By Paul Falconer & ESAci Core Series: Recursive Spiral Model — Protocols Version: 1.0 — March 2026 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/KVJMN Abstract Every organization has a 'black box'—a decision made months ago that no one can explain, a powerful dissent that vanished, a protocol that feels arbitrary because its story is lost. This institutional amnesia is a silent tax on trust and intelligence. The Recursive Spiral Model (RSM) treats this not as inevitable, but as a desi