Thoughts on Collaborative spaces….
One current organizational challenge is to find new ways to deal with complexity without falling into the trap of reductionism and fragmentation, that is, dividing up problems and accountabilities in a way that works against seeing the whole picture. Cultural, technological, and stakeholder factors need to be dealt with in collaborative relationships in a new way — in the creation and use of collaborative space.
Collaborative space can take the form of a website, a conference call, or a shared model or process that is cooperatively created and experimented with. Risk-taking and experimentation are encouraged norms in a collaborative space. Cultural assumptions are openly acknowledged. All parties are willing to experience some level of discomfort in working together, in working out a shared view of the collaborative space and its functions.
Collaborative spaces involve, not physical space, but the collaborative process of creating models, experimenting, and improving them, while engaging in ongoing discussion and exchange of ideas. The process or model creates the focus and interest for the collaborative team to build on. In this way, collaborative space is the jumping off point for networks and collaborative relationships. The value creation comes out of the relationships, which can carry through to subsequent collaborations.
The creation of a collaborative space can be likened to a temporary learning system, where a group has been brought together around specific learning goals for a defined period of time. Explicit in the concept of the temporary learning system is the blending of completion of task and reflection on process, which occur in parallel. The group creates a collaborative space in which learning through process — voicing insights, shedding assumptions, and noting direction, energy, and involvement of the group — is as important as the task. The premise of the temporary learning system is that the collaborative space must allow members to get out of the box, to combine linear and random insights, and to access the untapped energy for learning in the system, including conflict, and use that as a springboard for new discoveries.
The collaborative space is the container for the exploration of learning technologies and methods that can move the organization toward its desired future.
