1. SPDG Program Overview Jennifer Coffey, October 2009
Harrison Owen developed OST in 1985[1]; people first credited him with use of the term "OST" in Practitioners have subsequently used it in more than 100,000 times in 132 countries for purposes as various as peacemaking in the Middle East, corporate strategic planning, community-project design, and many others. Anyone may use Open Space methods for free, without infringing trademarks or copyrights.
Open Space Technology enables groups of any size to address complex, important issues and achieve meaningful results quickly.[citation needed]
It functions best where more traditional meeting formats fail: in situations involving conflict, complexity, diversity of thought or people, and short decision-times. People have used it in widely diverse situations, from designing aircraft doors at a large aircraft-manufacturing company to engaging street kids in defining a sustainable jobs-program.
OST meetings have a single facilitator who initiates and concludes the meeting and explains the general method. The facilitator has no other role in the meeting and does not control the actual gathering in any way.
Then someone will invite all participants to identify any issue or opportunity related to the theme. Participants willing to raise a topic will come to the centre of the circle, write it on a sheet of paper and announce it to the group before choosing a time and a place for discussion and posting it on a wall. That wall becomes the agenda for the meeting.
No participant must suggest issues, but anyone may do so. However, if someone posts a topic, the system expects that the person has a real passion for the issue and can start the discussion on it. That person also must make sure that a report of the discussion is done and posted on another wall so that any participant can access the content of the discussion at all times. No limit exists on the number of issues that the meeting can post.
All discussion reports are compiled in a document on site and sent to participants, unedited, shortly after.
Very large groups have generated as many as 234 sessions[3] running concurrently over the course of a day and longer meetings may establish priorities and set up working-groups for follow-up.

2. Welcome: New SPDG cohort FY2009
Arkansas
Colorado
Indiana
Tennessee

3. Monthly Webinars/Evaluators’ calls Technology Initiative
Low Incidence Affinity Group
Evaluators
Implementation and Scaling Up
Continuation reporting - program measures
Roles and responsibilities
Updates to personnel
Planning groups

4. Monthly Webinars: recent topics (http://www.signetwork.org/notes.html)
National RTI Center Update and SPDG Continuation and Final Reporting
Using Technology for Professional Development, Technical Assistance, and Strategic Communication
Scaling Up Capacity: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities in Context
National RTI Center: Technical Assistance Documentation and Implementation

5. Webinar topics, cont
Building Unified Education Systems Using IDEA Partnership Tools and Processes
Creating Customized Evaluation Reports for Stakeholders
Ohio’s Collaborative Initiatives to Improve Teaching of Students with Disabilities
Reaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families and Other Hard to Reach Audiences Through Technology and Partnerships/Collaborating with Parent Programs

6. Technology Talk Using online surveys Virtual environments
Video conferencing
Holding Webinars

7. Evaluators’ calls Measuring Teacher Retention
Massachusetts SPDG Family Engagement Initiative
Evaluation of Alabama and Georgia’s Math Initiative

8. Low-incidence affinity group
Innovative approaches related to recruiting and preparing LI practitioners
Collaboration of State special education, state certification departments, and IHEs to provide distance based course work

9. Implementation and Scaling Up
Implementation Drivers and Scale Up presentations during SIG Day
Follow-up calls to SIG Day
Requests to have a way to collaborate with other SPDGs thinking-through implementation challenges
Round table?
Use of technology?
State Readiness Community of Practice

10. Continuation reporting - program measures
Follow the directions that come with the continuation package
Every project must report on all Program measures
Use the descriptive information section
Work with your Project Officer as you are putting the report together, if you have any questions

11. Roles and Responsibilities
SIGnetwork Coordinator
OSEP Program Lead
OSEP Project Evaluator Lead
OSEP Project Officers
Grants management responsibilities
Request approval for change in key personnel
Send the new staff’s resume to your project officer
Request approval for significant changes in your budget
Request approval for changes in the scope of your project

12. Roles and responsibilities, cont.
And please…
Let Audrey and your Project Officer know when contact information changes
Request that new staff be added to the appropriate listserv
Let your Project Officer know how often you would like to meet with them
Try to involve your evaluator in SPDG program activities

13. Planning Groups Technology Focus Workgroup SIG Day Regional Meetings
Facilitation

14. Regional Meeting Planning Group
SPDG Directors/Coordinators
Toyah Robey, Kentucky SPDG Director
Pam Rosen, Maine SPDG Director
Jon Dyson, Rhode Island SPDG Director
Steve Goodman, Michigan SPDG Co-Director
Julia Causey, Georgia SPDG Director
Evaluators
Amy Erickson, Evaluator, Missouri SPDG
Hayley Cavino, Evaluator, New York SPDG
Other
Jennifer Doolittle and Pat Gonzalez, OSEP
Jeanna Mullins, MSRRC
Audrey Desjarlais, SIGnetwork

15. Thanks to Coaching Facilitators!
Washington, DC
Susan Davis
Tom Manthey
Margie McGlinchey
Toyah Robey
Jeanna Mullins
Kansas City, MO
Howie Knoff
Julia LePage
John Green
Kerry Haag