Open Space at Pierce College: A Work in Progress

Richard Henry, Dean of Institutional Technology

According to Bell Research Laboratories a daily edition of the New York Times contains a greater quantity of information than a 15th century human had to process in their entire lifetime. One inescapable outcome of this vast complexity is that it is impossible for one person, or even a small group, to be able to take in, process, and interpret all the vast inputs that impinge on a given problem or situation. It is no longer possible, if it ever was, for a single leader to know in which direction we should go. And yet solutions exist in the group; no one person knows, but together we all know. The essence of Open Space is to create an environment where the group wisdom comprised of the contribution of each individual's experience and spirit can emerge.

Pierce College is one of Washington's largest community colleges, serving approximately 15,000 students (5,000 fte) each year. We also operate from five major sites and a host of smaller ones. We experience the same difficulties with communication, common understanding and shared vision that every human organization experiences. We have been using Open Space methods and principles for about a year. Here is a progress report.

A group of seven faculty and administrators attended a five day Open Space training in February 1996. We learned the theoretical concepts and practical methodologies of Open Space. Much more significantly, we experienced Open Space and the true community it can foster.

Open Space works at multiple levels, from the rather prosaic to the deepest core of human experience, and the outcomes of Open Space can range from "just" a very efficient method for group problem solving, to creating community, to changing our way of being in the world and affecting every aspect of our lives. Pierce College has experienced this whole spectrum of possibilities.

Our first opportunity for an Open Space event came quickly, just a few weeks after the training. McNeil Island is a state penitentiary where Pierce College operates an educational program under contract with the Department of Corrections (DOC). A third major player is Correction Industries, which uses inmate labor to manufacture office furniture for sale to state agencies. The state legislature had recently passed a new statute mandating significant cut-backs in educational opportunities for inmates. Open Space purports to work best when time lines are short and there is high potential for conflict. Both of these factors were at play at McNeil Island, and also the fact that a prison environment, by the very nature of the business, is steeped in distrust. This was a challenging situation for our first effort with Open Space. And the results were remarkable. There were concrete and also less tangible outcomes. One of the most significant tangible results was the commitment to greater collaboration by the leadership of the three major units at the prison, DOC, Correctional Industries, and the education unit. Decisions by each of these units have great potential impact on the other two, yet in the past, decisions were often made in isolation. Getting the leadership in the same room to discuss their interdependence and acknowledge the need for on-going collaboration was a direct result of the Open Space. Less tangible, and perhaps more important, was the opportunity for the education unit to express their fears and concerns around their uncertain future. The chance for them to be heard was an important step in their acceptance of inevitable changes and critical input to the decision making process so those changes could be as positive as possible.

Since that first event, we have held about a dozen other Open Space events with sub groups of the college involving from fifteen to fifty participants. Again, results have run from innovative solutions to specific problems to deep community bonding. Here are two examples, one from near each end of the spectrum.

Adequate support for computers is a crisis for almost every higher education institution. The number of computers has increased dramatically over the past decade, and so has the complexity, making each computer more difficult to support. Increases in support staff have not kept pace. At the same time, many of the users have developed significant computer skills on their own. We decided to hold an Open Space event focused on technology. The invitation was extended to the entire college. About 30 people from many departments and sites came together to explore the question, "How can we, how should we, how will we use technology at Pierce College to help achieve our mission?" Participants were invited to take responsibility for the aspects of technology they cared about. The result was a dozen ad hoc task forces working with the Institutional Technology (IT) department on a wide variety of initiatives. Just a few of many outcomes have been cross-campus contributions to a comprehensive training plan, a directory of software experts across the institution willing to help other staff, and the design and implementation of shared resources on the servers. These are all important projects that were completed more quickly and more comprehensively than if the besieged IT staff had worked alone. By opening the opportunity for involvement beyond IT, everybody wins. The institution gets new useful technology solutions that increase efficiency, the users get the technology they care about and also get to make contributions that enhance their sense of worth and meaning, and IT gets to leverage its strengths for greater effectiveness. One participant, expressing a common feeling, said, "It was great to work with people I don't usually work with on a project we all cared about. We got to apply skills and expertise not usually recognized in our job descriptions."

Continuing Education offers a wide variety of non-traditional courses at many different physical sites. Their geographical separation makes communication and connection difficult. An Open Space was held to address some of the problems they were facing. About 25 people participated. Although some of the agenda items emerging from the group had to do with "practical" details, most concerned feelings and relationships: the human aspects. Contrary to typical Open Space practice with multiple simultaneous sessions, everyone chose to stay together and work through all of the issues as a group. Hard emotional issues surfaced and were dealt with. Previously unacknowledged wounds were disclosed. At the end of the second day, enormous territory had been covered. Healing had begun. The Dean of Continuing Education said, "We went places I never expected to go, but where we needed to go. With 'business as usual,' we could have gone on for years without getting to the heart of the matter. By having a forum where the real issues were honestly addressed we reached a new level of understanding, acceptance, and commitment. We realize benefits everyday from that Open Space."

Open Space is inherently unpredictable; there’s a fair degree of faith required to launch an Open Space event. And, having been a participant in an Open Space event, having experienced Open Space, is very different than being told about it. So it’s not uncommon for decision makers who have not experienced Open Space to be skeptical or reluctant. We encountered some of this at Pierce. However, the fact that we had a team who attended the training was very helpful. Our responsibilities cover a broad spectrum of the college offering a number of opportunities for specific events. And our common experience created a natural and effective group for brainstorming, coaching, help with logistics, and moral support.

As the college gains more experience with Open Space we also become more open to it. Success breeds success. With every Open Space event at the college we’ve achieved different and far better results than we expected. And, with every event, more people have directly experienced Open Space. The events so far have involved subsets of the college. We are now planning an Open Space event for spring '97 that will include the entire college.

Open Space is more than the event; it is a philosophy, a way of being. It's about allowing people to be involved in what truly has heart and meaning for them. There is no denying that a one or two day Open Space event is transformative, and always yields a high return on investment. And yet, in a large and complex organization it is logistically difficult to clear everyone's calendar. We are finding that an event is the best start, and periodic events are invaluable, especially when specific issues arise. We are also finding there are things that can be done between events to keep the spirit flowing. We are actively exploring ways to incorporate Open Space principles between actual Open Space events.

One idea we are considering is an on-going or "rolling" Open Space. We will establish a routine place and time so everyone will know the opportunity exists. By using a combination of virtual, e.g. e-mail, and physical agenda "market place," e.g. a centrally located wall for posting, sessions will be proposed by interested conveners a day ahead of the established time. Those interested can then meet face-to-face for the session. Another idea we are pursuing is network software that enables asynchronous discussions that can transcend both place and time. (A listserv is a simple way to do this but there are much more effective technological options. An excellent compendium of the choices and respective advantages is available on the Web at http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/collab/conferencing.html.)

We don't expect these alternatives to be as effective as an actual Open Space event. We do expect them to be a good adjunct to extend the power of Open Space events. We are not looking for the one tool that works in every situation, but rather a well stocked tool kit from which we can select the most appropriate tool for the particular context.

Many organizations are recognizing that work must be more than trading some hours for some dollars. This is true for the health and well being of both the organization and the individual. To get the inspired performance necessary to be effective in today's world, people must find meaningful participation in their work. Open Space is a powerful model and method to allow people to be more fully engaged in their work.

Rich Henry is Dean of Institutional Technology at Pierce. He is especially interested in the role of community in effective learning, and how technology can be employed to enhance both community and learning. Pierce College, 9401 Farwest Dr. SW, Lakewood WA 98498. rhenry@pierce.ctc.edu.