Open Futures

Welcome to our website for 2008 - 2009

LATEST NEWS – NOVEMBER 2008

Our latest news is that Open Futures Ltd will cease to exist as a separate company in the near future. We are all going our separate ways, myself (Eddie Palmer) into semi-retirement, and to do other things, after a long working life!

We have had a wonderful time, working with thousands of people in hundreds of events both in the U.K. and overseas. Large group events have been run with so  many different types of people, differing stakeholders in society, and so many topics, that they cannot be named here.

We decided that, with differing interests and possible futures, that it would be time to go out ‘on a high’, leaving much information to be shared with whoever comes along.

This website will stay up for a period now, and callers are welcome to contact either;

Eddie Palmer, at eddiepalmer@classmail.co.uk who has his own website at www.eddiepalmer.org (which will carry any future change of e-mail address), and

Milda Zinkus at milda@zinkus.com

Thank you to all past clients and friends

Eddie Palmer

 

 

WHAT ARE WE ALL ABOUT?

Open Futures was first set up in 1995 to carry out Whole Systems work, that is whether working with communities or organisations, to ‘get the whole system in one room’, to tackle today’s problems

We have worked with many different organisational issues and problems in the current world;

  • The merging of two or more organisations with differing cultures
  • The design of a brand-new type of museum
  • The development of new NGOs in emerging eastern European countries
  • The accurate expression of needs in small communities, especially Scotland
  • ...and many more!

These issues share similar characteristics. They are:

  • Future – oriented
  • Complex
  • Affect many groups of different stakeholders
  • Require complicated project management to make progress in the world today

Our principles are strongly and deeply held – we...

  • Are totally committed to real participation and involvement of people
  • Use people’s creativity and wisdom
  • Help people to self-organise to create solutions to their issues and problems
  • Believe that our participants are experts by experience
  • Contribute to Scotland’s political agenda of citizen participation

 

OUR AUSTRALIAN CONNECTION

Visit www.wholesystemswork.com and click on Open Futures to find out about our Australian Associate, John Moore

Event Summary

Open Futures commenced work in 1995.

Since then, we have mounted over a hundred large events, involving over 6,000 people.

We have used;

  • Open Space
  • Future Search
  • Large Group Mind Mapping
  • Appreciative Inquiry
  • World Café
  • Some hybrid methodologies of our own – Vision Search, Strategy Search and Perth Process

We have worked with the following types of organisations as sponsors for events ;

  • The Scottish Government (both Scottish Executive and Scottish Parliament)
  • Quasi-Governmental organisations – ‘stand-alone’ agencies working in the arts, archaeology, natural heritage, countryside and forestry
  • Local Government
  • Private industry
  • Partnerships between government and community agencies
  • Community Planning Partnerships, Scotland and England
  • Charity and Non-Profit Distributing Sector, especially in the mental health field
  • Higher and Further Education
  • Overseas development agencies, in eastern Europe, Russia, the Baltic States and former Soviet Republics

We are pleased to provide references from any of the events listed under EVENTS DATABASE.

For more information, please contact:

Open Futures Ltd
Eddie Palmer,
Registered Office:
Hillhead Farmhouse,
North Mains of Kinnettles,
by Forfar, Angus,
DD8 1XF
Tel: 01307 820454
Email: eddiepalmer@classmail.co.uk

Registered Company No. SC163589(Scotland)

Milda Zinkus: Tel: 07977 006720
E-mail: milda@zinkus.com

 

WHAT DO WE OFFER?

Open Futures offers a range of ‘technologies’ as facilitators and consultants, working with clients according to our principles.We work with large groups of people, in participative ways to enable them to take issues forwardWe also work with managers, leaders and champions individually to support their own work in organisations, and also support small groups to do the sameWe use large group processes for between 40 and 500 people, who wish to work on future issues, actions and prioritiesWe produce tangible outcomes, commitment and ownership from participants We offer a full service in design, planning, facilitation and reporting.

 

HOW DO WE DO THIS?

From an early stage, we work with the client organisation and communities. We need jointly to:

  • Work together in a planning group for events with multiple stake-holders
  • Set sensible and achievable deadlines for events – not to rush it
  • Be clear on objectives and outcomes
  • Use good quality venues, not to try and cope with second-best, and to clearly meet all special needs of participants
  • Think of the long-term – what will happen to the results and hard work of maybe hundreds of participants?

 

YOUR NEXT MOVE?

  • Have a conversation with us!

Eddie Palmer
Tel. 01307 820454
E-mail eddiepalmer@classmail.co.uk

 

Milda Zinkus
Tel. 07977 006720
E-mail milda@zinkus.com
 
 
openfuturemanual ad
 
 

Using the Manual as a platform, Open Futures offers open training workshops or customised sessions for an organisation around an actual event, allowing people to understand, plan and run large group events involving from 20 to 500 people. We seek to build capacity inside organisations to facilitate their own events without depending on outsiders.

For more information, please contact: Kerry Napuk at 00 44 (0)131 668 4377
email k@napuk.demon.co.uk or Eddie Palmer at 00 44 (0) 7768 868 764
email eddiepalmer@classmail.co.uk.

 
We are proud to support Scotland's Voluntary Sector at Workwithus.org