A platform to capture mental models from thousands of stakeholders. Create surveys, collect responses, and discover patterns—all in one place.
Companies spend billions on surveys, focus groups, and consultants—but they only get opinions. They don't understand how people are organizing information in their heads.
Example: A survey tells you "60% support climate policy." But why? Some see economic benefits. Others see moral duty. Others see system collapse. Same opinion, completely different thinking.
Surveys ask questions you think are important. They don't show you what stakeholders think is important and how it all connects. You can't design effective messages without understanding their mental structure.
Get Causality measures how people organize information—their mental models at scale
We're a small independent team working hard to meet growing demand. Tell us about your use case so we can prioritize onboarding based on your needs.
Join the waitlist for beta access and founding member pricing
Try the live demo and see how it works
We measure how people organize information in their heads—their mental models. Surveys tell you opinions. We show you how they're thinking about the problem.
A mental model is how someone internalizes cause-and-effect relationships. It's their personal theory of how things work—and different people can have completely different mental models about the same topic.
Sign up (free tier available) → Create a survey or import data → Share a link → Platform aggregates responses → Run analyses with one click → Export publication-ready results.
Yes! The free plan gives full access to core features with no credit card required. You can also try the live demo or join the beta waitlist for early access.
The only platform offering end-to-end FCM research: from concept design to large-scale data collection to advanced analysis
Facilitated concept elicitation with stakeholders. Design your FCM survey instrument.
Explore Workshops →Deploy FCM surveys to thousands. Collect mental models at scale with our specialized survey builder.
See Survey Features →Automatic model generation, multi-model statistics, QAP, Mantel, GraphSAGE, and publication-ready exports.
See Analysis Tools →A method that reveals how people think about complex problems—not just what they think.
Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) captures how people organize information in their heads. Instead of asking predetermined questions, you let stakeholders show you what concepts they think are important and how those concepts connect.
How it works: People identify the factors they think matter (like "pollution," "biodiversity," or "economic growth") and draw arrows showing how they influence each other. This creates a map of their thinking—their mental model—that can be analyzed mathematically.
Why it matters: Two people can have the same opinion but completely different reasoning. One person might see simple cause-and-effect. Another might see complex feedback loops. Traditional surveys can't capture this difference. FCM does.
Hypothetical example showing how FCM can model climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems
Context: This example model demonstrates how climate change affects coastal ecosystems through multiple pathways including temperature rise, sea level change, and human adaptation responses.
Example Stakeholders: Marine biologists, climate scientists, coastal managers, and local communities
Example Purpose: Identify intervention points to build ecosystem resilience
This environmental model contains 12 interconnected concepts representing both natural processes and human factors. The relationships show how changes cascade through the system.
Example Relationship:
Temperature Rise → Negative impact (-0.8) → Biodiversity
As ocean temperatures increase, species diversity in coastal areas decreases significantly. This relationship was weighted -0.8 based on stakeholder consensus.
💡 Reading the Network: Blue arrows show positive relationships (when one concept increases, the other increases). Red arrows show negative relationships (when one increases, the other decreases). Hover over nodes to see their role in the system.
These are illustrative findings to demonstrate the types of insights Get Causality can generate:
Temperature Rise and Sea Level are the most influential factors, directly impacting 8 other concepts. These climate variables act as primary forcing functions in the system.
Identified 3 critical feedback loops: Economic-Policy-Research cycle, Biodiversity-Tourism feedback, and Climate-Habitat reinforcement. These loops can amplify or dampen system changes.
Mangrove restoration and Policy Action emerged as high-leverage interventions. Scenario analysis can model how changes to these factors might cascade through the system.
Pollution and Habitat Loss create negative cascades affecting multiple system components. These require immediate attention to prevent ecosystem collapse.
Example scenario: A model like this could help coastal managers prioritize mangrove restoration projects, potentially resulting in increased protected areas and improved funding allocation for climate adaptation. The participatory modeling process could also build consensus among stakeholders with conflicting views.
Complete FCM toolkit: Survey builder, data collection at scale, and research-grade analysis—all in one platform
Start with expert facilitation or design your own study
Expert-facilitated concept elicitation workshops. We help you design optimal FCM surveys by working with key stakeholders to identify critical concepts and relationships.
The only survey platform built for FCM data collection
"Complexity is an emergent property of aggregation, not a prerequisite for participation."
Participants contribute simple mental models. Complexity emerges when you aggregate hundreds or thousands of responses.
Build specialized FCM surveys with our drag-and-drop interface. Add concept lists, configure edge weights, and design the exact mental model capture you need. No other survey platform can do this.
Send surveys via email, share custom links, or embed on your website. Respondents can save progress and return later. Track completion rates, send reminders, and manage responses in real-time. Scale from 10 to 1,000+ participants.
Each survey response is saved as an individual FCM and instantly combined into an aggregate model. No manual data entry, no Excel exports, no reformatting. No other platform does this—go from raw responses to publication-ready multi-model analysis instantly.
