Search Conferences

These are meetings which bring together the parties (stakeholders) to a subject to provide answers to particular questions (called search conferences, future search, etc.).

The subject may be revealing the mission, and identifying the vision of a commercial firm, foundation or a governmental organization, or search for reconciliation regarding the fundamentals of the policy on an issue as well as reconciling the parties to a national conflict (search conference).

The desire of such institutions to foresee the future regarding a specific topic can also be satisfied through search conferences (future search).

Our references on such conferences that we have moderated up to now are given in the last pages.

What can we do?

The crucial point of a search conference is correct planning of the questions to be directed to the participants. Searching answers to incorrect question might make a search conference a pleasant – but expensive – weekend. We ensure that a conference achieves its objective by devising the correct questions or by contributing to the planning of the participants, pertaining the topic reconciliation is sought.

The second important feature distinguishing a reconciliation conference and other meetings of the same appearance is to ensure full participation of the participants and to prevent unnecessary dominance due to commercial, academic, bureaucratic or political titles held.

The last important point is interpreting the results of the conference. This is not reporting or summarizing what has been said, but is reaching a synthesis of what is said and the accumulations of the moderator.