12/06/2023

Use Open Space Technology to Transform Your Meetings

New ways to engage and foster innovation in virtual education

In June 2023, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) tried a new format for online learning and engagement. AASHE's Sustainability Education Forum, a conference for members who are faculty professionals engaged in sustainable education, was a novel event using an Open Space Technology format. OST is a method for facilitating gatherings that promotes self-organization and collaboration among participants where attendees propose topics for discussion that become the meeting agenda.

Empowering attendees to co-create the event's experience not only promoted creativity, engagement and the free exchange of ideas but also supported informal networking and relationship building.

The Setup

The sustainability forum would be the first time AASHE organized a faculty-specific conference. Typically, these conferences are designed with predetermined topics and speakers. Engagement and interaction with topics, speakers, and other participants mostly takes the form of short Q&As. Networking generally occurs in the hallways and sometimes outside the conference schedule.

Please select this link to read the complete article from ASAE’s Center for Association Leadership.