A new approach is introduced under the slogan " Keep It a Learning Tool " (KILT) to emphasize the crucial need to make the purpose of the model-ling process explicit when choosing the degree of complicatedness of an agent-based simulation model. We suggest that a co-design approach driven by early-stage and interactive simulation of empirical agent-based models representing stylized socio-ecosystems stimulates collective learning and, as a result, may promote the emergence of cooperative interactions among local stakeholders.