In December 2019, Canada's branch of OneTeamGov came together for an "unconference" in the national capital, Ottawa. OneTeamGov is a global network of public servants dedicated to collaboratively reforming public service through practical measures. Keeping with their values of openness and collaboration, the Ottawa Unconference did not have a set agenda. Instead, participants collaboratively built an agenda with volunteer organizers during the early hours of the day. The Ottawa Unconference brought together over 300 public servants (including over 90 volunteers) to discuss themes such as human-centered design, open data, and the future of work. I provided graphic recording throughout the "unconference" to capture the insights of diverse participants and weave them into solutions to public sector problems through visual storytelling.

OneTeamGov Canada wanted a way to capture the many insights throughout the day, and unite them into a cohesive, collaborative narrative. This was especially crucial as the structure of the day was emergent and fluent. I offered graphic facilitation as a means of capturing key messages throughout the day. This approach to capturing information was engaging, but also provided transparency and accountability; all participants' words were given equal visual weight and preserved through drawing. This allowed participants to build with facilitators as sessions unfurled, upholding the value of openness and the client's intention for the "unconference". 

The approach was very well received. It created an engaging and dynamic experience for participants, and allowed the organization to share insights with those who could not participate live. The output of the graphic recording was shared online long after the event concluded, fostering a digital conversation with a larger catchment of public servants than would otherwise be accessible.

This approach allowed the client to meet their objectives of open dialogue across public service and sustained engagement on public sector reform through a human-centered, collaborative visual approach. It had tremendous impact in person, engaging participants and giving them a means of recording the insights from the day. Online it sustained dialogue around crucial public sector issues for months.