1b. Include wider social, economic and environmental factors in your research and mapping
You should understand the problem you are trying to solve based on:
• benefits to end users and your organisation
• wider economic, social and environmental impacts
You should use focused research in the early stages of your project. Continue to research and learning should as prototypes are developed and iterated.
Likely Lead Roles
User researcher
Sub-actions
1b. (i) Conduct research with a full array of stakeholders
1b. (ii) Map the problem space as a system
1b. (iii) Share research across projects and programmes
(i) Conduct research with a full array of stakeholders
Map stakeholders to environmental aspects of your project. Include as many stakeholders as possible, including direct users, wider communities and societies. It may be appropriate to include nautral ecosystems as well.
Use a variety of recruitment methods to attract a range of participants. Include participants who reflect the full range of social, economic and environmental aspects relevant for the service.
Environmental benefit:
Research with the full range of stakeholders helps us understand the full array of environmental impacts and implications.
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(ii) Map the problem space as a system
System mapping can be both qualitative and quantitative. It can allows you to:
• identify the range of environmental impacts you need to or could measure
• model the impacts of intervention
You should identify:
• points where interventions under consideration can help achieve desired outcomes
• any unintended consequences or knock on effects of intervention
Environmental benefit:
Systems mapping helps us understand the environmental imapcts of interventions in societal contexts.
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(iii) Share research across projects and programmes
Collaborate with user researchers across whole programmes of work. Explore opportunities to create ‘meta analysis’ of user needs across different areas.
Environmental benefit:
Sharing research saves on the environmental impacts coming from duplicating work.