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Open Space is a way of organising a meeting or a conference so that there is maximum participation, self-management, energy and focus. The process was designed by Harrison Owen and is used around the world by private, public and voluntary organisations for organisational development and consultation purposes.

Whatever the number of participants or time available, an Open Space meeting will allow everyone to work on the issues that they care about most, and for which they will take responsibility in the future.

An Open Space meeting must have a clear theme and focus. There are no formal speeches or presentations.

The meeting starts with all participants sitting in a circle. The sponsor introduces the theme of the meeting and the facilitator then explains how the process works. Participants are asked to think about the meeting's theme and the issues that matters to them. They are invited to come to the centre of the circle and write down their topic on a piece of paper, read it out and post it on the "agenda wall".

By the end of the first half an hour the agenda wall is covered with workshop topics which form the basis for the programme for the day/s. Each workshop is allocated a time and a breakout space.

 Participants then decide which groups to take part in, according to their interests. Workshops are led by the people who identified the topic, or someone else in the group if they prefer, and notes are taken by a volunteer reporter.

The only rule in an Open Space meeting is the "Law of 2 feet" - this encourages people to move if they find they are in a group to which they cannot contribute.

At the end of each workshop the notes are typed onto laptops and recommendations from each group posted on the walls. Participants are invited to prioritise all the recommendations so that everyone can see what matters most to most people. In meetings that are focussed on planning, this is followed by an action planning session to agree how things will be progressed.

Finally, all participants return to the circle to comment on their experience of the meeting. It is common for people to say they had felt uncertain before the event but had enjoyed meeting people, sharing and developing ideas, and collectively contributing to the future.

The typed record of the day's proceedings, including the prioritised recommendations, are posted or emailed to all participants within 48 hours of the meeting.

Clients using Open Space in the last year include:

To learn more about Open Space in the UK go to: www.openspaceuk.com