Between Mystery and Mastery , thesis by Theo Groot, Kampala, Uganda, May 2003

In September 2001 I had the privilege to take a one-year sabbatical to embark on a course in organization development and consultancy at Sheffield Hallam University in the U.K. One of the characteristics of the above mentioned OD course is the harmonious integration of academics, practical skills and personal development. This dissertation is a reflection of my learning journey.

As development workers we are by the very nature of our work focussed on bringing about deliberate change in communities and organisations. During my course I became increasingly interested in complexity theory and its implications for development work and I consider Open Space Technology to be a practical way of dealing with change from a complexity perspective. Further more Open Space is very close to Central and Eastern Bantu approaches to change as I explain in this research thesis.

I can be contacted on: bduganda@afsat.com