Unintended Consequences

How to use this tool:

Start with an idea that you think you would like to develop further. Refer back to your Portfolio of Ideas (tool 8 ), if helpful.

Take some time to reflect individually on the immediate and wider negative consequences that it may cause.

Having your Stakeholder Ecosystem Map (tool 4 ) to hand may help you consider the potential consequences on different parts of the system.

Discuss as a group, going through each negative consequence and considering the knock-on effects.

Repeat with positive consequences.

What now?

Take a step back and think about what you have learned through this exercise. Are there any negative consequences that you can mitigate against? Are there any positive consequences that you can intentionally build into your design?

Note down these ideas and agree the simplest next steps that you could take to start working towards this.

Further resources

Unintended Consequences toolkit, Andthen