Future workshop

The future workshop is a founded by researchers of the future Robert Jungk, Rüdiger Lutz and Norbert R. Müllert method to stimulate the imagination to develop new ideas solutions to societal problems.

Future workshops are intended as counter-program to the state planning and as a project for the empowerment of those who are affected by planning. People should thus be the object of future planning for this very subject planning and starting open up greater scope for action from the local context of action.

A future workshop can be used anywhere, " where groups of people have problems where they can not manage with conventional means." Experience shows that they for participants of all ages (from preschoolers to senior citizens) and each level of education is suitable (of people seeking employment without training to business managers ). Appreciated it is especially for participants who have little experience with processes of creative decision-making, such as children or adolescents. The targeted application requires intensive preparation and supervision by trained moderators.

Areas of application

The spectrum of future workshop are expected range of learning workshop, problem solving and idea generation workshop strategy workshop to communications workshop. It is a method that tries within a given question by brainstorming and problem solving. Together future designs, objectives and actions for organizations to be developed. The application is usually limited to regional processes and is used by municipalities, local governments, among others. The future workshop is thus also a citizen participation process.

It is used for example in urban planning in order to involve citizens in certain plans, or in organizational development to an employee on shared goals and values ​​.

The main objectives of the workshop of the future are finding approaches to solutions, which investigated the participants previously in vain. This topic applies it perspektivistisch and clear to penetrate ( new ways of winning), to develop a feeling for the future ( personality takes center ) and self-awareness to make ( reducing fears of the future, gain of personal confidence, confidence in one's own force).

Expiration

The method comprises three main phases. According to recent literature, a preliminary phase belongs added.

After realizing should after a predetermined period again a future workshop held on this subject in the previous workshop of the future is dealt with according to the three phases. This results in a control loop is controlled in the time and again, whether the desired value agrees with the actual value. This is referred to in the literature as a basis Permanente workshop.

Preliminary phase: Start / Find Into

Here the group is " founded ", created a good atmosphere of mutual trust. This includes an informal group atmosphere to encourage to explore the thematic interests and disclose methodological and timing of future workshop.

Phase 1: complaint / criticism

Here is voiced by the participants resentment, criticism, negative experiences of the selected topic. This should be as free from constraints. It 's less about an analysis of the problems as to take stock for further work. It offers a brainstorming on cards, which are then sorted as in the facilitation method, by theme.

Phase 2: Fantasy / utopia

The creativity of each individual is asked. One should think of the utopian. An initial set would be: " It would be nice if ...". Killer phrases like "That's impossible! " Are to be avoided. This can and should be fantasized. It offers again a brainstorming session on presentation cards, which are then sorted as in the facilitation method, by theme.

Phase 3: Implementation / Practice

Here the first two stages are associated. It must be estimated, which is achievable. It is convenient to group work and the involvement of qualified professionals. Other Moderation team miss deliberately to external experts, but see the participants themselves as experts in the matter. Various methods for project planning, enforcement ( social ) change and for the qualification in the application of cyclic group processes can be practiced here.

Postprocessing

The ( provisional ) conclusion designed the moderator. The objectives, procedures, and results are summarized again and filed shortly. Under the heading: What's Next? we think about the possible continuation of the work in the workshop. If necessary, new meetings will be agreed. At the end, participants provide feedback.

Networking of the future workshop presenters and moderators

Since 1987, an annual gathering of facilitators of future workshops will be organized in self-organization at different locations. Substantive results were published from 2003 to 2012 regularly on a site for networking future workshops. 2013, the results were first published in a book in the series JBZ Working Papers of Robert Jungk library for future issues.

Moderation training

Moderation training for future workshop with several modules offer in the German-speaking world for many years regularly once a year for each one educational institution in Hamburg ( since 2006) and Cologne (since 2008). Both formations are recognized as educational leave.

The future workshop online

First experiments with an online workshop led the Mining, Chemical and Energy - Department of Education - with the club work, education and research V. 1997. These future workshop had the question "How can council work will be supported by use of the Internet? " On the subject. Their aim was to examine the following two points:

• " Firstly, it was to use new media / the Internet as a common place of work, in which small groups of creative processes can be run. To this end, appropriate methods should be developed and tested.
• Secondly, as part of the Future Workshop method substantive discussions about perspective uses of new media should be guided by works.

Both are managed as part of the Future Workshop ( ... better than expected). "

1997 formed the Department of Education / Human Sciences of the University of Kassel under Prof. Olaf Axel - Burow, a working group, which wanted to investigate the feasibility of a completed via the Internet in a future workshop exploratory research projects. The thesis presented in 2004 by Heiko Rueppel Future Workshop online - Towards a tele- collaborative learning culture? Exploratory explore the theory and practice of a tele collaborative learning environment deals extensively with the won in the seven years from the research findings. Were investigated in this work the following problems:

• The design and improvement of software that manages the Future Workshop on the server and the presentation of the portal at the workshop participants on the PC;
• The testing of the online workshop and the study of their effectiveness;
• The determination of the necessary technology and knowledge requirements of moderation and workshop participants.