Method guide · Arrange people and ideas
Options Place
Let people propose topics and choose where to participate, while retaining minority interests and freedom to move.
- People
- 10–200
- Base procedure time
- 60 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Generate ideas; Explore through dialogue.
English guide
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How this method works
A method in which participants post topics and choose, then reconsider, where they want to talk. Use it with large groups where only the organiser's agenda is followed, people cannot join discussions of the topics they want to raise, or voting removes minority interests. Within the shared theme, participants propose topics and desired outcomes and choose their locations for two rounds. Around the middle of each round, they choose again whether to stay or move to a place where they can learn or contribute. Locations with few participants also keep a record. The result is a proposal list, topics from each location, perspectives after moving, and next actions. Do not use it where the venue cannot maintain safe capacity limits or where participants cannot be free to propose topics and move.
Phase schedule
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- Set the shared theme0–5 minutes from the start (5 minutes)
Action: Set. Participation: Everyone.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Post topics5–15 minutes from the start (10 minutes)
Action: Post. Participation: Individually.
Individual record
- Choose a first location15–20 minutes from the start (5 minutes)
Action: Choose. Participation: Everyone.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Talk in two rounds20–52 minutes from the start (32 minutes)
Action: Talk. Participation: Topic circles of 1–12.
Shared record
- Record the topic map52–60 minutes from the start (8 minutes)
Action: Record. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 5 minutes, state as a whole group, in one sentence each, the shared theme, what is outside its scope, and the rules respecting movement and minority locations.
- For 10 minutes, volunteers write a topic name, proposer, and desired outcome on proposal cards and post them in empty slots on the two-round topic board.
- For 5 minutes, each person writes their first and second choices on a movement slip, checks the main-location signs, and moves to their first location.
- For 16 minutes, hold the first round. After 7 minutes, choose again whether to stay or move. Use the final 2 minutes to record topics and actions.
- For 16 minutes, open a different proposal for the second round, make the same choice again about staying or moving, and record differences from the previous round on the back of the record sheet.
- For 8 minutes, each location's proposer transfers one topic and one next action to the whole-group map, including locations with few participants.
If something changes
If
Eight minutes after proposing begins, the proposal cards outnumber all slots on the two-round topic board.
Then
Have the proposers of excess topics choose either a proposal sharing a location in round 2 or a record of a topic not held; do not merge similar topics without consent.
If
Two minutes after a round starts, one location has 13 or more participants.
Then
Duplicate its location sign at the reserve location, choose one co-facilitator, and divide people evenly into circles of no more than 12.
Preparation
Materials
- One two-round topic board for everyone, with as many slots per round as main locations
- One location sign for each main and reserve location
- One double-sided topic record sheet for each main and reserve location
- One proposal card per person, with fields for topic, proposer, and desired outcome
- One movement slip per person, with first- and second-choice fields
- Two thick-line writing implements per location
Room and setup
- At least 2 main locations according to the participant range, with no more than 12 people at each
- The same number of reserve locations, each beside a main location
- A two-row topic board with room for one proposal per main location in each round
- Open floor space for everyone to move freely between locations
- One whole-group topic map that also retains locations with few participants
Adjust for people and time
Use 2 locations for 10–20 people and 3 for 21–30, then add one location for every further 10 people. Keep each location to no more than 12 people and provide the same number of reserve locations beside them. Split an over-capacity location into a reserve location for the same topic. Do not close a location with only one person; its proposer records the topic and why it remains unresolved.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Maintain safe venue capacities and the limit of 12 per location. Participation requires freedom to propose topics and move; proposing is voluntary. Keep minority and single-person locations in the record, and do not merge topics without consent.
Historical translation and source notes
These original notes are retained verbatim with their fixed source versions. This historical label does not resolve a source-specific concern or establish current acceptance.
- For excess proposals, the source allows a round-2 proposal sharing a location but does not specify how the shared time or roles are divided. The draft retains that option without adding a co-session procedure.
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): Options Place — Henri Lipmanowicz / Keith McCandless / Nancy White
https://www.liberatingstructures.com/options-place
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.
This site's notation diagrams and on-screen illustrations explain the facilitation process. They are not presented as official LS icons.
Method names are used to identify their sources. This is not an official LS website, and no endorsement or approval by the creators or rights holders is implied.
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Credits on the checked source page
- Designed for the LS repertoire by: Nancy White, Keith McCandless
Related work credited on that page: Harrison Owen; Open Space Technology; Jim Benson; Jeremy Lightsmith; Lean Coffee.
Source page checked on 2026-10-17: Options Place.
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
Original Japanese guide, diagram, and print view. Their labels and print text have not been translated; an English print edition is not provided here.
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The manual English phase controls are a navigation aid, not a live facilitation timer. Interactive diagram motion remains pending.
Editorial provenance
Japanese source status and logs are provenance only. They do not mean this English text or interface was field-tested. Historical fixed-text acceptance and hold records remain specific to their recorded versions; displaying them neither asserts current acceptance nor resolves source-specific restrictions.