FUTURE SEARCH - FINDING COMMON GROUND IN ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITIES

This paper describes the goals and methods of the future search confer ence, a large group planning meeting for people seeking common ground for action in organizations and communities. Underlying assumptions an d an overview of the approach are provided. Next case studies describi ng outcomes of future searches in various organizations and communitie s are discussed. Limitations of the approach are outlined as well. Dis tinctions between future search and traditional organization developme nt strategies are discussed next. The authors conclude by describing t he paper as a progress report on an approach with much promise.