meetontwerp

Meetontwerp is the practice of designing meetings with explicit objectives and structured formats to maximize outcomes. In Dutch, the term combines meet (meeting) and ontwerp (design), signaling a systematic approach to planning and conducting meetings rather than leaving them to chance. It emphasizes clarity, efficiency, and intentional use of time.

Core elements of meetontwerp include a clear purpose and success criteria, careful selection of participants, an agenda with timeboxed segments, a deliberate sequence of activities aligned to the objectives, and appropriate pre-meeting preparation and materials. The design also specifies roles such as facilitator and note-taker, defines decision rules and governance, and plans post-meeting follow-up with action items. These components help ensure that meetings produce concrete results rather than merely being routine gatherings.

The design process typically involves scoping the meeting, drafting the agenda and activity plan, preparing participants, choosing facilitation techniques, and establishing methods to evaluate outcomes. Practitioners may employ timeboxing, structured activities, and visual aids, along with collaborative methods like brainstorming, affinity clustering, and dot voting. Digital tools for remote or hybrid meetings are commonly integrated into the design.

Applications of meetontwerp span corporate, non-profit, educational, and public-sector contexts. It is used to improve alignment, decision quality, and participant engagement, while potentially increasing efficiency. Critics note that successful meetontwerp requires skilled facilitation and can incur costs or become counterproductive if overengineered or inflexible.

See also: facilitation, workshop design, meeting management.