As 2025 draws to a close, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on a year of hard work, new connections, and plenty of learning.
From Steve and Gabriele, thank you for being such an important part of our journey. Whether you use our software or we have worked with you directly, your support makes what we do possible.
More than just software 👥
We often say that we aren't primarily a software company. We actually build these tools because we need them for our own consultancy work.
This year, that side of our business has been busier than ever. We have been working alongside our partners to collect and analyse data for qualitative research studies and evaluations, using Causal Map and Qualia to make sense of complex stories.
It was a privilege to work with great organisations like Tree Aid, Southern Hemisphere, INTRAC, the SGAIN Project and the Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB). We also collaborated closely with Heather Britt, including a case study on strengthening Outcome Harvesting with causal mapping. And we continued our long-term collaboration with the Causal Pathways Initiative, contributing also to two Brain Trust consultations.
Rebuilding the tools we use 🚀
The biggest news from our HQ in Bath this year was finally releasing Causal Map 4. Because we use our own software for these projects, we know exactly where the friction points are. That first-hand experience was the driving force behind Causal Map 4.
We spent months rebuilding the platform from the ground up to make it faster and easier to use. The heaviness of the old version is gone, and getting data organised is now much simpler. We also made it truly collaborative, so teams can finally work on the same map in real-time.
We also updated QualiaInterviews significantly, adding new EU and Global data storage options to help our partners meet their data residency requirements, alongside a host of usability improvements.
Getting it in print 📜
We care deeply about the methodology behind our work, so it was great to get some of our research into print this year.
✅ Validation: Our article in IJSRM, "AI-assisted causal mapping: a validation study," tackled the big question of whether we can trust AI to help with coding. (Spoiler: it’s promising, but human oversight is key).
⚙️ Workflow: We published "A workflow for collecting and understanding stories at scale" in the Evaluation journal, detailing how to combine Qualia and Causal Map for rigorous results.
📚 Book Chapter: Our founders, Steve, Fiona and James, along with Melanie Channon, also co-authored a chapter in the Handbook of Health Services Evaluation. It focuses on using causal mapping to code and visualise narrative data, something we think offers a credible way to understand the impact of interventions.
… and there are more book chapters and articles coming soon!
Out and about 🤸♂️
It was lovely to step away from the screens and meet many of you in person. We shared our insights on AI and qualitative data at the Qualitative Research Symposium 2025, European Evaluation Society (EES), UK Evaluation Society Conference 2025 (UKES), Independent Network of Evaluators Serbia (INES), South West International Development Network (SWIDN), Causal Pathways and West Balkans Evaluation Network conference.
The conversations at the Development Studies Association (DSA) conference in Bath were a particular highlight, where we, alongside James Copestake, presented an experiment we ran analysing future-oriented texts, a shift from our usual retroactive evaluations. It sparked some fascinating discussions on how we can map assumptions about the future.
Speaking of being out and about, Gabriele has now moved to Brazil! She will continue to work for Causal Map remotely, so you can still expect the same support (just from a sunnier time zone).
Looking ahead 🛤️
We have plenty more planned for next year, but for now, we are going to take a short break to recharge.
Whether you are a researcher, an evaluator, or just someone interested in making sense of complex stories, thank you for sticking with us. We hope our tools have helped you navigate your data a little better this year.
Wishing you a peaceful break and a very happy New Year 🎆🥂
Warm regards,
Steve and Gabriele
