The Problem

Despite the sophistication of conference organization, there is an increasing sense of malaise. Even in well-organized events, something seems to be missing. There are a variety of symptoms of dissatisfaction, including:

• participants preferring coffee table exchanges to formal sessions;
• participants simply bored with preplanned sessions and finding excuses to leave the conference site (for business engagements or tourism);
• participants intimidated by the proficiency of those who frequently participate in such events
• small group sessions failing to bring together the people who could fruitfully interact;
• participants frustrated in their efforts to present ideas to others, possibly because of constraints on discussion time:
• participants irritated by the formality or informality of the conference process (e.g. style of chairperson, protocol arrangements, etc;
• experienced participants "holding back" from active involvement in discussion sessions in order to give inexperienced newcomers an opportunity;
• speakers frustrated in their inability to continue a dialogue with participants after their presentation (and possibly on other topics);
• participant irritation at use of discussion time by some to publicize their interests and views in order to make useful contacts;
• participants and speakers unable to correct misunderstandings which appear to have arisen from their interventions;
• pre-planned topics preventing discussion of spontaneously emergent topics or those of interest to a participant minority;
• participants with several interests unable to communicate ideas to sessions organized in parallel with the one corresponding to their major interest or obligation;
• ideas distorted by poor simultaneous interpretation; participants having difficulty in determining the people with whom discussions would be most fruitful.

1. Provide participants with a stock of half-sheets of paper on which to formulate comments, reactions to speakers, questions, etc. in a maximum of 50 words (say). Instructions may be pre-printed on the sheets or on a separate instruction sheet.

2. Arrange for the message sheets to be collected, whether via collection boxes and/or by attendants during sessions, or even from the conference hotel.

3. Type a series of such comments into a word-processor file, numbering the messages, and appending the participant name (if not anonymous). Inappropriate messages could be screened out.

4. When sufficient messages have been accumulated to fill a one (or two) side sheet (possibly formatted in 2 columns in a smaller type), edit and spell-check the file. Then print a master copy. This may bear an appropriate letterhead and document number. Topic headings may be added by editors to each message, if not supplied by the participant.

5. Make sufficient photocopies for participants.

6. Distribute copies to participants (and speakers) either between sessions (possibly for a token charge) or, preferably also during sessions.

7. Repeat steps 1 to 6 as necessary throughout the conference process. It may be used as a common messaging link between plenary and workshop sessions.

8. Participants and speakers are now in a position to interact in an additional mode. Whether in spoken or written mode, participants can pick up on the numbered written comments when and if appropriate. Panelists can choose to respond in writing to some points, or initiate their own comments.

The Challenge:

One paradox of "well-planned, state-of-the-art conferencing" is that features of the current design inhibit the emergence of the collective insight. And yet insight capture and cross-fertilization of ideas are principal objectives of the event.

A second consideration is to maximize the use of the intellectual resources assembled, namely the many conference participants who will only get a limited opportunity to speak. Within the usual conference framework, at any one time most participants are obliged to adopt a passive mode. This fails to exploit the ability of intelligent people to listen and be productive at the same time. The experience can be very frustrating for the more creative participants who cannot be offered much opportunity to contribute or respond to speakers.

Another dilemma of pre-planning is the undeniable acceptance of the programme and organisation as established months beforehand. This turns unwary participants into actors in a play whose script and direction are governed by the creativity of the past. There is a need for complementary activities to recover the ability to take unplanned initiative in the present.

It is clear that much of the interest of a conference lies in the unforeseen communication between those present. This cannot be planned and is in many ways independent of the conference programme. But whilst serendipitous interaction cannot be designed, there are ways of stimulating and facilitating it.

* Local Area Network of computer terminals which enables direct writer input

Description of Variants

A = basic typewritten Bulletin posted on message board, no copies, messages of no standard specification transcribed in order of receipt with minimal editing and formatting

B = typewritten Bulletin as above, multiple copies from stencils

C = typewritten Bulletin as above, multiple copies by photocopier

D = untyped single or multiple copy Bulletin compiled from handwritten messages

E = single or multiple copy Bulletin, typed from message forms, giving more consistency of message length, keywording etc.

F = "message board", unstructured or minimal structure

G = "message board/wall newspaper", standard format messages, categorised

H = E (Bulletin) + G (message board)

I = word-processed news sheet, spell-checked, some formatting, font use etc.

J = I (as above) + customised (WP or database) software, multiple copies news sheet/various formats

K = as above + local area network (multiple terminals) for input and production. internal electronic mail

L = as above + distant e-mail in and out

M = as above + internal & external messaging

N/O = any of the above variants + 1 or 2 extra languages

Many conferences make available a "message board" for the exchange of messages between participants. This is seldom a high priority concern of the organizers and in its usual form it has little impact on the above problems. But with relatively little funds or personnel, participant interaction messaging can acquire a whole new dimension.

There are many variants and elaborations of participant interaction messaging which are explained in sections of this manual. You can make participant messaging as simple or complicated as serves your needs. Special software has even been developed to facilitate some of the steps. But the basic process is so simple that "optional extras" would only be a distraction at this stage. The simplest procedure is outlined in Table 1.

The resource requirements for this process are very modest. It is a creative secretarial job with as much editing effort as you might judge appropriate. Ingenuity can be used to maximize turnaround and to deliver documents back into the hands of participants before a theme has gone cold. It can be readily set up and adapted at short notice in response to changing circumstances.

