Facilitator guide
The course day minute by minute: Lens groups, two Panarchy blocks, and the individual Action Plan
This guide is for the trainers who host the course day. Participants use the syllabus and the Panarchy page. The afternoon adapts the Liberating Structures Panarchy (Liberating Structures 2026). The steps, their labels, and their durations are adapted to the course.
One term all day
The Research Use is the one actual or planned use of generative AI that each participant describes on the Research Use Card. Use this term all day. Do not call it a case, a project, or a description in the afternoon. The afternoon adds three terms:
- Challenge: one sentence about what must change so that the Research Use becomes more responsible.
- Opportunities & Barriers: places where a change at one level can unlock or block a change at another level.
- Action Plan: the group Action Plan of Block 1 on a flipchart or in a shared document, and the individual Action Plan of each participant on Sheet 2, back.
Before the course day
Materials
- Two double-sided A4 sheets for each participant. Print them in landscape, double-sided, flipped on the short edge:
- The Word versions of both sheets, for participants who prefer to type.
- One flipchart sheet and thick pens for each group, or a shared document. No sticky notes are needed.
- The course day deck on the room screen. It has a title slide for each slot, then the slides of that slot.
- The four Lens decks and the Panarchy deck in a second window.
Room
- Four tables, one for each Lens. Put a sign with the number and the name of the Lens on each table.
- Space at each table for a flipchart sheet, or a screen for a shared document.
- Seats near the tables for participants who cannot stand for long.
Roles
- Lead: keeps time, gives the instructions, and changes the slide of the course day deck. The trainer timeline names the lead of each slot.
- Both trainers: circulate and facilitate during all collaborative activities.
- Participants: contribute alone, in pairs, and in groups of four.
Hold the time strictly. A firm structure gives quiet participants the same space as loud ones.
Trainer timeline
The Lead column names the trainers of the current course. Replace the names when you reuse the course. The timeline comes from data/schedule.yml, the same source as the timetable and the course day deck.
| Time | Activity | Format | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00–09:10 | Welcome | Plenary | Laura |
| 09:10–09:20 | Research Use Card | Alone | Moritz |
| 09:20–09:35 | Lens 1: Scale & Environment | Plenary | Moritz |
| 09:35–09:50 | Lens 2: Representation | Plenary | Laura |
| 09:50–10:05 | Lens 3: Lifecycle & Labor | Plenary | Moritz |
| 10:05–10:20 | Lens 4: Political Economy & Governance | Plenary | Laura |
| 10:20–10:35 | Break | — | — |
| 10:35–10:40 | Form Lens groups | Plenary | Laura |
| 10:40–11:40 | Research Use and Lens discussion | Groups | Moritz |
| 11:40–12:00 | Spokesperson reports | Plenary | Laura |
| 12:00–12:10 | Clarify open questions | Plenary | Moritz |
| 12:10–12:20 | Buffer / capture findings | Groups | Laura |
| 12:20–13:20 | Lunch | — | — |
| 13:20–13:25 | Panarchy introduction | Plenary | Moritz |
| 13:25–13:40 | Frame Challenge & Identify Influences | Alone | Laura |
| 13:40–14:00 | Translate & Compare Levels | Pairs | Moritz |
| 14:00–14:05 | Form groups of four | Plenary | Laura |
| 14:05–14:20 | Present challenges and charts | Groups | Moritz |
| 14:20–14:25 | Select challenge | Groups | Laura |
| 14:25–14:35 | Find Opportunities & Barriers | Alone | Moritz |
| 14:35–15:00 | Discuss and consolidate Action Plan | Groups | Laura |
| 15:00–15:10 | Buffer / capture findings | Groups | Moritz |
| 15:10–15:25 | Break | — | — |
| 15:25–15:30 | Form new pairs | Plenary | Laura |
| 15:30–15:40 | Opportunities & Barriers for remaining challenges | Alone | Moritz |
| 15:40–16:15 | Discuss and prioritize remaining challenges | Pairs | Laura |
| 16:15–16:35 | Individual Action Plan | Alone | Moritz |
| 16:35–16:45 | Peer review | Pairs | Laura |
| 16:45–17:00 | Course evaluation and closing | Plenary | Moritz |
Morning: Research Use Card and Lens groups
Research Use Card · 10 minutes
Say:
“Take Sheet 1. On the right, fill in the Research Use Card. Describe one actual or planned use of generative AI in your research. This is your Research Use. It stays your Research Use all day. Leave the field Lens empty for now. Do not write confidential or personal data.”
