Tool: Desktop Research
What is it, when to use it, why is it beneficial to do so
The Desktop Research tool helps a team quickly build a shared, baseline understanding of the system they are working on before moving into deeper systems mapping or solution design. It brings together people’s tacit knowledge, targeted online and AI-supported searches, and a small set of respected documents to form an initial picture of how the system operates and what problems or signals of change are emerging. Insights are captured using the PESTLE framework (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental), guided by a focused set of research objectives and questions.
Below you’ll find the tool template you can use straight away, along with a Tool Cheat Sheet to support you as you work through it. We’d love to hear how it lands in practice - feel free to share any feedback or questions with us.
The team then synthesises individual findings through a sensemaking session to agree on collective key insights and an early problem hypothesis that will inform the next tools, especially systems boundary work. Used at the very start of the Step-by-Step methodology, the tool is valuable whenever teams need to “get on the same page” about a complex or fast-moving system, avoid premature conclusions or unnecessary rabbit holes, and strengthen collective intelligence before defining scope or interventions.