Government ADM

Context

1. Name of Interviewer/Facilitator:

Larry Peterson

2. Date of Interview:

January 10, 2005

3. Role of Person Interviewed:

Assistant Deputy Minister, Health Integration Lead

4. Country Where Event Held:

Canada

5. Sector/Business:
Government: Provincial

6. How Many OST Events Has the Interviewee's Organization/Unit had?
14 in last Month

7. Theme of This OST Event:


Opportunities for Health Integration in a “Region”

8. Key organisational challenges, issues, drivers for this Event?
-Establishing a new regionalized health structure and approach
-Engaging communities in planning through self-organization
-Fostering client centered integration of health care services

9. Date of Event:

14 events between November 19 and December 10, 2004

10. Number of participants:

Combined: 3,800 different people. Largest 480

11. How long was the event?
1 day for each event

12. Planning Process with the Client
a. Number of Planning Meetings? 6


b. Length of Planning Process (weeks or months)? 3 Weeks


c. Number of people involved in the planning of the event? 14


13. Follow-up with regard to this event
a. Was the follow-up planned before the event took place? No


b. Number of Follow-up Meetings

3 planning and a 2 day event

Interview responses

1. How would you describe your experience of Open Space Technology?
-Saw initial disbelief that it would be self-directed by the participants, and then it was
-Respect for individuals and their expertise, their leadership and contribution was valued
-Ability to present and discuss issues in a non-threatening, non-territorial way
-Truncated – not enough time to go beyond the box


2. Describe the impact of OST on:
a.The people who attended
-They now believe the regionalization will happen
-They now believe that there is and will be community involvement
-They now believe their reports will have value in the future and will affect policy
-There is recognition of government’s commitment to this initiative
-They see the dedication of the team and commitment indicated by ADM participation in the whole day
b.On organizational results
-Given that there were almost 4000 participants in total, there has been a ripple effect throughout the community
-Reaffirmed that this regionalization initiative will happen
-Groups coming out of events have self-organized, drawn others into the process and are doing the work needed to move forward
-People are eager now to compare stories and experiences
-Some groups have already developed a newsletter
-The whole change process has gotten legs.
-Now recognizing that there are variations and differences
-Sense of ownership is developing
-Hospital associations are now concerned that their issues are not dominant, that there is initiative across the whole system
-Client or individual focus has taken hold, It has started to flip the focus or culture of the system.



3. How was it different from your experience of other approaches?

-Control and focus is in the hands of participants
-It encourages people, permits them, to go where they want to go
-Have to trust that they are educated, competent professionals

4. Given your experience, in what circumstances would you recommend the use of OS to others?

-In any situation where you truly want participants input in decision making.
-I used some of the principles in a recent staff meeting
-The principles are adaptable in many situations
-When you want to understand what people are really thinking
-When you are looking for solutions