scenarioDNA Practice/Platform

Use & Terms

scenarioDNA is a New York–based cultural foresight, research, and strategy consultancy whose work spans cultural intelligence, Culture Mapping, narrative analysis, foresight, scenario development, design research, semiotics, brand and experience strategy, and related forms of applied cultural research. Across consulting, research, teaching, publications, methodologies, digital tools, and platforms, scenarioDNA uses cultural research as a structured form of inquiry designed to identify patterns, relationships, tensions, narratives, and emerging possibilities while preserving the role of human interpretation, judgment, and context. StoryEngine is one application of this broader practice: an AI-native cultural intelligence platform that translates aspects of scenarioDNA’s patented Culture Mapping methodology, cultural foresight practice, and the research behind Story Systems and Cultural Research into an AI-assisted environment for structured cultural analysis.

scenarioDNA research and StoryEngine outputs may include interpretations, hypotheses, classifications, scenarios, cultural patterns, and strategic possibilities. These should be understood as inputs into a larger process of interpretation rather than as automatically verified facts or universal truths about individuals, populations, cultures, or communities. Cultural analysis is inherently contextual and may involve ambiguity, incomplete evidence, competing interpretations, and emerging patterns. StoryEngine is designed to broaden inquiry, surface relationships, challenge assumptions, and support structured interpretation, but neither StoryEngine nor any scenarioDNA methodology is intended to replace human judgment, independent research, or professional verification.

Unless expressly provided under a separate professional engagement, scenarioDNA outputs do not constitute legal, financial, medical, or other regulated professional advice. Clients and users remain responsible for evaluating findings, verifying important information, and applying appropriate academic, professional, strategic, legal, and ethical standards. Use of StoryEngine does not itself create a consulting, advisory, fiduciary, agency, or other professional relationship with scenarioDNA. Individual StoryEngine users must be at least 18 years old, protect their account credentials, and comply with applicable laws and these policies. Paid subscriptions may renew automatically unless canceled before the next billing period, trial periods may be offered, and fees are generally non-refundable unless otherwise required by law or agreed separately. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York.

Research Ethics, Human Subjects & Safeguarding

scenarioDNA approaches research as the analysis of cultural systems rather than the reduction of people to fixed categories. Its methods examine relationships among narratives, symbols, behaviors, values, institutions, technologies, spaces, objects, and social conditions, with particular attention to context, ambiguity, and interpretive responsibility. scenarioDNA does not support the use of cultural analysis to stereotype, essentialize, discriminate against, or make unjustified claims about individuals or groups. These principles apply equally to human-led research, commissioned engagements, independent and academic research, and AI-assisted analysis conducted through StoryEngine.

scenarioDNA’s human-subject research practice emphasizes informed consent, dignity, privacy, data minimization, and the protection of vulnerable participants. scenarioDNA holds current IRB: Human Subject Research (Investigators, Advisors) training through the CITI Program, issued September 2022 and expiring September 2027, Credential ID 51292303. These principles inform interviews, qualitative research, fieldwork, cultural observation, user research, workshops, and other forms of primary research. StoryEngine does not replace informed consent, ethical review, safeguarding judgment, or the responsibilities of a human researcher, and AI-assisted analysis involving human subjects remains subject to the same standards.

Where research involves children or young people under the age of 18, additional safeguards apply to scenarioDNA founders, staff, associates, subcontracted researchers, and specialist partners. The safety, dignity, privacy, and wellbeing of minors take precedence over research or commercial objectives; exploitation, abuse, coercion, harassment, and inappropriate contact are not tolerated. Research involving minors requires appropriate guardian consent and, where suitable, the young person’s assent; unsupervised one-on-one contact should be avoided; personal information and identifiable media should be minimized and protected; and photography, recording, or publication involving an identifiable minor requires appropriate authorization. Any concern involving harm, exploitation, abuse, inappropriate conduct, or a serious ethical breach should be escalated promptly to the responsible scenarioDNA project or policy lead and handled in accordance with applicable law and contractual requirements.

Intellectual Property, Client Materials & Responsible Use

scenarioDNA’s methodologies, frameworks, analytical systems, research structures, and associated intellectual property have been developed through decades of consulting, research, teaching, experimentation, and publication. This includes the patented Culture Mapping methodology, narrative analysis methods, cultural foresight practices, scenario frameworks, research taxonomies, analytical structures, and related proprietary systems. These methods may appear across consulting engagements, publications, workshops, research outputs, educational activities, software, and digital platforms. StoryEngine is one implementation of this intellectual property and does not represent the entirety of scenarioDNA’s methods, expertise, processes, or research assets.

Access to StoryEngine or participation in scenarioDNA research does not transfer ownership of scenarioDNA’s underlying methodologies, systems, frameworks, platform logic, proprietary workflows, or intellectual property. Users and clients may use outputs and insights produced for them subject to the applicable engagement, subscription, or license terms, but may not reproduce, commercialize, teach, distribute, reverse engineer, systematically extract, reconstruct, or represent scenarioDNA’s proprietary methodologies or systems as their own without authorization. StoryEngine may incorporate third-party models, software, infrastructure, data sources, or services, which remain subject to the rights and terms of their respective owners.

Materials supplied by clients or users remain their property unless otherwise specified by agreement, and scenarioDNA receives only the rights reasonably necessary to perform the requested research, analysis, consulting engagement, or digital service. StoryEngine users retain ownership of submitted prompts, messages, files, documents, images, datasets, and other research materials, while granting scenarioDNA the limited right to process those materials to provide the service. Users must have the right to provide any materials they submit. scenarioDNA tools and platforms may not be used for unlawful, harmful, abusive, discriminatory, deceptive, or malicious activity, including impersonation, malware distribution, harassment, deliberate misinformation, unlawful profiling, unauthorized access, scraping, circumvention of safeguards, excessive automation, unauthorized account sharing, or resale of access. scenarioDNA may restrict or terminate access where these policies, applicable law, contractual obligations, security requirements, or intellectual property rights are violated.

scenarioDNA’s research practice, technologies, methodologies, digital services, and StoryEngine capabilities will continue to evolve. These policies may therefore be updated to reflect changes in services, AI providers, functionality, data practices, security requirements, usage limits, legal obligations, or technical infrastructure. Material revisions will be reflected in an updated version of these policies, and continued use of the applicable scenarioDNA service or StoryEngine following an update constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

Last Updated: August 12, 2026
Contact: culturemapping@scenariodna.com