The Show me the Change conference was held over 4-6 May 2010 in Melbourne. Over 170 people attended the Open Space conference on the topic of evaluation of behaviour change. This is the participant feedback from this event. The survey response rate was close to 50%. Thanks to all those who responded to the survey!

1. What you had to say….
Participant feedback based on an
anonymous online questionnaire

2. What we set out to do…..
The aim of the conference was to share
knowledge and experiences, and discuss
monitoring and evaluation strategies for
sustainability-related behaviour change
programs in a way that was stimulating,
challenging and created opportunities for
learning and making connections.

3. We wanted to move away
from the traditional
conference format…..

4. ….and focus on you, the
participants, by using an
Open Space format.

5. This is a break from the status
quo…..
That’s not us!!
We definitely
shifted…

6. As with any change, we were bound to have both
success, as well as lessons……
After all, evaluation is about learning,
and learning is what we did….

8. What you thought about this…..

9. A generally high level of satisfaction with the conference website,
venue, catering and demonstration of sustainability principles, but a
much more even spread with regards to the Open Space format.
Level of respondent satisfaction to aspects of the conference
60%
50%
40%
1 (Very Satisfied)
2
30% 3
4
5
20% 6
7 (Not at all satisfied)
10%
0%
Website Venue Open Space Catering Sustainability
Principles

10. “I've been to other conferences where open space
hasn't worked very well, but I thought it was great
at SMTC. I think it helps to have a clear point or
points of focus for the conference.”
“I can see that this has potential, but it did not
work out in my case as I continuously met the
wrong people (yes, there can be the wrong
people!)

11. “Great for networking.”
“Very complementary to the soft systems approach my project team is experimenting with.”
“The topic was relevant to my work, ….not sure that the final content/outcomes were useful.”
“Was relevant but the first 2 days did not equip me to be a better evaluator.”
“Personal opinions and rants, voting with your feet meant opinions were not challenged -
process lacks peer review.”

12. “Inspirational, brave and innovative!”
“Provoked too much thinking”
“The open space format was not at all
thought provoking”

13. Overall respondent reflection on the two days of Open Space
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
1 (Was value for 2 3 4 5 6 7 (Was NOT
money) value for
money)
“Was value for money - although not sure on value for time”

14. SMTC was a conference where you
set the agenda…..

15. “Was well done - but I would have benefited from some presentations for successes and why and from funding bodies on
success factors to addressing evaluation guidelines.”
“It needed to be mixed in with presentations or case studies of where the evaluation methods had worked. All it did was
confirm that everyone had the same issues and didn't lead to any resolution.”
“Was too open in the end... I can see the value in the format and the concept excites me, BUT I think that with too many
people coming from too many different contexts, the open space became too open and nebulous.”

16. “Even when I couldn't find what I needed, I could chat about that and then record that!!! Very democratic!”
“It would have been useful for an experienced facilitator to be on hand in some of the discussion groups to support
the group.”
“The quality was patchy and there was not enough knowledge in some groups to make it valuable - more questions than answers at
times. Difficult to catch up with another group mid discussion, and often hard to hear anyway.”
“Yes it allowed discussion on topics but often with no useful content or suggestions.”
“I found myself talking about things I usually talk about and renewing existing knowledge.”

17. “They were fun, generated a good group
feeling, however, did not add significantly to
my understanding of evaluating behaviour
change.”
“Absolutely outstanding - and worth coming to
the conference for this alone!”
“Did not close the conference to my mind.”

18. You said you wanted MORE of
this…..
 Facilitated discussions
 Some keynote speakers
 Opportunities to learn new techniques for evaluating
behaviour change programs
 A structured approach to share the proceedings from
the break-out groups during the conference
 More workshops

19. And LESS of this…..
Open Space
Unstructured and un-facilitated conversations

20. So next time, we’d go for a
hybrid format

21. YOUR HIGHLIGHTS…..
Sharing in conversations with
similarly interested people
Conference dinner and
NICA performance
Post-conference workshops

23. As for the post-
conference workshops
“The workshop made my 3 days out of
the office worthwhile.”
“The best part of the conference for
me.”
“Excellent workshop and good to spend
a day focussed on a specific topic after
so much open space.”

24. AND LASTLY, SOME FINAL WORDS ON “WHAT DIFFERENCE HAS
THE CONFERENCE MADE FOR YOU” ………
PERSONALLY:
“Met some great people. Motivation increased.”
“Highlighted yet again the need to 'listen' more.”
PROFESSIONALLY:
“Better understanding of the complexities of evaluating behaviour change and taking it into
consideration when doing projects.”
“New contacts, learning from others.”
“Bit disappointed with Open Space in this context, not sure it worked...”

25. Thank you for taking the
time to complete the survey
and providing us with your
feedback.
Cartoons: Simon Kneebone
www.showmethechange.net.au
Photos: (Yes, you guessed it… Microsoft Clipart Online!)