Kausal is a climate software company helping cities turn climate goals into action through digital tools that support collaborative, data-informed decision-making. As part of their broader effort to understand the systemic factors influencing tool adoption and use, we initiated a research project to explore the relational nature of decision-making in cities.

Recognising that climate action requires unprecedented levels of collaboration, Kausal committed to openly sharing the findings. This culminated in a white paper titled Embracing Complexity in Cities. The paper explores:

• How cities can respond to the climate crisis
• Ways to see and work with cities as dynamic systems
• How systems thinking can support more effective, context-aware solutions

Drawing from interviews with sustainability officers across Australia, Finland, and the United States, the report introduces practical frameworks and design principles to support local governments - and those working alongside them - in advancing climate action with a systemic lens.

The report is available for download here.

While the report was informed by interviews primarily in the Global North, the insights reflect challenges and opportunities that many local governments face globally - including fragmented internal governance, institutional silos, and limited capacity to act on climate strategies.

Though the report was developed with climate action software in mind, the value of the report extends beyond product development. The insights are relevant for:

• Technology companies building tools for public sector impact
• Policy makers and officers navigating implementation challenges
• NGOs, consultants, and community groups shaping local interventions

The report supports practitioners in:

• Framing complex challenges
• Illuminating critical relationships across systems
• Strategising for change
• Reimagining how city systems function

The process involved three phases:

• Over 230 downloads in the first five weeks after the report was launched, sparking interest beyond Kausal's existing networks
• Opportunities created for new strategic partnerships, with engagement from cities and organisations previously outside Kausal's immediate community
• Internal alignment, with the report serving as an onboarding and strategy tool to strengthen internal clarity around system-level change
• Positioned Kausal as a thought leader, with a credible piece of work which can support business development, partnership conversations, and external communications

• Prioritise discussions about how to use the resource to maximise internal learning
  ‍While the report proved valuable externally, more intentional internal alignment could have helped embed the findings more deeply across the team. However, this is largely dependent on leadership’s appetite for that kind of reflection.
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• Plan a proactive approach for distributing the report
  A proactive marketing and engagement plan will help ensure insights don’t just sit on a shelf. Making space to think about target audiences, and channels early on will maximise broader reach.