Research-grade tools for professional FCM analysis
Compare up to 1,500+ participant models simultaneously. QAP tests, Mantel analysis, edge frequency, structural equivalence, and motif detection for robust statistical comparisons across groups.
Bootstrap confidence intervals, permutation tests, edge frequency analysis, and multi-level network analysis for research-grade results that stand up to peer review.
GAT and GraphSAGE models with attention mechanisms, transformer analysis, causal discovery, and GAN-based synthetic data generation. Discover hidden patterns and predict network behavior using cutting-edge deep learning.
Identify influential concepts with degree, betweenness, closeness, and eigenvector centrality. Find leverage points and key drivers in your system.
Run "what-if" simulations with FCM propagation. Test interventions, compare outcomes, and visualize how changes cascade through the system over time with feedback loops and emergent behavior.
Drag-and-drop interface for creating FCM networks manually. Add nodes, draw weighted edges, and visualize causal relationships in real-time with interactive network layouts.
Everything you need for professional research
Export high-resolution network visualizations, statistical reports, and interactive plots. CSV, Excel, SPSS, GraphML, PNG, and PDF formats supported. Ready for journals and presentations.
2FA (TOTP & email), WebAuthn/passkey login, SSO (SAML 2.0 & OIDC), AES-256 encryption, CSRF protection, intrusion detection, and automated security scanning. GDPR compliant with full data export and deletion.
FCM is used across industries to solve complex problems and make better decisions
Model climate change impacts, ecosystem dynamics, and conservation strategies. Analyze stakeholder perspectives on natural resource management and identify leverage points for policy intervention.
Map disease transmission pathways, healthcare system dynamics, and social determinants of health. Compare stakeholder mental models to identify intervention strategies.
Evaluate policy impacts across multiple dimensions. Capture diverse stakeholder perspectives to build consensus and identify unintended consequences before implementation.
Model organizational dynamics, strategic risks, and decision-making processes. Compare executive perspectives to align understanding of business challenges.
Analyze fishing satisfaction, habitat threats, and conservation solutions. Model stakeholder knowledge to inform sustainable fisheries management.
Conduct participatory research with publication-ready visualizations. Compare mental models across demographics using rigorous statistical methods.
Get answers to common questions about Get Causality
We measure how people organize information in their heads—their mental models. Surveys tell you people's opinions. We show you how they're thinking about the problem. Do they see it as one thing causing another in a line? Or do they see a complex web of interconnected causes? That difference matters because you can't convince someone by arguing against their mental structure.
A mental model is how someone internalizes cause-and-effect relationships in their head. It's their personal theory of how things work. For example, one person might think "more regulation → less pollution → better health." Another might think "more regulation → higher costs → job losses → worse health." Same topic, completely different mental models. Understanding these differences is key to effective communication and policy design.
Three things: (1) What concepts people connect—Do they link "climate change" to "fishing" or not? (2) How they connect them—Does A cause B, or do they affect each other? (3) How complex their thinking is—Simple chains vs. feedback loops. The output is a map of their thinking, plus statistics showing if different groups think fundamentally differently.
(1) Sign up—free tier available, no credit card required. (2) Create a survey using our drag-and-drop builder, or import existing data. (3) Share a link—participants draw their mental models in their browser (no app install). (4) Platform aggregates responses into analyzable networks automatically. (5) Run analyses with one click—centrality, clustering, group comparisons. (6) Export publication-ready visualizations and statistics.
Anyone who needs to understand stakeholders before making big decisions: consultants doing stakeholder analysis for clients, companies launching new products or policies, governments designing public policy, and researchers studying how people understand complex issues. All of them currently guess at how stakeholders think. We measure it.
Surveys ask questions you think are important. We let people tell us what they think is important and how it all connects. Example: A survey asks "Do you support climate policy?" and gets 60% saying yes. Our platform shows you why they support it—some see economic benefits, others see moral duty, others see system collapse. Same opinion, completely different thinking. You need to know the why to design messages that work.
Traditional FCM analysis can take weeks between getting survey responses and having results—most of that time spent on data cleaning, reformatting, and writing R scripts. Get Causality automates this workflow. Import your data, select your analyses, and get results in minutes instead of weeks. The platform is designed to handle thousands of participant models with demographic comparisons and automated visualizations.
The free plan lets you work with up to 250 FCM models and send up to 50 survey invitations. You can import and export data, visualize networks, and run basic centrality analyses. It's perfect for students, small pilot projects, or just testing the platform to see if it fits your needs. No credit card required.
We support most common FCM data formats. You can import survey exports (CSV or JSON), standard FCM JSON files, Excel adjacency matrices, or just paste directly from a spreadsheet. The platform automatically detects your data format and handles the conversion, so you don't need to manually reformat anything.
For multi-model analysis, we have QAP tests, permutation tests, hierarchical clustering, and network comparisons. Standard network metrics include centrality measures (degree, betweenness, closeness), density, and triadic census. The advanced tier includes graph neural networks, discrete choice models, and latent class analysis. All analyses come with automated visualizations and exportable results.
