Method guide · Arrange people and ideas
Ecocycle Planning
Map activities across four lifecycle stages to find where resources are stuck or lacking.
- People
- 4–40
- Base procedure time
- 90 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Reflect and learn; Make a decision.
English guide
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How this method works
A method for placing activities in four lifecycle stages and finding where resources are blocked. Use it when there is no capacity for new projects, activities continue despite weak reasons for keeping them, or activity lists lead only to priority rankings. Participants place current activities on a cycle of birth, maturity, letting go, and renewal. They separately mark rigidity, where activities cannot move on from maturity, and shortage, where resources do not reach renewal. By linking resources to release or invest with these two blockages, the group leaves with an activity cycle map, differences in placement, actions to stop and to nurture, and responsible people and deadlines. Do not use it for activities that must continue by law or to decide the effects of stopping while the people affected are absent.
Phase schedule
Minutes are cumulative from the start of the base plan, not a live timer. Read scaling for any additional time. Phase controls do not advance automatically.
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- Define the scope0–10 minutes from the start (10 minutes)
Action: Define. Participation: Everyone.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- List activities10–25 minutes from the start (15 minutes)
Action: List. Participation: Individually.
Individual record
- Place activities on the cycle25–50 minutes from the start (25 minutes)
Action: Place. Participation: Groups of 3–6.
Shared record
- Address the blockages50–75 minutes from the start (25 minutes)
Action: Address. Participation: Groups of 3–6.
Shared record
- Connect actions75–90 minutes from the start (15 minutes)
Action: Connect. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 10 minutes, define in one sentence each the set of activities to examine, the period covered, and the time, budget, and attention to count as resources.
- For 15 minutes, each person writes up to 6 activities that use resources, marking current resource use as high, medium, or low on each activity card.
- For 25 minutes, place the activity cards at the 4 stations within groups of 3–6. Where people disagree on placement, duplicate the card in 2 locations and add the reasons.
- For 12 minutes, place rigidity or shortage rings on cards that do not move from maturity to letting go, or from renewal to birth.
- For 13 minutes, choose one activity from each blockage ring and write one action card each for the resources to release or the resources to invest.
- For 15 minutes, move every group's action cards to the whole-group surface, then record who is responsible, the deadline for starting, and the date to review the cycle map.
If something changes
If
Fifteen minutes after cycle placement begins, 80% or more of one group's activity cards are concentrated at maturity.
Then
Order the maturity cards by resource use, highest first, then place a rigidity ring on the highest-ranked activity for which an ending condition cannot be written.
If
Eight minutes after discussing blockages begins, there are no action cards on the shortage side.
Then
Choose one renewal card and write one addition of time or contact with people that could be made for just 1 week to move it towards birth.
Preparation
Materials
- One cycle-map sheet per group, with 4 stations: birth, maturity, letting go, and renewal
- 6 activity cards per person, with a field for resource use
- 2 blockage rings per group, labelled rigidity and shortage
- 4 action cards per group, with fields for the responsible person and deadline
- One whole-group action sheet, with a group-number field
- One dark-coloured pen per person
Room and setup
- Form groups of 3–6, with group sizes differing by no more than 1 person
- Give each group one cycle-map sheet and 2 blockage rings
- One whole-group action surface for collecting the action cards from every group
Adjust for people and time
Do not use this method with fewer than 4 people, because differences in placement are difficult to compare. With 4–40 people, form groups of 3–6, with group sizes differing by no more than 1 person. With 41–50 people, divide the participants between 2 sessions, using the same group-size conditions in each session. Each group contributes one rigidity action card and one shortage action card to the whole-group surface. Keep the original group numbers after combining the cards.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Do not use this method for activities that must continue by law or to decide the effects of stopping while the people affected are absent. Preserve differences in placement by showing disputed activities in both locations with reasons, and retain each action card's original group number after combining the cards.
Historical translation and source notes
These original notes are retained verbatim with their fixed source versions. This historical label does not resolve a source-specific concern or establish current acceptance.
- The source metadata sets a maximum of 40 participants, while its scaling text also describes 41–50 people across two sessions. Both are preserved; this draft does not raise the metadata maximum or add a procedure above 50 people.
Manuscript's recorded references
These translate the original manuscript's source and rights claims. They remain separate from any current-page notice below; they do not establish new verification.
- Liberating Structures Fieldbook (2026): Ecocycle Planning — Henri Lipmanowicz / Keith McCandless / Nancy White
https://www.liberatingstructures.com/ecocycle-planning
Adaptation under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes made
- CC BY-SA 4.0
Current-page licence notice
This explanation is an adaptation for Taiwa no Fumen based on the official Liberating Structures page linked below. The manuscript's recorded references are listed separately from the web page checked on 17 October 2026.
Changes: the Japanese explanation and facilitation plan have been edited for Taiwa no Fumen. The English edition translates that Japanese manuscript; it is not a verbatim translation of the official page.
The LS-adapted text on this page, including this site's editorial and translation contributions, is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. When reusing it, credit the creators, identify the source and licence, indicate changes, and follow the licence's ShareAlike terms when sharing adaptations.
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Credits on the checked source page
- Adapted by: Henri Lipmanowicz, Keith McCandless
Related work credited on that page: Brenda Zimmerman.
Source page checked on 2026-10-17: Ecocycle Planning.
Source lineage
- Original repertoire (2013): Henri Lipmanowicz, Keith McCandless
- 2026 Fieldbook: Keith McCandless, Nancy White
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International · Legal code · Official source policy
This material-specific notice does not itself establish publication clearance. Preserved manuscript references above remain separate from the current page's credits and licence evidence.
Diagram, print, and video language
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Editorial provenance
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