The meeting marketplace™, developed by Evolve, is an innovative way to bring large groups of people together. It takes the best of our long tradition of ‘going to market’ and combines it with award winning design to make it easy for people to share information, ideas, and stories in a productive and enjoyable way. It combines face to face and virtual meetings, to include and impact on much more than the ‘usual suspects’.

Watch this short video below to take a tour through a live 'marketplace'.

A marketplace™ by any other name?

With Evolve, organisations have hosted a meeting marketplace™ using other names such as ‘Open House’, the ‘Big Day Out’, ‘Tradeshow’ and ‘Fair’. While the ‘marketplace’ as a title works in most cultures and organisations, it is important to use a title that captures the imagination of your participants. If you are following the marketplace concepts, the use of another term is acceptable to Evolve and our Copyright terms, with our written consent and  subject to acknowledgement of the marketplace™ basis and Evolve for the concept.

Is it For You?
A marketplace could be for you if any of the following describes your situation:

• The issues are complex, there are numerous
• The following complaints sound familiar: public participation and large meetings are inefficient, waste precious time and resources, create false expectations, and are irrational and elitist
• You wish to reach beyond the usual suspects (the ‘silent majority’, ‘screaming silents’, ‘non-players’, ‘once-bitten’ and ‘free riders’) and have a truly diverse cross-section of participants.
• You are an innovator and strive to go beyond the safe and conventional while trusting wisdom that has been around for eons. You would love to work collaboratively to implement a program that is fresh, and where people both enjoy and are excited to get involved.

Sound Familar? Then let’s go to market!

Imagine you are at a market. What do you see?
Colour. Movement and action. People talking. Humour and noise. Lots of stalls offering enticing things. You’re not trapped in one spot, you can come and go.

Now think about the last big meeting you went to. How was it organised? Did one person speak? Did you all have to sit in rows and listen attentively? How much interaction was there between participants? Did the thought – I’m wasting my time – cross your mind?

Life is busy and complex enough without wasting time in another poorly designed meeting.

But spare a thought for the person who gets the job of organising a large meeting. Often it’s on top of their existing job. Mostly they do it like it’s always been done before. There is a lot of pressure to juggle different agendas, diaries, competing events, and budgets. No wonder people revert to the so called ‘tried and true’ methods for herding people into a room.

Good news – there’s another way…

The meeting marketplace™ takes the best of our long tradition of ‘going to market’ and combines it with smart design that will make it easy for people to share information, ideas, and stories in a productive and enjoyable way.

This is how it works:

There are separate stations set up within the venue, just like a trade fair or an expo. They each offer different ways people can share ideas and information in response to an identified theme. Some spots encourage one-to-one interaction while others allow for group talk. People can choose how to share their ideas – through words, drawing, music or pictures.

meeting marketplace™ is fun, informal, and participatory. It yields valid and rich information you can take away and use immediately.

Want to know more?

Here is what you can do:
- Watch a video of a real marketplace here
- Join into our next ‘guided’ virtual tour (free) here
- Order a complementary copy of the Marketplace Sampler here

Ready to Run a Marketplace of your Own?

With the meeting marketplace™ Toolkit you will have over 170 pages of tips, tools and templates at your fingertips. Grounded in the principles and practices of effective public participation plus our years of experience in coaching and group facilitation, you can learn to create dynamic and friendly meetings that will have your participants energised and taking action long after the meeting is over.

meeting marketplace™ saves time and money. People walk away saying ‘that meeting was great’. Can you put a price on that?

To find out more about the Toolkit click here

 

Carla Rogers, Principal, Evolve
“Most people love to share their ideas and stories when they can be themselves, be naturally enthusiastic. Good design is almost invisible, it makes things work well without being obvious. meeting marketplace™ is just that – a meeting framework that leaves everybody thinking they did it themselves!”

Elisia Dowling, Parks Victoria
"We were searching for an innovative way to consult with the community.  The meeting marketplace™ was exactly what we were looking for. It is fun, new, exciting and the toolkit provided us with a step by step guide. There is something for everyone in this approach!"

Jennifer Repper, Jennifer Repper and Associates
"Your meeting marketplace™ and community engagement session was a thunder bolt for me. This framework felt like an old friend and I suddenly realised where I want to be. I commend you on your insight and sensitivity embedded into this framework, well done!"

Andrew Huffer, Director, Andrew Huffer and Associates Pty. Ltd.
"As a facilitator, I found that the meeting marketplace™ approach and toolkit made my job relatively easy and definitely more enjoyable! Participants could see that this was a genuine engagement process and the client that community engagement was no longer something to be scared of, providing value for the project, organisation and participants. As one participant said:  "Thanks for a wonderful meeting. I thought that it would be very emotional and that we wouldn't get the chance to have our say. It's been completely different from what I expected and what I have experienced in this town before." 

Gordon Clarke, Strategic Planning Manager, Shoalhaven City Council
“Council had previously used the traditional public meeting format and was
looking to try something different to reach the wider community. The  meeting marketplace™, somewhat like a trade fair, was flexible, well received  by the community and Council and provided a range of opportunities,  including an online option, for people to have their say."

Sue Brazil, Hunter New England Area Health Service
"Working with Carla and the Toolkit enabled me to appreciate new insights in the way meetings are conducted, and learn valuable facilitation skills. In each coaching session we would develop creative solutions for challenging issues. Carla kept me on track and both inspired and motivated for our first meeting marketplace™. "

Christine Toner, Christine Toner and Associates Pty Ltd
"Working with the meeting marketplace™ Toolkit has enabled me to develop a meeting where everyone has an opportunity to have their say in a way they feel comfortable. It is hugely helpful to have a model to use as a base, especially knowing that Evolve have tried and tested it many times. "