Welcome to ParEvo

ParEvo is a structured method for collaborative scenario development. Multiple participants — contributing independently and anonymously — select and extend branching storylines about possible futures across multiple rounds. The goal is preparedness, not prediction.

Generative phase — Participants contribute and select storylines, building a branching tree of plausible futures. Anonymity preserves independent thinking and surfaces perspectives that group discussion often suppresses.

Evaluative phase — Storyline implications are assessed using participatory, expert, and AI methods. Outcomes can be cognitive (how participants think about futures) or behavioural (decisions about how to respond).

Free to use  ·  Technical support available at negotiated cost (£0–£n)

How it works - in brief

ParEvo applies an evolutionary logic — variation, selection, iteration — to collaborative storytelling about the future. Participants are distributed and asynchronous; the process unfolds over days or weeks.

Parevo diagram showing participatory evolution of scenarios

Phase 1 — Generative
1Seed story — The Facilitator provides a short opening scenario, setting the scene for what might happen next.
2Contributions — Each participant independently writes "what happens next," creating a set of divergent first-iteration storylines.
3Selection — Each participant reads all contributions and selects one storyline to continue. This is the evolutionary selection mechanism.
4Elaboration — Participants extend their chosen storyline. Popular storylines grow; unchosen branches are preserved but become extinct.
5Iteration — Steps 3 and 4 repeat across multiple rounds. The Facilitator determines the number of iterations.
Phase 2 — Evaluative

Storyline implications are assessed by participants, experts, and/or AI — covering probability, desirability, and other criteria. All data is exportable in Excel format for analysis and reporting.

Full planning and implementation guide on parevo.blog →

View this ParEvo exercise, completed in 2023 →

Getting started

Participants

Participants are invited by a Facilitator. Once you receive your login details, you can join an active exercise at any time. Your contributions are visible only in anonymised form.

If you haven't received an invitation, contact the person who directed you here. Accounts cannot be self-created.

Facilitators

Facilitators apply to create an account. Once approved, you can invite participants, configure exercise parameters, and manage one or more exercises — from the seed story through to data export.

An introductory video call with Rick Davies, at no cost, is strongly recommended before beginning. Ongoing technical support is available at negotiated cost (£0–£n).

Apply for a Facilitator account ↓

Facilitator application

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