VSM+Workshop


 * En Ph.D-studerende fra KU LIFE vil gerne afholde en workshop med os efter den såkaldte Viable Systems Model tilgang. Hun skriver følgende:**

I have been involved in a workshop in the UK which was aimed at identifying issues within a food network and re-organising it. The network faced issues such as lacking collaboration, communication and agreement between actors, they had no shared mission, no clear actors’ roles and responsibilities, the management style was authoritarian…there were many issues that made the long-term survival of the network very threatening. The actors decided to have a workshop to attempt to find a solution to the issues. The workshop was supported by the ‘Viable Systems Modell’. So the aim was to design on a flipchart the network as a ‘viable system’, which enabled the actors to identify issues and think about ways to solve them and re-organise the network.

After the workshop the participants started re-organising the network and the process is still running.

I send you a link about the Viable Systems Model, there are also some case studies within cooperatives. http://www.esrad.org.uk/resources/vsmg_3/screen.php?page=introduction

Since the members of kbhFF are very busy it would be best to start with a workshop session of 3-4 hours, and see how it goes. Then maybe have a second session later on. Between the two sessions I would write a report with results from the workshop and reflection on it. It would be good if one representative from each shop could attend, but it would also be enough to have 3-5 shops present. Additionally, it would be good if one representative from each important group would attend the workshop.

In the best case the workshop would not have more than 15-20 participants.

It would look something like this:


 * I could explain VSM depending on how much detail you would like to know
 * Then we would try to define the mission statement of kbhFF
 * Then we would identify which are the main operational units (operational activities) within kbhFF that enable you to pursue the mission statements
 * We would identify a key person within each operational unit and try to identify conflicts between the operational units
 * We would start building the VSM on a flipchart and identify mechanisms to deal with the conflicts and the external environment....here I dont know how far we can get within 3-4 hrs, it depends on the group dynamics....hoiw well the process goes


 * Possible results:**
 * agreement on a mission statement for kbhFF
 * identification of main activities necessary to pursue and achieve mission statement
 * identification of activities that are not necessary for achieving the mission statement, activities that are a burden for kbhFF
 * identification and better understanding of conflicts within kbhFF
 * a VSM of kbhFF on a flipchart, which will support you in reorganising kbhFF. The purpose of reorganising it as a viable system is to enhance kbhFF's long-term survival and efficiency. This depends on the length of the meeting...3-4 hrs might not be enough to build a VSM, especially if I give a longer introduction to the VSM
 * when you build the VSM you identify opportunities to deal with conflicts and monitor the external environment