What is world café?

The world café is a special type of large format group research method. In some ways it is similar to a focus group, but it allows you to host more participants at once, and it facilitates large group dialogue on a topic. This makes it ideal for public engagement.

See the World Café Method Webpage for a thorough overview of this method: World Café Webpage.

Why use world café?

• This approach is interactive and fun for participants.
• It is particularly useful for idea generation in a casual setting.
• The format encourages open and diverse participation.

Properties of World café:

• Uses a tightly-controlled format to encourage open discussion and generate a wide variety of perspectives.
• Participants engage in a group discussion in a format intended to maximize participant comfort in order to generate ideas from the participant.
• Thus, it tends to be quite useful for public engagement where perspectives from many stakeholders are sought.
• Principles: The originators of this approach list 7 important design principles:
  1. Set the context.
  2. Create a hospitable space.
  3. Explore questions that matter.
  4. Encourage everyone’s contributions.
  5. Connect diverse perspectives.
  6. Listen together for patterns and insights.
  7. Share collective discoveries.

 

• Environment: It is recommended that the room for data collection be set up like a café, with tablecloths and centrepieces on tables, and with posters around the room which remind participants of the following:
  1. focus on what matters,
  2. listen to understand,
  3. contribute their thinking,
  4. speak their minds and hearts,
  5. link and connect ideas,
  6. listen together for insights and deeper questions,
  7. write and draw on the ‘tablecloths’, and
  8. have fun.

Collecting Data Using World Café:

This video from Florida State College provides a good overview of running a World Café (5 mins):

 

A successful world café requires the environment above, plus several key participants. It follows a specific process aimed at helping participants open up, feel comfortable and take an active role in dialog.

• Key roles:
  1. The client.
  2. The facilitator.
  3. Presenters.
  4. Hosts.
  5. Paricipants
  6. A graphic recorder.

 

• Process:
  1. Facilitator introduces the process, and guides timing and movement.
  2. Presenters provide short introductions to a series of “powerful questions” (limited to 5 minutes).
  3. Hosts are present at each table.
  4. Participants move between tables at the allotted times to engage in various conversations.
  5. The graphic recorder observes and records the event in graphic form.
  6. Usually there are 3-4 cycles of table conversation on key questions following each 5 minute presenter.

Tips from the Professor: While world café in some ways has the properties of a focus group, it can be run with a much larger group. That said, it takes more people to run a successful world café. The results may be worth it though – with the right hosts and facilitator, this method could be ideal for public engagement sessions

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