# Keeping a network of foresight experts alive over time > In a large energy group, a network of researchers spots the technologies that could change everything. Its mission was being redefined. We have been working with it session after session: first so it could respond to the new roadmap rather than just accept it, then so the network could design its own gatherings. *Real case, anonymised: the company name is invented.* - Company (invented name) : Néolis - Sector : Energy, international group - Size : A network of some twenty experts, in a very large group - Format : Remote sessions, then day-and-a-half gatherings - Audience : Some twenty experts and researchers from several R&D units, many of whom do more than foresight, and delegates based in several countries. - URL : https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/cas-clients/reseau-prospective-experts ## Context - The network spots emerging technologies and tests innovations against the reality of operations. - Its mission is being redefined: new priorities, delegates joining from abroad, a redesign of its publications and of its watch tool. - The group’s R&D is being reorganised at the same time. Some fear that sharing information will run into silos. - Members are spread over several time zones and rarely meet in person. ## The challenge Get the network to respond to a new direction without experiencing it as imposed, then keep alive a group that rarely meets and works at a distance. ## Design ideas - **Six hats to respond without digging in** : The new direction goes through the six thinking hats, in threes: emotions, creativity, risks, optimism, pragmatism. Each trio reports back in two minutes, with a timer on screen. Criticism has its own hat, and so its own place. - **Sponsors from among the members** : At the end of each session, volunteers become sponsors of the next one. They choose the topics with us and review the invitation text. Then new members join the preparation team. - **Rituals of recognition** : A tribute to a member who is leaving, with a motto saying you stay part of the network. Public thanks to the youngest members. The network sees itself as a community, not a committee. - **Gatherings that allow for distance** : An in-person gathering starts early in the afternoon so that those travelling can make it. Dinner is designed as a moment of its own. The next morning, an early video call lets the teams in Asia take part. ## Run of show ### A remote session - **Network news** : The new direction on one page: mission, organisation, timeline. - **The six hats** : In threes, the same direction seen from six angles. - **Two minutes per trio** : Timed report-backs, then discussion. - **What next** : A volunteer sponsor to co-prepare the next gathering. - **Tribute** : A departure honoured, public thanks. ### A day-and-a-half gathering - Day 1 · early afternoon · **The watch tool** : What works, the priorities to reach, and how to celebrate when they are reached. - **Disruption risks** : Including the risk of not developing, or not watching, a technology. - Evening · **Dinner by the water** : A moment chosen with the sponsors. - Day 2 · early · **Video call with Asia** : Delegates in other time zones join the room. - **You teach, I take** : Technical input from one member to the others. - **Publications** : What we keep, what we merge, what we stop. ## Deliverables - After each session, a synthesis of the sticky notes turned into concrete proposals for the network’s coordination team. - Proposals that came out of the hats: speak of evolution rather than revolution, never add a publication without removing one, bring the outputs together into a single short regular issue. - A preparation team that grows from one gathering to the next. ## Key takeaways - Giving criticism a hat gives it a place without letting it take over the room. - A network that rarely meets holds together through its rituals and the people who prepare it. The more members design the gatherings themselves, the more the gatherings feel like theirs. Related expertise : [Collective intelligence](https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/intelligence-collective), [Seminar facilitation](https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/facilitation-de-seminaire), [Seminar design](https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/design-de-seminaire) --- Source: Flow Design, https://www.getflowdesign.com Contact: victoire@getflowdesign.com, marie-violaine@getflowdesign.com, +33 6 72 15 94 77. Request a quote: https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/nous-contacter. Draft a run of show online: https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/concevoir-mon-seminaire.