Enhanced Open Space (eOS)

I was introduced to the Open Space Technology (OST) in 2003 when the newly formed Facilitators Network Singapore (FNS) brought this to the country as part of their effort to introduce facilitation to the nation. Subsequently, I attended a three-day workshop, where I was ‘certified’ to conduct OST both as an organiser and facilitator.

Embedded in the OST process, are its capabilities of inviting, self-organising, and hosting large audience participation. However, it has limitations. Three are identified:

+ The breakout team lacks a group based process that could effectively ‘pull’ the wisdom out of the participants, organise the wisdom and record the knowledge systematically, and democratically reach a conclusion in the conversation.

+ The participants in the team do not possess the tools necessary to identify their wisdom, critically challenge them, and using the insights to generate new knowledge.

+ The Law of Two Feet, while empowers the participants with the freedom to join and exit the breakout groups, also weakens the groups’ capacity to unstuck and move the conversation forward, and thereby, reaching breakthroughs.

Understanding these weaknesses, I had the opportunity to create the Enhanced Open Space (eOSTM), which brought together three technologies.

These are:

Traditional Open Space Technology (OST)

Open Space Technology is a way to invite and convene different stakeholders to a large scale gathering where participants generate their own agendas, allocate their own time and duration, enthuse participation in the breakouts, and encourage group level conversations. Usually, the gathering is facilitated, and there are principles and rules that participants have to comply with to encourage the democracy in participation, commitment, and contribution at the event.

Rules of OST:

• Whoever comes are the right people
• Whatever happens is the only thing that could have
• Whenever it starts is the right time
• When it's over, it's over
• Where the Law of Two Feet should apply, will apply

Innovation ThinkTM

Innovation ThinkTM was first conceptualised in 2003, developed, tested and implemented in the Ministry of Defence by me from 2004 as a way to help teams focus their creative capacity, use their wisdom, combine knowledge, and generate ideas. Its birth came from my awareness and understanding in the limitations of traditional brainstorming methods where difficulties are in contextualising, screening, and organising large amount of ideas arising from the using these methods.

Innovation ThinkTM (aka iThink) has four steps:

• Brainstorming - drawing what are already forgotten
• BrainConnectingTM - combining and recombine existing knowledge
• IdeaSmashingTM - breakthroughing old frames and heuristics
• AngleOfAttackTM - determining the key thrusts for the idea-solutioning

Tricks of InnovationTM

The Tricks of InnovationTM is a box of tools that challenges assumptions, articulates challenge statements, develops broad ideation approaches, and creates and refines new ideas. The tools enable the users to breakout from their usual framing contexts and thinking heuristics so that they could think freely without hindrance of the past.

Tools in Tricks of InnovationTM include:

+ The Eager Attack – Locating the centre of gravity
+ CSx – Clarifying and articulating the challenge of a problem
+ Reversal X – Finding answers by opposing what’s known
+ SD Cards – Finding answers by examining their attributes
+ Split – Finding answers by divide and conquer
+ iBox – Finding answers by looking at their parameters
+ aSCAMPERTM – Advance SCAMPER for re-finding the answers

When I was told that the Defence Management Group (DMG, Ministry of Defence, Singapore) wanted to enrich her culture with creativity and innovation, I jumped on the opportunity by proposing to Mr Lim Hup Seng (the Deputy Secretary for Administration at that time) the conduct of a large scale event called the DMG Innovation Jam (iJam) on 8 Oct 2003.

This was where I tested eOSTM, and the successful implementation of the process and the positive outcomes at iJam helped the MINDEF Innovation and Transformation Office (MITO) secured her nominated for the DMG Community Award (Team) for Kickstarting her culture for Innovation that year.

The key takeaways reported by the 200 plus participants who attended the whole day event were that participants:

• were introduced to an alternative but highly innovative and democratic approach that engages large audience in creativity and innovation.

• were able to experience an unique group based process that that truly generated new knowledge and breakthrough ideas that was very different from the traditional brainstorming methods.

• were using simple but powerful ideation tools that forced them to think laterally than linearly.


Copyright 2007. Anthony Mok. All Rights Reserved.