Methods in Patient Engagement: The World Café
In this series, Methods in Patient Engagement, we will explore the participatory approaches found in the online interactive tool, and share some examples and insights. If you’re not already familiar with our Guide to Methods in Engagement, read the how-to blog here.
Up first? World Café!
Where Can I Find World Café in the PE Methods Tool?
The World Café engagement activity/participatory approach is found at the ‘patient/public directed’ level of various stages of the research process: research design, development of grant proposal, preparation for execution, dissemination, implementation, and evaluation. Check out our resources page to explore for yourself!
What is World Café?
World Café is considered an approach best suited to the public/patient-directed level of engagement, where patient and public partners have most or all of the decision-making power about one or more phases of the research project (such as research design, development of the grant proposal, preparation for execution, dissemination, implementation, and/or evaluation).
A World Café involves structured conversations with the purpose of sharing knowledge. Groups of people rotate between different tables, each of which has a different discussion/topic and a ‘table host’ to help guide the discussion and welcome new people as they move about. World Café encourages patient and public partners, researchers, and other stakeholders to come together to discuss important research decisions such as “what outcome measures are most important for this research?”, “how should data be collected so it is appropriate and sensitive to the contexts which people live, play, and work in?” and “how will we measure success in this research project?”
How did World Café Start?
The World Café was conceptualized in 1995 by Juanita Brown and David Isaacs when a large discussion around key strategic business issues was interrupted by rain and moved to smaller, more intimate conversations. The smaller discussions were periodically interrupted to allow people to switch tables so their ideas and insights would follow them to new conversations, allowing further depth, circulation, and connection of these concepts. They also used paper ‘tablecloths’ so people could write down and record their thoughts at each table. Through this process, the group began to notice emerging patterns in thinking, provoking new rounds of conversation, as well as transforming the “depth, scope, and quality of their collaboration”. Through continued research, they identified seven key design principles that made their ‘World Café’ so successful.
Seven Key Principles
The process of a World Café is based on how groups of people naturally converse with one another in a social setting. Though it may seem informal, there are key principles to help guide the design and execution of a successful World Café.
1. Set the Context
Focus the purpose and parameters of the meeting to realize your goals (who should be included, what themes or questions are most useful, how should ideas be recorded and shared, etc.)
2. Create Safe and Accessible Spaces
When people feel safe to express themselves, they have the freedom and space to be creative in their thinking, speaking, and listening. Make sure to consider what safety means to different research team members, patient and public partners, and stakeholders — the best way to do this is by asking them what makes them feel safe (in terms of location, setting, who is in the room, supports, etc.)
3. Explore Research Decisions that Matter
Questions and decisions that are discussed need to be relevant to the real-life concerns of the group. Choose powerful questions that travel well and can be discussed by all members of the group — this may be a single key question (such as, “what population should this research focus on?”), questions exploring a similar concept (such as “what barriers do women face in accessing care?” and “what facilitators help women access care?”), or progressively deeper lines of inquiry through several conversations.
4. Encourage Everyone to Contribute
Allow space for everyone in the group to make meaningful contributions. Professional facilitators (table hosts), various modes through which people can contribute (verbally, written on a paper tablecloth, shared in a private sticky note, etc.), and addressing power imbalances between people may be helpful strategies for ensuring inclusivity in a World Café.
5. Connect Diverse Perspectives
Moving between tables, actively contributing, and linking ideas and insights to new conversations and perspectives are unique features of the World Café. This allows enrichment of ideas and concepts and new insights, particularly when a diversity of voices are included.
6. Listen Together for Patterns and Insights
Active listening is an important factor for World Café success. Pay attention to repeating words, phrases, patterns, and themes to reveal connections at a larger level. Listen not only to what is being shared, but also to what is not being spoken about.
7. Share Collective Discoveries and Decisions
Conversations at each table reflect overall patterns and themes that connect the individual conversations. The last phase of a World Café, called the “harvest”, involves coming together in a larger group conversation to discuss how everything fits together as a whole. It may be helpful to invite a few minutes of silent reflection and ask people to share thoughts and insights with the larger group. Recording the harvest is important, and a graphic facilitator is a great way to do this.
Tips for Success
- Make sure to prepare compelling questions for discussion at each table that are designed to begin at a general level (e.g. “What helps you most when it comes to day-to-day living?”) and then move toward more focused questions around the research decision to be made (e.g. “What outcome measures should we include in the research project?”).
- Have no more than 4–5 people per table and set up at least three progressive rounds of conversations — plan for about 20 minutes per conversation.
- Participants should move to new tables between rounds of conversation to connect with new individuals and perspectives/experiential knowledge.
- If you plan to have participants move between rounds, include table hosts for each table that meet and greet patient/public partners as they move to a new group. These hosts can be participants as well — just make sure they understand their role in remaining at their table to greet others as they move through the room.
More on World Cafés
For further reading on processes related to World Cafés, check out the following resources:
