Ecocycle Planning
Ecocycle Planning helps teams visualize and analyze their portfolio of activities, identifying those that are thriving, those that are stuck, and those that need to be pruned. This method fosters a shared understanding of the current landscape and enables strategic prioritization and action planning.
Use Ecocycle Planning when you need to assess the health and balance of a team's or organization's activities, identify bottlenecks, and prioritize actions for improvement and innovation.
Solves: Siloed thinking, inefficient resource allocation, resistance to change, lack of strategic alignment.
- 1
Introduce the Ecocycle concept and distribute blank maps. (5 min)
- 2
Participants individually list all activities occupying their time. (5 min)
- 3
In pairs, participants decide where each activity fits on the Ecocycle. (10 min)
- 4
In groups of four, finalize the placement of activities on the map. (15 min)
- 5
Each group puts activities on sticky notes and places them on a large, shared Ecocycle map. (15 min)
- 6
The whole group steps back to observe the patterns and identify areas of consensus. (15 min)
- 7
In small groups, create first-action steps for activities needing to be stopped (Rigidity Trap). (10+ min)
- 8
In small groups, create first-action steps for activities needing more resources (Scarcity Trap). (10+ min)
- 9
Discuss activities with no consensus and create action steps to address the differences. (10 min)
- Start with a smaller, more tangible program for the first session.
- Emphasize that all phases of the Ecocycle are necessary for a healthy organization.
- Clearly define the scope of activities being considered.
- Map relationships instead of activities.
- Combine with other Liberating Structures like Panarchy or 1-2-4-All.