A deep under­stand­ing of the core prob­lem is the foun­da­tion of any impact-dri­ven ven­ture. This includes gath­er­ing both pri­ma­ry data – by speak­ing direct­ly with affect­ed peo­ple or orga­ni­za­tions – and sec­ondary data from stud­ies, reports, and sta­tis­tics. The result is a well-round­ed view that also accounts for sys­temic fac­tors that influ­ence or wors­en the prob­lem.

Beyond col­lect­ing data, test­ing your assump­tions is key: Does the prob­lem real­ly exist the way you first thought, or does your per­spec­tive need adjust­ing? The more thor­ough­ly this val­i­da­tion is done, the bet­ter you can design a solu­tion that fits – and align your impact mea­sure­ment accord­ing­ly.

A val­i­dat­ed prob­lem analy­sis lays the ground­work for build­ing a solu­tion that makes a real and last­ing dif­fer­ence.