Yes. The platform runs on a serverless architecture (Vercel + Neon PostgreSQL) with no persistent local storage—each function is stateless and isolated, so there is no shared server disk where data could be exposed. All data transmission is encrypted via TLS, sensitive fields are encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM, and passwords are hashed with bcrypt. We enforce strict Content Security Policy headers, CSRF protection, HSTS, and rate limiting across all endpoints. A built-in PII filter automatically strips personally identifiable columns (names, emails, IP addresses, phone numbers, government IDs) from uploaded data before it reaches any analysis pipeline. Two-factor authentication is available via TOTP authenticator apps or email codes. Enterprise users get SSO (SAML 2.0 & OIDC) and per-institution 2FA policies. All users can configure personal IP allowlists to restrict login by network. Our CI/CD pipeline runs automated security scans (dependency audit, secrets detection, SAST) on every deployment. GDPR compliant with full data export and account deletion. If you have specific IRB or institutional requirements, contact us to discuss custom data handling agreements.
Enterprise and Team tiers include institutional SSO (SAML 2.0 and OpenID Connect) with email domain auto-detection, per-institution 2FA enforcement, trusted device management, comprehensive audit logging for compliance, intrusion detection alerts for suspicious activity, and configurable session policies. All users can set up personal IP allowlists to restrict login to trusted networks. We also support WebAuthn/FIDO2 for passwordless authentication. The entire backend runs on Vercel’s serverless infrastructure with Neon PostgreSQL—there are no persistent servers to compromise, and each function executes in an isolated, stateless environment. Sensitive data columns are automatically excluded from analysis pipelines via client-side PII filtering before data ever leaves the browser. All security events are logged with user ID, IP, and timestamp for IRB and compliance review.
You can pay monthly (cancel anytime) or annually (save 15-20%). All plans include feature updates as we add them. Beta users who join now can lock in founding member pricing at up to 50% off for life. If you have a team of 10 or more, contact us about enterprise pricing.
Absolutely. The free plan gives you full access to core features with no credit card required. You can also try the live demo (check the "Live Demo" tab) to explore with example models. Or join the beta waitlist for early access with founding member pricing. Take your time and see if it fits your workflow.
Get Causality is currently self-funded and bootstrapped. Revenue comes from platform subscriptions (individual, team, and enterprise tiers) and professional workshop services. We are actively exploring strategic partnerships and investment to accelerate product development, expand our research network, and scale enterprise adoption.
Yes. We are open to conversations with investors who understand the value of decision intelligence, stakeholder analytics, and research infrastructure. If you're interested in learning more about our growth trajectory, market opportunity, or partnership possibilities, please reach out to [email protected].
Just reach out. For general questions, email us at [email protected]. If you want to schedule a demo for your team, contact [email protected]. Paid users get technical support with a 24-hour response time. Beta users get priority support and direct access to our development team.
Choose the right solution for your research needs
Choose your level of support: Self-service platform access includes survey builder + analysis suite. Add workshop services for expert-guided concept design. Bundle for complete end-to-end support.
Perfect for learning FCM basics
Requires .edu verification
For educational use only
For independent researchers & consultants
For professional teams & small firms
For research teams & organizations
Starting at $100,000/year
Note: Survey completion rate assumption: 60% (invitation limits are ~1.65x completion limits). You handle survey distribution through your own networks.
Facilitated workshops for exploration, training, and strategic engagement
Half-day facilitated session
1.5-2 day workshop
3-5 workshops over 2-6 months
Long-term strategic partnership
All workshops include: Expert facilitation, comprehensive deliverables (10-30 pages), and methodology training. No excessive reports.
Add-on services to enhance your survey success (requires active SaaS subscription)
Expert survey design review
Network assessment & planning
Boost completion rates
Complete survey support
Note: Survey support services require an active Academic, Professional, or Team subscription. You handle survey distribution through your own networks.
Comprehensive packages combining platform access, workshops, and support services
Perfect for starting your first project
For comprehensive strategic projects
Long-term strategic partnership
All bundles include: Expert facilitation, comprehensive training, ongoing support, and significant cost savings. Custom bundles available.
| Feature | Free | Academic | Researcher | Professional | Team | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $0 | $249 | $499 | $999 | $1,999 | Custom |
| Participant Models | Up to 250 | Up to 5,000 | Up to 10,000 | Up to 25,000 | Up to 100,000 | Unlimited |
| Multi-Model Analysis | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Meta Models (AI/ML) | — | — | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| A/B Testing & White-label | — | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Team Members | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | Unlimited |
| Support Response | Community | 24-48h | 24h | 12h | 12h | Dedicated |
| Commercial Use | Limited | Educational only | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Export Formats | CSV, PNG | +PDF, GraphML | +PDF, GraphML | All formats | All formats | All formats |
Yes, you can upgrade to annual billing anytime to save up to 20%.
Each individual FCM collected through your surveys counts as one participant model.
Yes! Our Academic Pro tier is specifically priced for students and faculty. Contact us for additional institutional discounts.
Enterprise pricing is customized based on your needs - participant count, support level, custom features, and usage. Schedule a call to discuss your project.
Have questions? We'd love to hear from you.
See how Get Causality transforms data into insights