Four Lens inputs · 15 minutes each
Each Lens has 15 minutes for theory and one example. The Lenses have no individual activity. At the end of Lens 4, say:
“Which Lens fits your Research Use best? Write the number on your card.”
Form Lens groups · 5 minutes
Say:
“Go to the table of the Lens that fits your Research Use best.”
Then balance the tables:
- Aim for groups of four, ideally one group for each Lens.
- If a table has more than four people, ask for volunteers who move to their second choice.
- If a Lens has no group, accept it. The plenary still covers that Lens through the questions.
- With fewer than 16 participants, form groups of three. With more, form a second group for a Lens.
Research Use and Lens discussion · 60 minutes
Say:
“Each person introduces their Research Use Card in two minutes. Then apply the four questions of your Lens to each Research Use, one Research Use after the other. Record insights, uncertainties, and disagreements on the flipchart or in a shared document. Nominate a spokesperson.”
Show the shared slide with the four guiding questions of each Lens. It is part of the course day deck. Give a time signal after 15, 30, and 45 minutes: “Move to the next Research Use.”
Documentation. Suggest three columns on the flipchart: insights, uncertainties, and disagreements. Write one row for each Research Use. Describe the use, not the data. Do not write names.
Spokesperson reports · 20 minutes
Each spokesperson has five minutes. Ask for conceptual insights, not a summary of the individual Research Uses. Use the three guiding questions:
- Which concept or distinction was difficult to apply consistently, and what needs clarification?
- Where did our Lens lead to conflicting interpretations, and what explains the disagreement?
- Which unresolved question most affects how we should apply this Lens in practice?
Clarify open questions and buffer · 20 minutes
Take ten minutes to clarify the concepts that the reports marked as unclear. Use the remaining ten minutes as a buffer. The groups complete their flipchart or document.
Afternoon: Panarchy Block 1
Panarchy introduction · 5 minutes
Say:
“This afternoon we zoom in and out. We look at the levels of our world like nested dolls: from your own project up to regulation and society. Small levels change fast. Large levels change slowly. They influence each other in both directions.”
Show the fictional example for half a minute. Say that the example is invented and that each participant finds their own levels.
Frame the challenge and identify influences · 15 minutes · alone
Say:
“Turn Sheet 1 over. Start from your Research Use Card. In the header of the Panarchy Chart, write your challenge in one sentence: what must change so that your Research Use becomes more responsible? Then list the influences on your challenge in the field Influences: people, rules, tools, money, habits. One per line.”
Do not suggest levels yet.
Translate and compare levels · 20 minutes · pairs
Say:
“Sort your influences into levels on your own chart. Name each level. You can use more or fewer than five levels. Then compare your levels with the levels of your partner. Which levels do both charts have? Which level is missing in one chart?”
Walk around. If a pair copies the illustrative levels, ask: “Which level is missing for your field?”
Form groups of four · 5 minutes
Say:
“Form new groups of four. Choose people who were not in your Lens group.”
Present challenges and charts · 15 minutes · groups
Say:
“Each person presents their challenge and their Panarchy Chart in about three minutes. The others listen and ask one question.”
Select a challenge · 5 minutes · groups
Say:
“Select one challenge for deeper analysis. Choose the challenge that the group can learn most from. The other challenges stay open. They come back after the break.”
Ask each group to say which challenge it selected. Note how many challenges stay open in each group. You need the count to form the pairs of Block 2.
Find Opportunities & Barriers · 10 minutes · alone
Say:
“Take Sheet 2. In part A, note Opportunities & Barriers for the selected challenge. Where could a change at one level unlock a change at another level? Where does one level block another? Note the level of each.”
