Programs Program meetings are the core Learning Group activity. Each month, we present a program on a topic in or relating to organizational development. We strive to find new and significant areas of interest to our membership, to reflect cutting edge developments in our field, and to foster continual learning on all facets of OD. The Learning Group was founded to provide a community of practice committed to shared action learning via experiential methods. Our programs are thus based on interactive methods and are generally team based. We serve to meet the needs of the experienced members of the OD community, of those new to the field, and of those who may not be part of that community but are interested in learning about organizational development. In addition, we recognize that our constituencies include external consultants, internal practitioners of various sorts, and students. As an open organization, we maintain an informal and empowering environment. We encourage program design that enables those participating to develop their OD skills as well as to achieve continual learning. We apply the action learning model to our program process. Our meetings provide tangible learning that is backed up by handouts, published program notes, and follow up actions as members may envision and support. We use surveying, evaluation and after action reviews both to support the learning that takes place at meetings and to improve our program process generally. In addition to the regular monthly meetings, we occasionally offer bonus programs. These may provide opportunities for specialized topics or for experimental methodologies. Program meetings also furnish opportunities for those attending to network; there is a pre-agenda networking period, and we encourage program designs that help meet this need. We also use program meetings for organizational communication and for brainstorming and discussion on Learning Group activity. We encourage members to be involved in our program activity to the maximum extent that they are able and interested. We give preference to proposals that are member-based and that promote member connections, although on occasion we also offer presenters from different segments of the OD and related fields. Anyone who has an idea for program (whether one they that would like to present or one that would like to see presented) is encouraged to send it to programs@learninggroup.org.  In the initial stage, such proposals need be no more than a few sentences explaining the program topic, its design and methodology, and the takeaways that participants would get. We will work with those who submit program ideas to see that they are evaluated and, as indicated, developed. The Coordinating Committee can help members find resources and connect them with others needed to design and produce programs.  In selecting programs, we consider the relevance and novelty of the topic, provision of applications and tools, and opportunities presented for members to be involved and to practice OD skills. Learning Group programs should be experiential and follow the action learning model. All members - and even non-members - are also urged to give input as to which program ideas are most worthy of production. For this purpose, we have a web page that lists pending program proposals and allows you to indicate which you like to see and, if you would like to be a member of the program team, to express that interest. For those who want to actively follow program activity, there is a e-group specifically for that purpose. Membership is open to all and provides access to program documentation (such as the texts of program proposals, program evaluation reports, and survey results), as well as a forum for discussion on program issues. To join, contact programs@learninggroup.org. We ask all those attend our meetings to do a program evaluation, either on paper or via our on-line form, as part of the action learning progress. On January 21, 2003, we held a special meeting on improving our program evaluation process. For the archive of this event, click here. Comments on Learning Group programs may also be sent to the Coordinating Committee at cc@learninggroup.org.