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Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: ada9ae43660556b1cdd6911148572a0be25fc92c9cbe38536d43ae608dfc792c

# Creative Stations

Small groups rotate through three distinct task stations to examine a single topic from different practical angles. Each group adds its own notes and artifacts to flip charts that remain at the stations for the next team to build upon.

**Time:** 90 minutes. Source specifies 90 to 180 minutes; this standard design uses 90 minutes for a 3-station rotation.
**People:** 6 to 18. Three cohorts of 2 to 6 people; divide as evenly as possible with extra participants allocated to stations 1 or 2

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Generate diverse perspectives and concrete proposals on a core topic through structured, sequential group tasks.
**Use it when:** Use when an initiative or problem has stalled in general discussion and needs concrete examination through contrasting methods like problem analysis, rapid prototyping, and perspective shifting.
**Skip it when:** Skip when the team has only a brief meeting window under 60 minutes or when the group needs to resolve a single binary decision.

## Materials and tools

- 3 easel flip charts or distinct whiteboard walls
- 3 pads of chart paper
- 6 chisel-tip markers per station (18 total, mixed colors)
- 3 pads of 3x3 sticky notes per station (9 pads total)
- 3 printed station instruction table tents (from participant materials)
- 1 countdown timer or chime for transitions

## Before participants arrive

1. Choose a central theme or focal question for the session.
2. Set up 3 physically separated tables or wall stations around the room.
3. Place 1 instruction tent, chart paper, markers, and sticky notes at each station.
4. Station 1 focuses on Root Causes and Barriers.
5. Station 2 focuses on Rapid Solution Sketching.
6. Station 3 focuses on User and Community Perspectives.

## Say this to open

Today we are exploring our central theme across three dedicated stations. Each station asks you to tackle the issue using a different lens: root causes, practical solutions, and community perspectives. You will work in small teams for 20 minutes per station, adding your ideas to the chart paper left by earlier groups. When the chime rings, you will rotate to the next station.

## How to run it

### 1. Form groups and introduce stations (10 minutes)

State the central theme clearly. Deliver the opening script. Divide participants into 3 cohorts as evenly as possible. If the total is not divisible by 3, assign the extra one or two participants to Stations 1 and 2. Assign each cohort to an initial station. Explain that notes stay at the stations so following groups can read and build upon them.

### 2. Run station rotation 1 (20 minutes)

Teams read their station brief and spend 20 minutes working through the prompt. Remind groups at the 10-minute mark to write their key findings directly on the chart paper or sticky notes. Ring a chime at 20 minutes. Teams stop writing and move clockwise to the next station.

### 3. Run station rotation 2 (20 minutes)

Teams review the notes left by the prior group for 3 minutes, then spend 17 minutes adding new insights, challenging assumptions, or expanding on ideas. Give a 5-minute warning before time expires. Ring the chime to prompt the final rotation.

### 4. Run station rotation 3 (20 minutes)

Teams complete their final station. Groups spend 3 minutes reading the previous two teams' contributions, then spend 17 minutes adding remaining gaps, synthesizing top ideas, or marking priority items. Sound the chime to conclude rotations.

### 5. Synthesize across stations (12 minutes)

Have participants remain at their third station. Give each group 5 minutes to select the top 2 standout insights or patterns visible on their current chart. Then ask one spokesperson from each station to share those 2 points with the full room in 2 minutes or less.

### 6. Debrief the exercise (8 minutes)

Facilitate a short plenary review using the debrief questions. Collect 2 or 3 participant observations on the contrasting perspectives before wrapping up.


## Debrief questions

- Which station perspective pushed your thinking furthest beyond your initial assumptions?
- Where did you notice the strongest agreement or disagreement across the three stations?
- What is one concrete insight from these charts that should be acted on first?

**Finished output:** Three documented station charts containing root causes, solution sketches, and user viewpoints on the focal topic.

## Remote

Create three virtual breakout rooms and three dedicated canvas areas on a digital whiteboard like Miro or Mural. Assign one group per room. Post the station instructions directly on each digital canvas. Every 20 minutes, broadcast a message and instruct participants to switch breakout rooms or move their cursor focus to the next canvas area. For synthesis, summon all participants back to the main room while sharing the digital board.

## Hybrid

Hybrid delivery splits parity. Instead of mixed physical and remote groups, assign remote participants to their own virtual breakout group and assign them a dedicated digital mirror board. Station in-person groups at physical tables. A designated room camera or a roving co-facilitator uploads photos of physical charts to the shared digital space between rotations so both cohorts can view the accumulated work.

## Access and participation choices

- Provide seated writing options at all stations so participants do not have to stand at wall charts.
- Participants may contribute ideas orally to a peer scribe or write silently on sticky notes.
- Anyone may pass on speaking during the final synthesis round by letting their group partner present.

## If the session gets stuck

**A group spends the entire 20 minutes debating without recording anything on the chart.**

Visit the station at the 10-minute mark. Hand two markers to participants and prompt them to capture the two main viewpoints they voiced before continuing.

**Groups arriving at later rotations simply repeat what the previous group wrote.**

Prompt the incoming group to use a different colored marker to star existing ideas, write contrasting counterarguments, or sketch how to implement one specific suggestion.


## Terms used here

- Table tent: A folded piece of cardstock standing upright on a table displaying prompt instructions.

## Participant material: Station 1: Root Causes and Barriers

STATION 1: ROOT CAUSES & BARRIERS
Prompt: Why does this problem persist, and what hidden obstacles prevent change?
Instructions:
1. Review any notes already posted on this chart.
2. Write down 3 to 5 underlying causes or systemic roadblocks on sticky notes.
3. Group similar obstacles together and draw arrows showing how one cause triggers another.

## Participant material: Station 2: Rapid Solution Sketching

STATION 2: RAPID SOLUTION SKETCHING
Prompt: What practical intervention or prototype could tackle this challenge?
Instructions:
1. Review earlier groups' sketches and ideas.
2. Sketch or outline a concrete solution, service, or policy intervention.
3. Label the key features: Who runs it? What happens first? What makes it feasible?

## Participant material: Station 3: User and Community Perspectives

STATION 3: USER & COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVES
Prompt: How does this issue look through the eyes of the people most affected?
Instructions:
1. Review previous comments on the chart.
2. Identify 2 specific individuals or community groups affected by this issue.
3. List their primary needs, what frustrates them about current options, and what success looks like to them.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in the Participatory Methods library under 'Creative Stations'.

Retained the defining mechanic of timed group rotations across dedicated thematic stations with accumulated documentation from Participatory Methods. Set group bounds to 6-18 with 3 parallel stations to ensure strict time feasibility within 90 minutes. Clarified that cohorts are divided as evenly as possible to handle group sizes that are not multiples of 3. Created concrete station prompts (Root Causes, Solutions, User Perspectives) and explicit timing steps.

[Participatory Methods](https://participatorymethods.com/activities/creative-stations/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/creative-stations/