PEOPLE IN ORGANIZATIONS - participation design

Caused organizations often turn mountains .

Behind this change are warm-hearted people who care, believe in their cause, unite with others like them and find a solution. Behind every change is a lot of enthusiasm and tons of hard work.

What happens next?

When the team is at the limit of its strength and more people need to come or when it is important to attract professionals in a given field for work?

What do we do when the team is big, when we have board members, volunteers, advisors and supporters?

How to engage communities in solving their own problems?

How to deal with limited resources even in times of uncertainty?

Big transformations often start with small changes in the way we are together - how we meet, form teams, partnerships, plan and work. Our work with people can change if we look at teams in a new way, as organic systems where mutual learning and exchange takes place, beyond effectiveness and indicator reporting.

Truly new solutions are born at intersections. Where different opinions, experiences, points of view, expertise and resources are successfully mixed. The skills for building synergies and working collaborations - both at the individual and organizational and community levels - are becoming increasingly important in addressing the most serious challenges in an ever-changing and highly uncertain environment.

In this conversation we will explore together issues such as:

• How to reach the collective intelligence of the teams to achieve the overall vision of the organization?
• How to work with complex challenges - goals or intentions with an open end?
• What are the practical steps we can take to encourage the activity and participation of employees and volunteers in our organizations?
• How can breaking down hierarchies and involving people in decision-making and planning qualitatively improve results?

Lecturers:

Anton Valkov and Anna Dimitrova, Open Space Collective

Both are founders of the Open Space Collective and designers of participatory processes. They are pioneers for Bulgaria in the application of the methods of Art of Hosting and Social Labs approach in their work with various public and private organizations on projects that require broad involvement of stakeholders, facilitating dialogue and joint creation of new ideas and solutions. Their partners include local authorities, the Ministry of Economy, Plovdiv Municipal Foundation 2019, Sofproekt, EASME (European Commission), the European Council, the Electric Vehicles Industrial Cluster, ERGO (European Network of Roma Organizations), environmental groups and NGOs (WWF, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Parents Association, For Our Children Foundation) and corporate organizations (Econt, BTL Industries, Societe Generale, Bulgarian-American Credit Bank, Raiffeisenbank, Novarto, CEZ) and others.

Teodora Ivanova-Valeva,Impact Drive

Her professional life has long been associated with project management and organizational development, as well as the design and management of grant schemes and programs. He works for a short time in public authorities and private management consulting, but finds passion and meaning in working in the non-governmental sector and people working for causes. He is very interested in how to be effective, influential and successful in their missions. The activity and support of the organizations is related to participation in projects, mentoring, assistance in creating fundraising and business plans, organizational, communication and management strategies, lectures, consulting and others.

In addition to co-founding and chairing the board of Impact Drive, Teodora is part of the Open Society Institute Foundation and CSR Bulgaria.