Six-Phase Movement Cycle
Definition
The six-phase movement cycle (also called the Movement Cycle Framework) is a strategic-diagnostic model used by movement-building organisations — most associated with the Commons Library’s Movement Compass and the Innovation Network’s stage taxonomy — that maps a campaign’s life from pre-emergence through mainstream success to institutional consolidation.
The phases are typically: pre-emergence (the conditions that will give rise to the movement); emergence (a triggering event catalyses the first public actions); coalescence (the movement forms organisations, symbols, and demands); institutionalisation (the movement’s organisations become durable entities); decline (the movement loses momentum, splits, or is absorbed); and (sometimes) resurrection (a new cycle begins from the residual capacity of the previous one).
Practitioners use the framework diagnostically — where is our movement in the cycle, what does the cycle imply for the next step — rather than prescriptively, since the framework is a description of historical patterns, not a recipe.
Full page: [[six-phase-movement-cycle]]. [source: six-phase-movement-cycle] [source: movement-netlab]
FAQ
What is the six-phase movement cycle?
The six-phase movement cycle is the strategic-diagnostic model (also called the Movement Cycle Framework) used by movement-building organisations — most associated with the Commons Library’s Movement Compass and Innovation Network’s stage taxonomy — that maps a campaign’s life from pre-emergence through mainstream success to institutional consolidation. The full-page version of this definition lives on [[six-phase-movement-cycle]].
What are the phases?
The phases are typically: pre-emergence (the conditions that will give rise to the movement); emergence (a triggering event catalyses the first public actions); coalescence (the movement forms organisations, symbols, and demands); institutionalisation (the movement’s organisations become durable entities); decline (the movement loses momentum, splits, or is absorbed); and (sometimes) resurrection (a new cycle begins from the residual capacity of the previous one).
How is the framework used?
Practitioners use the framework diagnostically — where is our movement in the cycle, what does the cycle imply for the next step — rather than prescriptively, since the framework is a description of historical patterns, not a recipe. The diagnostic use makes the framework a tool for self-assessment rather than a checklist of moves.
What is the relationship between phases and timing?
The phases are not duration-stable — phase 2 can last years, phase 4 weeks. Practitioners frequently disagree about which phase they are in. The framework’s value is in the question it prompts (where are we, and what does the cycle imply?) rather than in the precision of the phase boundaries.