Systems & stakeholder research
Understand the experiences and relationships shaping an organization, program, or stakeholder system. Groundwork brings a people-centered lens to internal realities, organizational tensions, and the processes that influence how people work and participate. We connect different perspectives with the question your organization needs to consider.
What does the system look like from within?
- How do different stakeholders experience the system?
- Where do perspectives or expectations diverge?
- Which processes create friction?
- What should the organization understand before making a change?
How we study it.
An engagement may combine stakeholder interviews, consultations, observation, desk research, surveys, and collaborative workshops. We agree which perspectives need to be heard and how the inquiry will address the organizational question. Examining experiences alongside relationships and processes can help bring tensions into view and clarify what they mean for the decision at hand. Program evaluation is included only where that work forms part of the agreed scope.
What the work
can provide.
Stakeholder perspectives
An understanding of how different people experience the question or system.
System and process insights
A people-centered view of the processes shaping work and participation.
Organizational tensions
Areas where expectations or experiences diverge.
Program findings
Findings from program inquiry or evaluation when included in scope.
Decision recommendations
Direction connected to the organizational question and evidence supplied.
These are possible outputs. The final research design and deliverables are agreed around your question, participants, locations, and project complexity.
A clear path from
question to direction.
- 01
Clarify the decision
Define the question and what remains uncertain.
- 02
Design the study
Choose the methods and people that fit the question.
- 03
Find real-world signals
Listen, observe, and engage directly with people.
- 04
Interpret the patterns
Connect behavior, meaning, and cultural context.
- 05
Provide direction
Translate findings into practical starting points for action.
Before we begin.
Can the study include different stakeholder perspectives?
Stakeholder inquiry can examine how different people experience a process, program, or organizational question. We agree who needs to be heard and how their perspectives will be interpreted.
What determines the scope and investment?
The decision, methods, participant requirements, locations, and expected outputs shape the scope. We clarify these with you before proposing an engagement.
Do we need a finished research brief?
Start with what you are trying to decide and the assumptions that feel uncertain. We can work with you to turn that into a focused research question.
Understand the people within the system.
Tell us about the organizational question, the people it affects, and the perspectives you need to understand.
Discuss your research needs