Supporting Group Work with Image-Based Activities

The use of images such as photos and illustrations can be a powerful way to support group work. The images we use can be sourced from anywhere; often from beautifully presented packs or simply ‘found’ on the Internet. They can add great colour and life to group sessions of all kinds.

Our May event will focus on the use of image-based OD methods in organisations. It will be in an interactive format, facilitated by ODA member Heidi Vestergaard. We’ll use her area of research interest (Animal Rescue) as the basis of our online workshop activity.

Inspired by Ieta D’Costa’s 2021 ODA session, this session has been designed to invite engagement with a research topic. We will experiment with an image-based OD method, the Social Photo Matrix. This method has been extensively documented by Rose Redding Mersky and Burkard Sievers. It is an action research approach that uses photographs created and contributed by group/team members to support learning and organisational development. We will have the opportunity to think about the Matrix as a research method, discuss its potential for inclusion in our OD toolkit, and give feedback on our experience in the session.

What makes the Domestic Animal Rescue Industry tick?

(the research topic)

As pandemic-related lockdowns took hold in 2020 and people spent more time at home, there was a widely-reported surge in animal adoptions. Now we’re seeing a resurgence of animals young and old up for adoption – some born into a rescue / foster environment and others abandoned or surrendered. Managing this phenomenon, along with forces familiar to many of us like regulation, supply chain changes, competition and inflation, is a feature of the Animal Rescue industry.

During the session, we’ll use the Social Photo Matrix to capture an image that responds to a question or an idea about contemporary animal rescue in Australia.

No expertise is required! We want to share the method, reflect, and then have a conversation about the application of image-based group methods in our work contexts.

Join this session to hear a little about a fellow member’s incipient research topic, experiment with a familiar-but-different method in a virtual setting and share your own know-how and insight in relation to using image-based methods in your OD practice.

NOTE - PRE-WORK FOR PARTICIPANTS by 23 May 2022

You are invited to contribute a photo that you’ve taken (not a stock image) that captures your response to the topic:
“What makes the Domestic Animal Rescue Industry tick?”

Your image(s) may be randomly selected for use during the session. No attribution will be made. While a photo should render clearly on a screen, there are no other quality standards. All the photo files will be destroyed by the facilitator after the session.

Please email your image(s) to heidiv@deepod.com.au by 23 May 2022, to allow time for session preparation.

Our guest:

Heidi Vestergaard, ODA Member 

Heidi is a long-time ODA member who has worked in OD and HR leadership and specialist roles for a number of years. Among her many fascinations, she has an interest in systems and group life that she has enriched in both career roles and via ongoing study.

In 2021 Heidi commenced an exploration of doctoral studies in applied organisation dynamics. Over the last twelve months, she has been developing a proposal to research the dynamics alive in domestic animal rescue in Australia. Her focus is on the domain’s sustainability and her proposal (and research question) is a work in progress.