collectives, organisations, etc. - face? And is there an 'art of decision making' that could guide these often unruly processes?