“This is the first time we’ve tried something like this,” explained David Kaimowitz, CIFOR’s Director General in his welcoming speech to over 100 people who had gathered at the headquarters in Bogor, Indonesia. This week the rhetoric of institutional democracy was to become a reality. “We are going to give you space and opportunity to talk about the things that really concern you, that worry you, that excite you,” explained Kaimowitz.

The objectives of the 2005 five-day annual meeting – Working Together to Make a Difference – were to improve the shared understanding about CIFOR’s future development, provide a range of forums for discussion and interaction, increase understanding of CIFOR’s global programmes and regional strategies and, of course, mix together and have fun. All of this was achieved by a radical new knowledge-sharing approach, already piloted at several other Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) centers and supported by the CGIAR Knowledge Sharing Project.

A survey conducted at the end of the meeting confirmed that the vast majority of participants welcomed this new approach. It was widely considered more enjoyable than the standard annual meeting, and some of the new methodologies were seen as being particularly useful. For example, over 85 per cent of participants said they would like to use the ‘Open Space’ approach again.

Open Space allows individuals to choose a topic and invite anybody interested to join a discussion and debate. During a period of 10 minutes on the second morning of the meeting, 27 people came up with 29 separate topics, ranging from the managerial to the scientific, from the broad and philosophical to the very specific. During the next day and a half, participants had the opportunity to attend six different Open Space sessions. Some – such as the discussion on democracy in CIFOR – attracted almost 50 people. These discussions encouraged high levels of participation and enabled CIFOR staff to air their views, discuss issues of concern and debate the future direction of the organisation.

Other knowledge-sharing approaches were also used. The first day was devoted to a Knowledge Fair, comprising workshops, presentations, poster displays and videos related to CIFOR’s research. The fourth day was partly devoted to a process known as Peer Assist, which brought together small groups of individuals to share their experiences, insights and knowledge to help one person solve a specific problem that he or she was grappling with. CIFOR scientists, in particular, felt this was an interesting way of approaching scientific problems. The final day was devoted to conventional programme meetings.

The participants suggested there were some limitations to the new approach. For example, some felt there was a lack of opportunity for cross-programmatic communication and planning, and there were doubts about whether there would be sufficient follow-up to some of the topics raised. However, the positive features of the week far outweighed the negative. In particular, CIFOR staff said they appreciated the lively, engaging and democratic atmosphere and the feeling of togetherness, engendered by the active involvement of both administrative and scientific staff. In terms of pure enjoyment, the meeting was a resounding success, and concluded with Fiesta Friday, a brilliant dinner dance with a Latin-American theme, held in the CIFOR sports hall, which had been wonderfully transformed for the occasion.

“The annual meeting exceeded all my expectations in terms of creating a renewed sense of excitement about CIFOR and the work we do,” says Michael Hailu, CIFOR’s contact person for the CGIAR Knowledge Sharing Project. “It was great to see staff at all levels generating ideas in Open Space, helping their colleagues solve problems and talking and laughing together during coffee breaks.”