Panarchy

Find changes across levels that make your Research Use more responsible

The central method of the afternoon: two Panarchy blocks adapted from Liberating Structures, and an individual Action Plan for each participant.
Modified

30 October 2026

NoteAt a glance
  • Slot: the afternoon. A 5-minute introduction, Block 1 before the afternoon break, Block 2 after it, and the individual Action Plan at the end. The syllabus gives the times.
  • Outputs: your own Panarchy Chart, Opportunities & Barriers for your challenge, a group Action Plan, and your individual Action Plan.
  • Handouts: Sheet 1 with the Panarchy Chart on the back, Sheet 2 with Opportunities & Barriers and the Action Plan, and a fictional example.
  • Slides: Panarchy slide deck and the course day deck.
  • For teachers: the facilitator guide gives every step with minute marks and spoken prompts.

The challenge

The four Lenses showed costs, harms, hidden labor, and incentives. Most of them are not in the hands of one researcher. Panarchy asks where change is possible, and at which level. The common question of the afternoon is:

What changes across interconnected levels would make generative AI use in academic research more responsible?

Each participant turns this question into their own challenge. Start from your Research Use Card. Write one sentence: what must change so that your Research Use becomes more responsible? Your Research Use stays the same all day. The challenge names the change that you look for.

What Panarchy is

Panarchy is one of the Liberating Structures. With it, a group identifies “opportunities and obstacles for spreading ideas at multiple levels” of its environment (Liberating Structures 2026). The idea comes from the study of social-ecological systems (Holling 2001):

  • Small, local levels change fast. A research project can change its practice next week.
  • Large levels change slowly. A university, an industry, or a law changes over years.
  • The levels influence each other in both directions. A local experiment can spread upwards. Resources and rules from a large level shape what is possible below.

Discover your own levels. You decide which levels matter for your challenge. The list below is only an illustration. Do not copy it.

individual research project → research group or department → university and research sector → model vendors and industry → regulation and society

![A blPanarchy Chart for one participant. At the top, a field for the challenge in one sentence. On the left, a ruled field for the influences: people, rules, tools, money, habits. On the right, five horizontal bands from level 1, small and fast, at the bottom to level 5, large and slow, at the top. Each band has a field for its level name. An arrow on the left points up: ideas and experiments spread up. An arrow on the right points down: resources and rules flow down.lock 1: from your challenge to a group Action Plan {#block-1}

You work alone, in pairs, and in groups of four. Use Sheet 1, back, and Sheet 2, front, part A.

Panarchy Block 1
Step Minutes Format What you do
1 15 Alone Frame the challenge and identify influences. Write the challenge in the header of the Panarchy Chart. List influences.
2 20 Pairs Translate the influences into levels on your Panarchy Chart. Name each level. Compare your levels.
3 5 Plenary Form new groups of four. Choose people who were not in your Lens group.
4 15 Groups Each person presents their challenge and their Panarchy Chart.
5 5 Groups Select one challenge for deeper analysis. The other challenges stay open for Block 2.
6 10 Alone Identify Opportunities & Barriers for the selected challenge. Note the level of each.
7 25 Groups Discuss and prioritize. Consolidate the findings into one group Action Plan on a flipchart or in a shared document.
10 Groups Buffer: complete the group Action Plan.

Keep your Panarchy Chart. You need it in Block 2.

An opportunity is a place where a change at one level can unlock a change at another level. A barrier is a place where one level blocks another. A level higher on the chart does not always hold more power.

Block 2: the open challenges

After the afternoon break, form new pairs across the groups of Block 1. Do not pair with a person who already discussed your challenge with you. Each pair examines the challenges that Block 1 did not select:

  • Two open challenges: examine the Opportunities & Barriers for both.
  • One open challenge: both of you examine that challenge.
Panarchy Block 2
Step Minutes Format What you do
1 10 Alone Identify Opportunities & Barriers for the open challenge or challenges. Use Sheet 2, part B.
2 35 Pairs Discuss and prioritize. Record the findings and possible actions for each open challenge.

Use the existing Panarchy Charts. Every challenge receives an in-depth discussion, in Block 1 or in Block 2.

Individual Action Plan

Every participant leaves with an individual Action Plan for their own Research Use. Use Sheet 2, back.

The individual Action Plan
Minutes Format What you do
20 Alone Complete the Action Plan: the intended change, the next step, the barriers, the timeline, and the success indicator.
10 Pairs Peer review. Is the next step concrete? Is the timeline realistic? Would the success indicator show the change?
15 Plenary Course evaluation and closing.

The Action Plan prepares the follow-up task: the Responsible GenAI Use Statement.

The fictional example shows a completed chart. Its content is invented.

What you produce

  • Your own Panarchy Chart with your challenge, your influences, and named levels.
  • Opportunities & Barriers for your challenge, from Block 1 or from Block 2.
  • A group Action Plan for the challenge that your group of four selected in Block 1.
  • Your individual Action Plan for your own Research Use, reviewed by a peer.

Paper, documents, and flipcharts are enough

The exercise needs no online whiteboard, no account, and no sticky notes.

  • Two double-sided A4 sheets for each participant, on paper or as editable files.
  • A flipchart or a shared document for each group of four.

Take a photo of a flipchart if the group wants to keep it. Do not photograph people without their consent.

Attribution and license

NoteLiberating Structures

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). The steps, their labels, and their durations are adapted to the course. The diagrams are original drawings. This page uses no Liberating Structures icons.

This page and its handouts are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

References

Holling, C. S. 2001. “Understanding the Complexity of Economic, Ecological, and Social Systems.” Ecosystems 4 (5): 390–405. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-001-0101-5.
Liberating Structures. 2026. “Panarchy.” Liberating Structures. https://www.liberatingstructures.com/panarchy.
Lipmanowicz, Henri, and Keith McCandless. 2014. The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures: Simple Rules to Unleash a Culture of Innovation. Liberating Structures Press.
McCandless, Keith, and Nancy White. 2026. The Liberating Structures Fieldbook: Flipping the Script on Meetings, Planning and Progress. https://www.liberatingstructures.com/2026-fieldbook.
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