Discuss and consolidate the group Action Plan · 25 minutes · groups
Say:
“Share your Opportunities & Barriers. Prioritize them. Then consolidate them into one group Action Plan on the flipchart or in the shared document: the change, the level, the first step, and who must act.”
Before the group prioritizes, ask: “Does any option raise an objection about consent, rights, or a burden on one group?” Write each objection next to the option. A majority does not settle an objection. Ask who decides at a level, not only who volunteers.
Buffer and capture findings · 10 minutes
The groups complete their group Action Plan. Say:
“Keep your Panarchy Chart. You need it after the break.”
Afternoon: Panarchy Block 2
Form new pairs · 5 minutes
Form pairs across the groups of Block 1. A partner must not have discussed the challenge before. Use this rule:
- Pair each participant whose challenge was selected in Block 1 with a participant whose challenge is open.
- Pair the remaining participants with open challenges with each other.
- Do not pair two people from the same group of four.
With 16 participants, four challenges were selected and twelve are open. The rule gives four pairs with one open challenge and four pairs with two open challenges. With an odd number, form one group of three.
Say:
“Two open challenges in your pair: examine both. One open challenge: both of you examine that challenge.”
Opportunities & Barriers for the open challenges · 10 minutes · alone
Say:
“Take Sheet 2. In part B, note Opportunities & Barriers for the open challenge or challenges of your pair. Use the existing Panarchy Charts.”
Discuss and prioritize the open challenges · 35 minutes · pairs
Say:
“Discuss and prioritize. For each open challenge, record the findings and possible actions in part B.”
With two open challenges, give a time signal after about 17 minutes: “Move to the second challenge.” Every challenge must receive an in-depth discussion in Block 1 or Block 2.
Individual Action Plan and closing
Individual Action Plan · 20 minutes · alone
Say:
“Turn Sheet 2 over. Complete the Action Plan for your own Research Use. Use your findings from part A or part B. Write the intended change, the next step, the barriers, the timeline, and the success indicator.”
Peer review · 10 minutes · pairs
Say:
“Swap your Action Plans with a partner. Read. Then ask three questions: Is the next step concrete? Is the timeline realistic? Would the success indicator show the change? Note the main feedback and what you change.”
Course evaluation and closing · 15 minutes
Open the course evaluation from the edition page. Remind the participants of the follow-up task: the Responsible GenAI Use Statement. The individual Action Plan is a good start for it.
Documentation
- The participants keep both sheets. The instructors do not collect them.
- Each group keeps its flipchart or its shared document. Take a photo of a flipchart only if the group agrees. Do not photograph people.
- Do not publish the group documents. They can describe Research Uses that are not public.
Adapt the session
- Fewer than eight participants. Use groups of three. Keep the durations. In the morning, a Lens can have no group.
- Twelve participants. Form three Lens groups and three groups of four in Block 1. Three challenges are selected and nine are open.
- An odd number. Form one group of three in each pair step.
- Mixed levels in the room. If participants come from one department only, ask them to speak for levels that are not in the room, and mark these notes. Treat these notes as questions to check with these people, not as their answers.
- Online. The structure works with breakout rooms and shared documents. Participants can also fill in the Word versions of the sheets.
- Accessibility. Read each instruction aloud. Offer the Word versions and large-print copies. Let participants dictate to a partner.
Privacy
The sheets and the flipcharts hold ideas, not personal data. Do not write names of people who are not in the room. Do not collect the Action Plans: they belong to the participants. Do not publish photos of participants.
Attribution and license
The structures and illustrations used in this session are adapted under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 from the original work of Keith McCandless, Henri Lipmanowicz and Nancy White found at www.liberatingstructures.com and the Liberating Structures Fieldbook (2026). Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless created the original repertoire (Lipmanowicz and McCandless 2014). Keith McCandless and Nancy White wrote the Fieldbook (McCandless and White 2026). This guide adapts the steps, their labels, and their durations. It uses no Liberating Structures icons.
This guide is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. If you adapt it, share your adaptation under the same license.