According to Peggy Holmen, the large group methods are the best way to accomplish rapid changes. The methods that Peggy suggests are the Large Group Scenario planning or one of the two 1) The two stage model (Search Conference and Participative Design Workshop) or 2) Unique Designs.
Large Group Scenario Planning (LGSP) is specifically used for planning long-term strategy while the future of the industry is significantly uncertain. Tourism industry faces similar situation where the future is uncertain due to various global factors. A tourism company can use the LGSP for identifying the critical uncertainties and achieve strategic planning.
The primary step is to form a plenary and small work group so that a shared understanding of the past and present is achieved. The trends are then divided into predictable and uncertain. Four future worlds (Pressure and conflict, President’s agenda, Mission Focus, and Agency Opportunity) are created.
Breakout rooms are used for the entire large group and the four worlds are described to the world using the chart writing technique, which is best suited for this. Chart writing allows for a fuller group participation. The process uses group memory, which extends the limits of the human memory and it validates the message by sending a message that people are valued and their ideas matter.
The Large Group of stakeholders then develop strategies for all the future worlds. After the breakout session had achieved what is set out to achieve, the results are then brought back to the plenary or the initial group for analysis. The plenary refines the strategy by discovering common ground and assesses the future risk. Based on these the next steps are planned.
When looking at a tourism scenario, most tourism operators have an uncertain future, but they have a large number of stakeholders. Most of them have ideas that work at the ground level. They may not know how to strategize. So a LGSP facilitated properly can produce the results.
References
Gilbert Steil, J. M.-C. (2007). Large Group Scenario Planning. In T. D. Peggy Holman (Ed.), The Change Handbook: The Definitive Resource on Today's Best Methods for Engaging Whole Systems (2nd ed., pp. 370-374). San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Guerre, M. E. (2007). Evolutions of Open Systems Theory. In T. D. Peggy Holman (Ed.), The Change Handbook: The Definitive Resource on Today's Best Methods for Engaging Whole Systems (2nd ed., pp. 244-249). San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Sam Kaner, L. L. (2007). Facilitator's guide to participatory decision-making. San Francisco, CA : Jossey-Bass.
