Welcome back to IRGO for 2010. There are a number of plans in the works for this year, including the revamped seminar series, committee elections, and even unConference 2.0! If you want to get more involved with IRGO, now is the time to volunteer!
One of the biggest events on the IRGO calendar is the unConference - in 2009, this event exceeded all our expectations, and already people are asking about the 2010 event. To assist in planning, we’d like to ask you for your feedback as to what worked well, what didn’t, and what you’d like to see in unConference 2.0.
Browsing the online messages posted after the first unConference, the following themes seem to emerge:
The Good
- Open Discussion: the back and forth nature of the panels, and the chatter between sessions was lively and interesting and a highlight for many people
- Flashmeets: grabbing an idea and running with it, and having the space in the program to do so (which also ties back to the first bullet point)
- Open and diverse membership: having people from business and non-profits as well as academia involved led to lots of fruitful discussions.
- Relaxed and “fuss-free”: the ‘come-as-you-are’ and laidback vibe seemed to appeal :)
- No con-bags or other material: see above :)
The Not So Good
- Opening with a keynote seemed to set the wrong pace for some people, and it took a while for them to shift gears
- There was a need for a clearer idea as to the role of the chair in initializing the panel and keeping things flowing
The Questionable
- practical or publishable outputs: how should the energy and ideas of the unConference be carried forward?
This then leads into some questions: do we keep the keynote “book-ends” or try something else? How can we better organize and prepare panels and panel members? Do we need outputs, and if so what form(s) should they take? What else can we try?
What do you think?
