Adaptive Cycle

C.S. Holling first introduced the concept of the adaptive cycle in 1986 to describe cycles of change in ecosystems.

The adaptive cycle consists of four key phases:

1. Growth: This is a phase of rapid growth and resource accumulation. It's characterized by high resilience and potential for change.
2. Maturity: In this phase, resources are accumulated more slowly and become increasingly connected and stable. The system becomes more rigid and less resilient.
3. Release: This is a phase of rapid change or collapse, where tightly bound resources are released. It's often triggered by a disturbance or crisis.
4. Exploration: In this phase, the system reorganizes and restructures. There's high potential for innovation and new approaches to emerge.

Movement through these phases is not rigid or predetermined. In the front part of the loop, growth and maturity, there is an accumulation of resources and systems often spend most of their time in these phases. In the back part, release and exploration, there is a rapid release of accumulated resources and a period of reorganization.

The adaptive cycle model, originally developed for ecological systems, can be applied to help understand social systems. Societies, communities and organizations go through phases of growth, stability, crisis, and renewal, mirroring the four phases of the model. The framework helps explain the accumulation and release of social, economic, and knowledge resources within our social structures.

Lance Gunderson and C.S. Holling further developed and expanded this into Panarchy theory. Panarchy theory builds on the adaptive cycle by describing how these cycles are nested across scales, with interactions between faster, smaller cycles and slower, larger ones.