Prototyping a tool to layer lived experience narratives onto systems maps

Tools

Stewart, Ellen and Garnham, Lisa and Hill OConnor, Clementine and Meier, Petra and Smith, Katherine (2026) Prototyping a tool to layer lived experience narratives onto systems maps. International Journal of Social Research Methodology. ISSN 1364-5579 (https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2026.2640917)

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Abstract

Systems mapping approaches have attracted international interest for their value to policy actors. However, the maps they create can seem impersonal and disconnected from the lived experience of the communities that policy actors serve. This paper introduces our prototype tool designed to bring systems mapping, research evidence on causal connections, and lived experience narratives together. Our inspiration came from Community Panels of people with lived experience of health inequalities, who felt that evidence-based causal maps de-personalised the issues, and jettisoned subjective, emotive experiences, especially those of marginalised groups. We share images of the layered mapping tool, document and reflect on the process of creating it, and report early feedback workshops with policymakers and Community Panel participants on how far this practice-based innovation succeeds in bridging lived experience and policy-facing systems mapping.

ORCID iDs

Stewart, Ellen, Garnham, Lisa ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9242-8095, Hill OConnor, Clementine, Meier, Petra and Smith, Katherine ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1060-4102;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)