Method guide · Arrange people and ideas
Roving ideastorms
Use when small groups can build on earlier groups’ ideas by rotating among related questions or passing the papers instead.
- People
- 8–40
- Base procedure time
- 30 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Generate ideas; Explore through dialogue.
English guide
Text acceptance is not approval of this rendered page, its media, or publication.
How this method works
Small groups visit up to four questions in order, read earlier groups’ ideas and add new ones. Put one sheet at each question and form no more groups than questions. Spend 6 minutes at the first station, 5 at the next, then 4 and 3 minutes at the remaining two. Do not erase existing ideas. Mark repeated ideas and briefly add differences in conditions, target groups or timing. If anyone has difficulty moving, pass the papers instead of moving people. At the end, each group reads out one added idea and one remaining question. Do not use this where neither movement nor exchanging papers is possible, or where separating the topic into multiple questions has no value.
Phase schedule
Minutes are cumulative from the start of the base plan, not a live timer. Read scaling for any additional time. Phase controls do not advance automatically.
Use the arrow keys, Home or End while these controls have focus. The complete phase schedule remains below, including without JavaScript.
- Arrange four stations and no more than four groups0–3 minutes from the start (3 minutes)
Action: Form. Participation: Small groups rotating among question stations.
Shared record
- Record ideas at the first question3–9 minutes from the start (6 minutes)
Action: Record. Participation: Small groups rotating among question stations.
Shared record
- Move to the next question and add ideas9–14 minutes from the start (5 minutes)
Action: Move. Participation: Small groups rotating among question stations.
Shared record
- Visit the remaining two stations for 4 and 3 minutes14–21 minutes from the start (7 minutes)
Action: Visit. Participation: Small groups rotating among question stations.
Shared record
- Read new ideas and remaining questions21–30 minutes from the start (9 minutes)
Action: Read. Participation: Small groups rotating among question stations.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 3 minutes, write 4 or fewer related questions on separate sheets and form evenly sized groups, with no more groups than questions.
- For 6 minutes, each group records short phrases at its first question, keeping repeated ideas rather than deleting them.
- For 5 minutes, move to the next question, read the earlier ideas and add ideas not yet recorded.
- For 7 minutes, visit the remaining two stations for 4 and 3 minutes, adding ideas with different conditions or target groups.
- For 9 minutes, read the 4 or fewer lists. Each group reports one added idea and one remaining question.
If something changes
If
At the 9-minute point from the start, at least one group has fewer than 3 ideas at its first question.
Then
Narrow the question to one sentence, stop explaining earlier ideas and make short additions one at a time.
If
At the move, at least one group has written only the same ideas as the preceding group.
Then
Do not erase repeated ideas: mark them, then add one idea that differs in conditions, target groups or timing.
If
At least one person finds movement around the venue difficult.
Then
Keep people in place and pass the question sheets from group to group in the same order.
Preparation
Materials
- Large sheets for questions: 4 per cohort
- Broad-tip pens: 2 per group
- If using sticky notes: 10 per person
Room and setup
- A writing station for each question and a one-way rotation order.
Adjust for people and time
For 8–40 people, create four stations and no more than four groups, distributing people evenly with 2–10 per group. If there are three questions, use three stations and three groups; do not create an empty group. For 41 or more people, divide the participant count by 40 and round up for the number of cohorts, distribute people evenly, and provide the same four-station set in each cohort. Pass papers through one complete group rotation, but do not automatically consolidate idea lists across cohorts.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Pass the question papers instead of moving people if anyone has difficulty moving. Do not use this if neither movement nor paper exchange is possible. Keep existing and repeated ideas, and do not automatically consolidate lists across cohorts.
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.
- The source permits up to four questions and explicitly describes three stations for three questions, but its timetable still specifies four visits of 6, 5, 4 and 3 minutes. It gives no alternative timing for fewer stations. The translation does not invent one.
- The three-question variant specifies three groups while the stated group size is 2–10 within the overall 8–40 participant range. Three groups cannot accommodate 31–40 people under that bound. Both source instructions are retained without changing capacity.
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.
- Seeds for Change Facilitation Tools: Roving ideastorms
https://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/tools
anti-copyright adaptation; changes made
- Conditions applying to anti-copyright
https://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/resources
anti-copyright
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.
English video-library navigation. Original Japanese audio, subtitles and transcripts remain labelled Japanese resources. Their translations are separate later work. No remote player is embedded here.
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.