I recently returned from the Exploring Innovation Conference in Community Development 2009 Conference in St Louis (www.exploringinnovation.org) sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis. I was engaged by the conference organizers to help design a conference that demonstrates creativity and best practices and this community building event exceeded my expectations.
The design was shaped by a couple of key objectives:
- To create an ongoing dialogue where input from conference participants shapes the conference content
- To facilitate learning for conference participants through a variety of methods that accommodate diverse learning styles
- To serve as a catalyst for future dialogues around topics of significant importance to community development
These objectives required a design that promotes creative thinking, interaction and community building in a large group conference setting. I’ve written a case study describing the methods and collaborative tools we used. I invite you to read the in-depth report on the conference design and download facilitation method sheets.
Before the Conference – Preparing Participants
Innovation Café
In order to build a sense of community amongst participants before the actual event, the team created the concept of an Innovation Café – a place to get to know each other, explore innovation styles and help shape the conference dialogue.
During the Conference – Interactive Plenary Sessions
Interactive plenary sessions would appear to be an oxymoron to most people, but this conference used innovative techniques and web technology to fully engage and hear from the participants – drawing on the wisdom of the group, creating a community and engaging in exploratory dialogue. Read an in-depth report on the conference design and download a methodology overview.
After the Conference – Continuing the Connection
The process of connection continues with the conference web site and Innovation Café – soliciting feedback and ideas for the next conference as well as providing full documentation from all the conference sessions.
At the end of the conference I considered a couple of assumptions that I had started with – one where I was proved wrong and one where I was right. First I had assumed that in the current economic climate, a conference about community development would be subject to a lot of gloom and doom. Here I was wrong. Participants arrived with an extraordinary dedication to their communities and the conference process allowed them to build on that commitment. The post-conference survey shows that their “optimism about community development” had made a significant jump up.
My second assumption was that the conference participants shared a very high level of experience and knowledge that if tapped would create a rich collective exploration of innovation in community development. This proved to be correct and the interactivity and deliberation designed into the conference program allowed participants to takeaway ideas and connections that will continue support them well into the future.
As a facilitator I was left reflecting on the value of creating opportunities to bring people together in a process of inquiry and then stepping aside to let them get on with it.
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