A mean­ing­ful solu­tion starts with a clear under­stand­ing of the problem’s root caus­es. Only by iden­ti­fy­ing what’s dri­ving the issue can you define how your solu­tion con­tributes – and what unin­tend­ed effects might need to be con­sid­ered.

Key fac­tors that sus­tain or wors­en the prob­lem have been mapped out. Tools like root cause analy­sis or sce­nario plan­ning may have been used to explore broad­er con­se­quences of poten­tial inter­ven­tions. There’s also an under­stand­ing of who is most affect­ed by the prob­lem and which stake­hold­ers – such as pol­i­cy­mak­ers, com­peti­tors, or NGOs – might influ­ence it.

This lev­el of analy­sis pro­vides a sol­id foun­da­tion for design­ing an effec­tive solu­tion, tar­get­ing the right audi­ence, and build­ing cred­i­bil­i­ty – espe­cial­ly when engag­ing poten­tial part­ners, fun­ders, or investors.