Open Contracting 2017
Facilitation for co-designing the future of open contracting
Background
Five leaders in fair, transparent government spending engaged Reboot as a design and facilitation partner for a global meeting on open contracting. More than 200 government officials, civil society, media, and foundations gathered at “Open Contracting 2017” to align on a vision for the movement’s next five years.
Results
Open Contracting 2017 created space for people to build relationships with one another and work through shared challenges. 94% of participants said it either met or exceeded their expectations.
Nearly 90% of initiatives proposed at the event were carried forward into implementation by different coalitions of partners. For example, the organizations B Team, Invest in Africa, Hivos, the World Economic Forum, Safaricom, and other partners are working on a pilot project in Kenya to mobilize private sector support for open contracting. Reboot later supported the Open Contracting Partnership in designing and implementing a mentorship program for open contracting innovators.
Read more about our design process in this blog I co-authored and Reboot’s case study.
MY Role
Led participant research to understand what they needed from the convening to advance their open contracting efforts at home and to be active participants in shaping a global vision
Supported co-design facilitation by designing and pivoting agenda based on participant feedback and training the facilitation team
Managed project team and partnerships with organizers and vendors
Partners
Open Contracting Partnership, B Team, CoST, Hivos, Article 19
Team
Panthea Lee & Zack Brisson
DATES
July to December 2017
Process
PARTICIPANT RESEARCH
After helping the five convening organizations articulate their goals for the convening, Reboot delved into the goals of the participants. We conducted a survey of 100 participants with some follow-up one-on-one interviews. This research aimed to understand the diverse experiences and expertise participants would bring, as well as their individual interests and expectations for attending. Our findings highlighted shared goals for for Open Contracting 2017, common needs for open contracting practitioners, and potential risks and ideas for the convening.
Participant research informed agenda development, particularly by serving as an anchor during co-design sessions with conveners. We used this evidence to strike a balance between working toward the conveners’ broad visionary goals and participant’s immediate, practical needs.
Photo credit: Judith Quax
workshop facilitation & co-design
Over two days, Open Contracting 2017 participants built relationships, shared skills and lessons, and co-designed new initiatives. Through a mixture of ice-breakers, expert panels, working design sessions, and informal open time, they debated the future of open contracting and shared practical strategies and tactics for different contexts. Reboot organized and facilitated sessions while listening for feedback from participants throughout. In response to participant energy and interest, we adapted the agenda to make room for conversations that needed more time and synthesized small-group sessions to share progress and ideas quickly.
In the post-event feedback survey, 94 percent of participants said the event either met, exceeded, or greatly exceeded their expectations. One evaluator said, “I got the impression there was a lot of passion and care in the design of the conference and sensitivity to try to include all that was demanded by the audience. I really liked the space in the agenda for the deep dives.”
Read more about the feedback and results from Open Contracting 2017.