June 2019

This is a collection of resources compiled for and by participants in the FLO MicroCourse: Design with Liberating Structures.

Have you come across other useful articles, tips, and tools you would like to share related to using Liberating Structures? Add them to the Open Forum and your facilitators will maintain this resource page.

Research

  • The Liberating Structures Menu - Jump off from this page to view all LS structures AND you can also get to them through the LS Menu drop downs. (Hint: LS Structure info is also available on the Liberating Structures app.)
  • The Liberating Structures Principles - There are 10 principles that guide our behaviour using LS.
  • MicroStructures and the Five Design Elements - This page tells us why Liberating Structures are different from 'conventional' structures and the five design elements that all LS structures have which make them so powerful.

Ideas

  • Think about where your meetings and facilitated learning events could use some enhanced interaction between participants and opportunities to be more inclusive. Are you interesting in distributing control among those present? Involving everyone in the room? (If so, we think you are saying YES to trying Liberating Structures!)
  • Consider the purpose of your meeting or learning event. What are you trying to achieve? What are your goals or learning outcomes? Check the matchmaker (above) to help you find a suitable structure.
  • Ask yourself if you have a "soonish" opportunity to facilitate a Liberating Structure in person.
  • If you've tried many of the structures that are part of the original set of 33 maybe you're ready to challenge yourself by trying a new, emerging structure on the LS in Development page.

Tips

  • Think about whether you want to try one Liberating Structures or a string of two or more structures in a row.
  • Consider your need to harvest collected knowledge from participants during the structure(s) you choose. When and how should you harvest?
  • Try a few drafts of the invitation that you will use with participants as part of the structure. Will you use the invitation that is included in the Liberating Structures menu description or tweak it a bit (or a lot!) for your purposes? This article on the Characteristics of Powerful Invitations for Liberating Structures should give you some early guidance.
  • To help you sharpen your invitation, try "playing it out" a bit in your mind - or with an LS-exploring or savvy friend - to see how it would go, asking yourself what participants might think about or say in response to that invitation. Is it too broad or too narrow? Just right? Creating an excellent invitation is a little like Goldilocks trying out all three of the bears' beds!
  • This Liberating Structures Design Storyboard (blank template) is a great tool to help you in your planning of LS and helps you keep your purpose in mind and work on LS "strings"
Last modified: Friday, 7 June 2019, 4:51 PM