Workshop Summary
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After Action Review
A summary of the workshop was drafted using an After Action Review (AAR) format. Simone and Allison discussed the common key questions asked in an AAR:
- What did we set out to achieve? What actually happened? Why were there differences?
- What worked? What didn't work so well?
- What recommendations would we give to improve the next time we did something similar?
Here are our responses. Please feel free to contribute by adding yours directly below.
What did we set out to do?
A number of conference calls between Simone, Victoria, Beverly and Allison were held in preparation for the workshop. The workshop methodology design was posted to the wiki.
What actually happened?
Day One Session
- Interview with Simone was conducted. Petr was responsible for the process. Allison focused on the content.
- Break-out groups of three people were formed to discuss their reactions to the interview
- The group was invited to introduce themselves
- An overview of the KE history was provided and expectations for the 3 days outlined
- A group discussion took place on the KE process; the group questioned the KE approach and particularly its focus on storytelling
- The group decided to test out the approach in six buddy pairs on the themes of vision or wisdom
- Buddy pairs met to discuss on process, content and documentation (based on the guidelines provided)
Between Day One and Day Two
- Volunteers solicited during the end of day plenary
- Six buddy pairs met with 6 volunteer tellers.
- Buddy pair: Riff and Arthur; Interviewee: Jane
- Buddy pair: Taline and Sarah; Interviewee:
- Buddy pair: Tesfaye and Munya; Interviewee: Satish
- Buddy pair: Sarah and Taline; Interviewee:
- Buddy pair: Axel and Christian; Interviewee: Ernst
- Buddy pair: Dorine and Bram; Interviewee: Jaap
- One pair (Moraan & Claire) joined the KS Curriculum session to gain insight into visioning approaches
- One pair (Ammanuel & Bev) exchanged their own compelling stories
- One pair (Floris & Camilo) exchanged their own experiences related to the vision theme
- Allison and Petr formed a final pair and interviewed Simone
- Bev started to post story entries on the blog but had difficulty because of poor internet access
Day Two Session
- Each pair was invited to retell their story
- A discussion followed on the process of collecting experiences through stories and their value
- Two groups formed - one discussed the meta vision of the KE and the other met to discuss the approach
- Decided to postpone meeting with the KS Curriculum group until the morning
Day Three Session
- Brief discussion on the vision of the KE
- Met with KS Curriculum group to provide respective updates
- Again, formed two groups - one to formulate the KE vision and the other to formulate an expedition itself
- Graphics drawn representing the KE vision and an expedition
- Individuals signed up to areas of interest
End of Day Three
- Camilo presented the vision in plenary
- Dorine presented the expedition in plenary
Why were there differences in what we set out to achieve and what actually happened?
- Simone and I didn't expect to have to spend as much time as we did on formulating a (modified) vision. We went in feeling as though we were already at base camp but quickly realised that we were camping out on our own (with Bev in a tent nearby)
- Documentation of the process was difficult as we didn't have the connectivity that we were told we were had.
- Simone and I had the idea that an expedition was more about collecting stories but quickly realised that the group saw the stories as only one part of the expedition. This could be the result of the 'explorers' seeing themselves as more than just story collectors and re-tellers of those stories. Many could see themselves as researchers in a larger process that would go beyond collecting stories.
- When the stories collected were retold on Day Two, the power of a compelling story over a collection of experiences was felt.
What worked?
- Three hour sessions over three days worked well in giving time to continually break and reflect on what was happening
- Participants were confident enough to push us in a direction that they wanted to go
- A willingness, on the part of the group, to be flexible, open to emergence and interested in sharing opinions and ideas
- The documentation process help to keep us to task as it was the one thing that was concrete throughout
- The session guidelines document was a useful reference buddy pairs (need to validate this but it was for Allison when capturing Simone's story)
- Storytelling (need to check with Simone on what we meant by this)
What didn't work?
- There was lots of discussion among Simone, Victoria, Bev and Allison in preparation which created a gap in expectations
Recommendations for next time
- Start by inviting the group to go through a similar exercise that was done in Brighton ie. let participants explore one of the themes and exchange their respective experiences and stories related to the theme. There is a sense that the KE concept would be better understood when participants engage in an expedition rather than hearing a story or being explained the vision.
- The documentalist shouldn't be involved in the interviewing. Allow the documentalist to focus on documenting and helping others to document.
