# Open Space

Participants co-create an agenda around a focal question, host self-selected breakout discussions, and post summary report sheets on a shared marketplace wall.

**Time:** 90 minutes. A 90-minute compact workshop session adapted from traditional day-long Open Space events.
**People:** 6 to 24. Whole-circle opening and closing, with simultaneous self-selected breakout groups of 2 to 8 participants across 3 designated stations.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Enable a group to build and execute its own discussion agenda focused on an urgent, complex question.
**Use it when:** Use when a group must explore multifaceted challenges and no single participant possesses the full agenda or answers.
**Skip it when:** Skip when decisions are predetermined, when direct top-down instruction is required, or when physical or digital movement between sessions is not permitted.

## Materials and tools

- 1 broad marker per participant
- 1 pack of 5x7 inch index cards (used as topic cards)
- 1 roll of painter tape
- 1 large wall grid or whiteboard marked with times and locations (Marketplace board)
- 6 blank session report sheets (printed copies of the Session Report Sheet, 2 per station for 2 rounds)
- 3 designated station signs (Station A, Station B, Station C)

## Before participants arrive

1. Arrange chairs in an open circle without interior tables.
2. Create a grid on a wall or board titled 'Marketplace' with rows for time slots (Round 1 and Round 2) and columns for breakout stations (Station A, Station B, Station C).
3. Place markers, index cards, and painter tape in the center of the circle.
4. Post station signs at 3 distinct areas in the room.
5. Place two blank session report sheets and two pens at each designated station.

## Say this to open

Welcome. We are addressing a single guiding question today: What are the critical priorities for our work together, and what will we do about them? We have no pre-set agenda. In a moment, anyone who wants to host a conversation will write a topic on a card, announce it, and tape it to our marketplace wall at an open station and time. You do not need to be an expert to host, just someone who cares about the topic. Remember our core principles: whoever comes are the right people; whenever it starts is the right time; whatever happens is the only thing that could have; and when it is over, it is over. You are guided by the Law of Two Feet: if you are neither learning nor contributing in a session, use your two feet to move to another space.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce principles and agenda creation (10 minutes)

Deliver the opening script. Explain the four principles and the Law of Two Feet. Define the central question. Clarify that hosts agree to show up at their chosen station and ensure someone records outcomes on the session report sheet.

### 2. Build the marketplace (15 minutes)

Invite participants to step to the center, take an index card, write their topic clearly, state it aloud to the room, and attach it with tape to an open slot on the marketplace board. Continue until all proposed topics are posted. Allow 3 minutes for everyone to walk to the board, read the offerings, and select their first destination.

### 3. Convene breakout round 1 (25 minutes)

Participants disperse to Stations A, B, and C based on their selected topics. Hosts open the discussion and ensure someone fills out the session report sheet. Participants stay or relocate at any time using the Law of Two Feet. Facilitator sounds a chime at 25 minutes to conclude the round.

### 4. Convene breakout round 2 (25 minutes)

Participants move to their second-round stations. Hosts lead the discussions and complete the second session report sheet. At 25 minutes, sound a chime to end the round. Instruct all hosts to post their completed session report sheets onto the marketplace board.

### 5. Return to circle and close (15 minutes)

Reassemble everyone into the main circle. Open the floor for brief, voluntary reflections on discoveries, surprises, or concrete next steps. Limit individual remarks to 1 minute so 8 to 10 participants can speak.


## Debrief questions

- What surprised you about the topics that emerged on our marketplace board?
- What practical action or experiment came out of your breakout sessions?
- Where did moving between sessions alter your perspective on the problem?

**Finished output:** Completed session report sheets capturing discussion summaries, tensions, and concrete next actions posted on the marketplace board.

## Remote

Configure a shared digital whiteboard with a marketplace matrix featuring 3 breakout stations (Rooms A, B, and C) across Rounds 1 and 2. Use the main video room for the initial circle. Participants create digital sticky notes with their topic and name, then place them on the grid. Enable participant-selected breakout room movement so individuals can move between rooms freely under the Law of Two Feet. Provide a digital copy of the session report sheet inside each breakout room document.

## Hybrid

Maintain a unified digital marketplace board displayed on an in-room screen. Set up 3 physical breakout stations, each equipped with a video call device and dedicated audio input. At the start of breakout sessions, the host asks for a volunteer hybrid liaison at each station. The liaison keeps the video window visible, monitors the remote chat, reads remote comments into the room, and ensures the digital session report sheet reflects contributions from both online and in-person attendees.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may propose a topic, attend any session as an active speaker, move between rooms, or review posted report sheets quietly without joining discussions.
- Speaking is optional in both the large circle and the breakouts; participants may contribute written notes on the report sheets or observe quietly without explaining their choice.

## If the session gets stuck

**Nobody steps forward to propose a topic during agenda creation.**

Allow silence for up to two minutes. If no one moves, restate the central question and emphasize that a simple point of confusion or an open question is a valid topic.

**Only one person attends a proposed breakout topic.**

Remind the host of the principle that whoever comes are the right people. That participant can use the time for independent planning and record recommendations on the report sheet, or join another station.


## Terms used here

- Marketplace: The physical or digital grid where participants post topics, times, and stations to form the working agenda.
- Law of Two Feet: The guideline directing participants to move to another space if they find themselves neither learning nor contributing.

## Participant material: Session Report Sheet

SESSION REPORT SHEET

Topic Title:
Session Host:
Time Slot (Round 1 or 2):
Station (A, B, or C):
Participants Present:

1. Core Highlights & Ideas Discussed:


2. Tensions, Disagreements, or Open Questions:


3. Next Steps or Actions (Who / What / By When):


(Tape this completed sheet to your slot on the marketplace board when the round ends.)

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Gamestorming. The source attributes Open Space Technology to Harrison Owen in the 1980s.

Retains the core mechanics, four principles, and Law of Two Feet from Open Space Technology as documented in Gamestorming. UWT condensed the multi-day format into a 90-minute design for 6 to 24 people, standardized on 3 stations and 2 distinct rounds, aligned materials with exact station counts, and detailed the hybrid liaison role.

[Gamestorming](https://gamestorming.com/open-space)

[Gamestorming](https://gamestorming.com/open-space/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/open-space/