Variants of this process have been used at a number of international conferences since 1980 - including the Earth Summit Global Forum in Rio in June 1992 and the Parliament of World Religions in August 1993 (see Case Studies)

How To Go Further

The remaining tables in this Introduction this are to help you decide at what level to do participant messaging, depending on your wants and resources. They follow through a series of decision procedures.

Table 2 shows the resources which can be employed to do participant messaging at varying degrees of sophistication. Any of the fifteen variants can add significant new opportunities for participant interaction.

There is a choice of three environments in which to place participant messaging: "document", "wall" and "computer". These environments offer different opportunities for visual and manual presentation of the messages through their use of different media of communication; they can be blended and combined to complement each other.

The document environment is central. It supports production of "hard-copy" Bulletins using various combinations of personnel resources and equipment which you may have at your disposal. The reason why the production of a multiple copy Bulletin is given the highest priority is that it opens up the most new options for interaction and offers a number of other benefits.

The vast majority of conference-goers relate most readily to the printed word. People feel comfortable with hardcopy which they can study and mark up at leisure. The collection of messages can be mulled over by participants if a speaker fails to hold their attention. There is a lot of "dead time" during a conference which can usefully be addressed by encouraging participants to formulate messages in response to speakers or other messages. Screening for "irrelevance" can be less stringent than during a verbal intervention, thus increasing satisfaction of contributors and broadening the involvement to those who would hesitate to speak out in sessions - it provides a "safety valve".

The wall display and computer networks can be completely distinct from the document stream or adjuncts to it. Here they are treated here as secondary (although you may prefer to have one or the other as you first priority). These are entered by routes which diverge from the main decision-processing path which produces multiple copy Bulletins.

Table 2 is a "Table of Contents" for this Manual. It lists the sections of the manual which would be appropriate to each of these environments: "wall space", printed material or "document" and "computer networks". The document environment has been divided into two parts: "low tech" and "high tech" - "low tech" meaning using essentially manual equipment (typewriters and stencil machines for example) compared with "high tech" computer hardware and software. Each module is more or less self-contained and contains cross references to other modules to which is closely related.

The modules with an x under Column A are needed when the participant interactive message system is implemented using wall space; under column B when a low tech document; under column C for a high tech document; and under column D where a computer network is used for message input.

D. Design and Preparation	.	A	B	C	D
Message forms (design, etc)	D1	x	x	x	.
Messaging image and participant involvement	D2	x	x	x	x
Participant guidelines / briefing sheets	D3	.	x	x	.
Costs and cost cutting	D4	.	x	x	x
G. Guidelines	.	A	B	C	D
Orientation to Da Zi Bao	G1	x	x	x	x
Using the "Da Zi Bao" process	G2	x	x	x	x
Some guidelines for messages	G3	x	x	x	x
S. Supervision and Coordination	.	A	B	C	D
Visibility / attitudes	S1	x	x	x	x
Organizer involvement	S2	x	x	x	x
Evaluation and performance indicators	S3	x	x	x	x
Handling backlog and overtime	S4	.	x	x	.
Bottlenecks	S5	.	x	x	.
Turnaround/frequency	S6	.	x	x	x
Preparation, setup and testing	S7	.	x	x	x
C. Collection and Distribution	.	A	B	C	D
Distribution	C1	x	x	.	.
Database products	C2	.	.	x	x
Message collection	C3	x	x	x	x
Sale/free	C4	.	x	x	x
In-session messaging	C5	.	x	x	x
E. Editing and Production	.	A	B	C	D
Abuse/misuse of messaging	E1	x	x	x	x
Identity	E2	x	x	x	x
Editorial pump priming	E3	x	x	x	x
Editorial committee	E4	.	x	x	x
Multiple languages and translation	E5	x	x	x	x
Master copies / layout	E6	x	x	x	.
Coding	E7	.	x	x	x
Categories of message	E8	x	x	x	x
Numbering and keywording	E9	x	x	x	x
Priorities and pre-processing	E10	.	x	x	.
Editing	E11	.	x	x	.
Insights, maturing the process	E12	.	x	x	x
Mapping - synergy/complexity (intersectoral) axes	E13	x	x	x	x
I. Infrastructure and Equipment	.	A	B	C	D
Paper	I1	x	x	x	.
Working space requirements	I2	x	x	x	x
Word processing software	I3	.	.	x	x
Varying standards (character sets, paper sizes, power	I4	.	x	x	x
Electronic mail	I5	.	.	x	x
Resource use and waste	I6	x	x	x	x
Message board / wall space / Horus Wall Display	I7	x	x	.	.
Database software	I8	.	.	x	x
Computer	I9	.	.	x	x
Printing	I10	.	x	x	x
Breakdown, crashes and backup	I11	.	x	x	x
Photocopier(s)	I12	.	x	x	.
Computer Networks	I13	.	.	x	x
Portable equipment	I14	.	x	x	x
Power supply	I15	.	x	x	x
Typewriters	I16	.	x	x	x
P. Personnel and Functions	.	A	B	C	D
Shifts	P1	.	x	x	.
Roles	P2	x	x	x	.
Typist	P3	.	x	x	.
Staff qualifications and training	P4	x	x	x	x
Volunteers	P5	x	x	x	x

Written by Nadia McLaren, Union of International Associations, with revisions and HTML layout by Robert Pollard, Information Habitat: Where Information Lives.