Stage 0 research for funders of AI tools

Work with your AI

Copy this prompt into the AI tool you already use. It tells the tool to read this site, search it and cite the pages it uses. On any page, the Copy button gives the same prompt for that page.

The problem

Funders often receive proposals for AI tools with no formative research behind them. One proposal planned to build a chatbot in four languages in two months and run a trial in the third. It did nothing to check whether the audience needed the tool, could use it or trusted it.

Much of the cause lies with funders. Grant processes ask for a fully formed idea before any money flows. Then they lock the idea in. Grantees cannot do research they are not funded or given time for.

What Stage 0 means

Stage 0 research comes before design research. It builds the evidence for whether AI is a realistic, responsible and sustainable choice for this audience and context. Its findings can mean go or no-go.

Design research, such as prototype testing or co-creation workshops, usually assumes an AI tool is the right answer. Testing a prototype with three people is not formative research.

Who it is for

• Funders with AI or tech experience and less community or subject experience.
• Funders with subject or digital health experience and less AI experience.
• Later, implementers preparing proposals and teams building the tools.

Most people will not read this site directly. It is written so the AI tools they already use, such as ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini, can find it and cite it.