Purpose
The method helps clarify group input, selection, and decision concretely. It turns individual contributions into a visible selection. The result is captured as table notes, emergent themes, and shared questions.
Facilitation
World Café
Turns group input, selection, and decision into a tangible result by defining the guiding questions, preparing tables and host roles, and bundling patterns in plenary.
Which collective insights and new connections emerge when the same questions are discussed across several rounds in changing constellations?
MediumWorkshop60-180 min
How it works
The team follows the steps: define the guiding questions, prepare tables and host roles, run a dialogue round, rotate participants, and bundle patterns and insights in plenary. Each step is captured visibly. At the end, table notes, emergent themes, and shared questions are available so decisions, tests, or actions can follow directly.
Visual orientation
Method sketch for a quick mental model.
Flow
- 1Define the guiding questions
- 2Prepare tables and host roles
- 3Run a dialogue round
- 4Rotate participants
- 5Bundle patterns and insights in plenary
The runsheet guides execution with 5 phases, timeboxes, 5 pitfalls, and clear stop criteria.
Open runsheetIdeal for
- Stakeholder Dialog
- Community Learning
- Strategic Exploration
Not good for
- Fast individual decisions
- Small groups without perspective diversity
Deep dive
In detail
World Café uses several short rounds of dialogue to let ideas move from table to table. Hosts capture interim results while new participants bring in fresh perspectives. Rotation creates links between ideas that often stay separate in fixed groups. The result is less a decision than a shared pattern of questions, insights, and possible next topics.
Facilitation
Prepare tables, writing surfaces, guiding questions, and a clear rotation. Ask hosts not to present, but to create continuity for the next round. Avoid too many questions; a few good ones lead to deeper conversations than a long question list.
Output artifacts
Table NotesEmergent ThemesShared Questions
Artifact templates
World Cafe Working TemplateCompact working template for World Cafe with context, input, output artifacts, and next step.markdown
World Cafe Working TemplateCompact working template for World Cafe with context, input, output artifacts, and next step.
markdownworld-cafe-working-template.md
Compact working template for World Cafe with context, input, output artifacts, and next step.
World Cafe Working Template
Goal
Dialogue format with rotating small groups to connect knowledge and perspectives across several rounds.
Context
When and for what do we use this method?
Input
Which data, observations, decisions, or materials are available?
Execution
Short notes along the runsheet.
Output artifacts
- Table Notes:
- Emergent Themes:
- Shared Questions:
Assumptions and open questions
- ...
Decision / Next step
Owner, date, and success signal.
When to choose differently
Short decision aid for existing alternatives.
Open Space Technology
Statt World Café, wenn ihr Themen und Verantwortungen aus der Gruppe heraus selbst organisieren wollt.
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Turns group input, selection, and decision into a tangible result by explaining the theme and frame, collecting session proposals, and bundling results and next steps.
Statt World Café, wenn ihr Themen und Verantwortungen aus der Gruppe heraus selbst organisieren wollt.
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Question Burst
Clarifies group input, selection, and decision-making by framing the challenge, collecting questions only, and deriving new insights and next steps.