Method guide · Arrange people and ideas
Social Network Webbing
Map existing relationships and choose a new connection that serves a shared purpose.
- People
- 2–40
- Base procedure time
- 60 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Build working relationships; Make a decision.
English guide
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How this method works
A method for arranging people and relationships to choose new connections needed for a purpose. Use it when cooperation is judged only from an organisation chart, names of contacts remain in individual memory, or a list of people never leads to a first contact. Participants place current collaborators, people reachable through introductions, and roles with no existing contact in 3 separate areas, connecting only relationships that actually exist with strips. Look for places where one new connection could close a path formed by 2 existing links, then decide who is responsible and what the first contact will be. The result is a current network, missing roles, new bridges, and connection sheets. Do not use it where personal information would be shared without the person's consent, or where the number of connections would be treated as proof of trust or power.
Phase schedule
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- Set out the purpose and roles0–8 minutes from the start (8 minutes)
Action: Place. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
- Identify people and roles8–20 minutes from the start (12 minutes)
Action: Identify. Participation: Individually.
Individual record
- Connect the current network20–35 minutes from the start (15 minutes)
Action: Connect. Participation: Groups of 2–6.
Shared record
- Find missing bridges35–50 minutes from the start (15 minutes)
Action: Find. Participation: Groups of 2–6.
Shared record
- Choose a new connection50–60 minutes from the start (10 minutes)
Action: Choose. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 8 minutes, state the purpose in one sentence and list up to 6 kinds of roles needed as a key for the cards.
- For 12 minutes, each person uses up to 5 cards to name current collaborators and people reachable through introductions, noting how they know each person in the point-of-contact field.
- For 15 minutes, in groups of 2–6, place cards in 3 areas: current collaborators, reachable through introductions, and not yet connected. Use strips to connect relationships that actually exist.
- For 8 minutes, each group places up to 3 roles needed for the purpose but lacking a person's name in the unconnected area, with a reason for each gap.
- For 7 minutes, each group looks for unconnected roles that could be reached by introductions through two people's existing relationships, and provisionally places up to 3 new-connection strips.
- For 10 minutes, compare overlapping proposals with everyone and record one new connection to pursue, the person making contact, the introducer, and the deadline on the connection sheet.
If something changes
If
Eight minutes after drawing the current network begins, a group has fewer than 2 relationship lines.
Then
Read the point-of-contact fields and add one line only between two people who have shared the same setting or work.
If
Five minutes after considering new connections begins, 0 strips reach an unconnected role.
Then
Choose one existing contact who may have a connection with that role, and write on the strip what to check before asking for an introduction.
Preparation
Materials
- A network map sheet (1 per group of 2–6)
- Cards for people and roles, with role and point-of-contact fields (5 per person)
- Strips for existing relationships (12 per group)
- Strips for new connections, with a person-responsible field (3 per group)
- A connection sheet with space for the first contact (1 per group)
- Dark-coloured pens (1 per person)
Room and setup
- Form groups of 2–6, with group sizes differing by no more than 1 person, and place one set of paper and relationship strips at each group
- One shared display area for collecting every group's new connection sheet
Adjust for people and time
With 2–40 participants, form groups of 2–6, with group sizes differing by no more than 1 person. Each group submits just one new connection sheet to the shared display; with 40 participants, display 7 sheets. Do not merge cards for the same person when the purpose or introduction route differs. The person completing the card decides how widely its personal information may be shared.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Do not share personal information without the person's consent. Let the card's author specify its sharing scope. Map only relationships that actually exist; the number of connections is not proof of trust or power.
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): Social Network Webbing — Henri Lipmanowicz / Keith McCandless / Nancy White
https://www.liberatingstructures.com/social-network-webbing
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
- Developed by: Henri Lipmanowicz, Keith McCandless
Related work credited on that page: June Holley; network weaving.
Source page checked on 2026-10-17: Social Network Webbing.
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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