Casuarina Project 2001 Community Conference and 2002 Community Gathering

The Casuarina Project is Surf Coast Shire's community capacity building program. The Casuarina Project was developed by Council's Rural Development Committee to assist local people develop skills which enable them to commence, or continue to be involved in, community activities. The program includes skills such as facilitation and group processes, using the media, resourcing projects, team building, project management and group dynamics. The Casuarina Project involves eleven days of training including two weekends and seven Friday sessions. Participants agree to work on a community project as part of the Casuarina Project.

June 2001 (Deans Marsh) "Creating Dynamic Communities: the issues and opportunities"

June 2002 (Anglesea) "Futurescape: what's your vision for a vibrant community?"

Project Aim:
Conducting an open space event as part of the Casuarina Project has a number of aims including:

1. Firstly participants are able to see in action the facilitation process used in 'Open Space Technology' as designed by Harrison Owen. This is one facilitation technique being demonstrated and practiced as part of the Casuarina Project. So the aim of including the open space event is to demonstrate and learn from the way open space operates as a technique.
2. Secondly participants can utilise the open space conference as an opportunity to conduct workshops and practice skills they have been learning in facilitation and discussion techniques. Conducting workshops also provides them with an opportunity to gather community input and feedback about the community project ideas that they are working on as part of the Casuarina Project.
3. Thirdly, participants utilise the weekend event as a team building live-in program.

Consultation aim:
From a local government point of view, the open space event is used as a means of generating data and identifying issues of importance to local communities within the municipality. In both events, the consultation topic was based around the theme of "building dynamic communities- the issues and opportunities".

While the open space event is promoted and open to all residents/ratepayers of the Surf Coast Shire, the event actually tends to attract people from the township where the event is based, and therefore the data generated generally provides an insight into that local community. Using Open Space Technology encourages people to conduct discussions around issues that they are passionate about, and this format is relevant where community issues are being sought.

What happened?

• In 2001, approximately 60 people attended a two-day conference held at Deans Marsh a small rural community in the foothills of the Otways.
• In 2002, approximately 55 people attended a one-day community gathering in Anglesea

Target population
Members of the Surf Coast community who are interested in, and passionate about, their local community. It's a very general invitation and distributed broadly across the municipality. Casuarina Project participants are also encouraged to promote the event in their local community and through their own community networks.

Level of participation
The Open Space Technology process/philosophy clearly puts the responsibility for participation and engagement on the individual - "whoever comes are the right people". So the success of the event should never be measured by how many people attended.

Participation is also whatever the participants make it. Open Space Technology has a very adult style about it, and enables people to feel free to participate in many ways/forms including as a facilitator of a discussion, a bee buzzing around various discussion groups, or as a butterfly, quietly observing the proceedings. But the rules of open space encourage and require positive contribution from participants.

Negatives

• Traditionally open space events are held over two-three days. This can be difficult for local government staff and community members. The good thing is that they also work very well in a one-day format.
• Unless the topic is particularly precise and specific, the Open Space Technology format doesn't necessarily provide a basis on which to make decisions about particular issues, but they can generate and provide insight into the feelings within the community about broad issues. I haven't tried using Open Space Technology with a specific issue or for a specific decision which needs to be made i.e. about a local project but I guess you could.
• Publicly promoting open space events can be a challenge because people are not sure of what they will be letting themselves in for and therefore they tend to be a little suspicious or unsure of the term 'open space'. Some people may be more attracted to the process than the topic and attend to witness 'open space' rather than participate in the discussion.

Positives

• Long-term feedback suggests that the open space event held in Deans Marsh had a galvanizing effect on the local community. Open space does have the ability to really open up dialogue in communities.
• Open Space Technology is very empowering and refreshing for community members to be able to have their say on community issues in an open and very democratic style. Everyone is as equally able to facilitate a discussion on their choice of topic.
• The process engages people about who's responsible for making things happen, and for a local government this can be a very attractive component of the Open Space Technology. It encourages participants to think that they are equally responsible for their own community, and that it's not just the council who needs to do x, y, z. It helps to shifts the way people think about the burden of responsibility a little bit, including, for example, who's responsible for creating vibrant communities.
• Open space is a great way of building a sense of community and refreshing people who think they are the only ones who care. There is a real sense that individuals are revitalised when they get together with a group of other people who also care about their local community.

Council perceptions

• Councillor participation was achieved during both events. Positive feedback was gathered both about the process (for Councillors who were new to Open Space Technology) and the content/issues generated by community participants. The data generated is useful for local councillors as it can generally provide insight into local issues.

Participant perceptions

• Feedback collected at the end of the event suggests that participants really enjoy the process of open space. See evaluation from the 2001 community conference.

Lessons learnt

• One day format seems more appropriate in our regional community.
• Results can be used to inform social policy and community development activities
• Council receives positive feedback in using the Open Space Technology process
• Many community members feel empowered and revitalised by Open Space Technology

Evaluation

• See attached evaluation from participants of the 2001 Community Conference
• From a council perspective I think both events have been valued by members of the local community.
• Casuarina Project participants have indicated that the open space event provides a great opportunity for them to research and develop their community projects as well as participate in the facilitation process of open space.