How to analyse social problems?
Social enterprises exist to solve social problems. Therefore, impact planning and measurement starts with identifying and understanding the problem. We are strong believers that a deep and thorough analysis of the problem is the most straightforward way to solve it effectively!
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Problem definition
Why is it important to analyse social problems?
The social problem is the main incentive for any social enterprise to be established. The selected social problem is at the core of any social business model - what service or product is being offered, how the market is analysed. Such a process requires significant investment, both financial and human. For this reason, there is a need for a thorough understanding of the problem that is about to be solved, even before the enterprise is established.
The first step towards analysing the problem is to define it. This common and easy exercise will allow each social enterprise to clearly identify what problem they want to solve.
Before starting this task, it is recommended to discuss the problem you are solving with as many people as possible. Sometimes the process of problem analysis can be more like art rather than science. This is due to the fact that social problems are perceived subjectively. In order to be considered as a problem, the situation must be assessed by a person - with certain experiences, attitude and subjective opinion. In addition, the emergence of the concept of the problem also requires a broader understanding of the situation - the context in which the problem exists. For example, if we know that a household's monthly income is EUR 1,000, we would not be able to identify the problem immediately.
Multiple points of view
However, if we consider the context that there are 4 people living in the household and our opinion that monthly income per person should be at least 500 euros, we would understand that the family lives in poverty. On the other hand, if it turned out that the household consists of one person, there would be no problem with such a situation.
Due to such nature of the problem analysis, it is important to understand that social problems are surrounded by very broad contexts. The easiest way to get acquainted with this complexity is by talking to people who are going through the problem or working to solve it - is social workers, teachers, police officers and others.
Problem definition is a tool which helps you to pinpoint what is the core reason why your social enterprise exists. Even though this is a subjective matter, it is still recommended to follow these questions:
- Who is suffering from this problem? How can you define this group of people?
- Name the problem these people experience? What are they suffering from?
- Where are these people? If possible, specify their location.
Why is it important?
You probably can single out many places and groups of people who suffer from similar things. However, it is better to name one group of people and one geographical location in the final description of the problem. It will make it easier for your organisation to make strategic decisions. Deciding where you want to expand your enterprise will be easier if you know you want to solve the problem, for example, in the Klaipeda region and not in the whole of Eastern Europe.
A concise and clear problem definition will be a tool that you can use to present your activities to colleagues, volunteers, funders. A simple definition structure will facilitate the communication with all stakeholders.
The most common mistakes that social entrepreneurs make in defining the problem
1. Problem is defined as lack of resources for a solution that already exists
This attitude probably stems from the belief that we already know everything about the problem, and all the possible solutions to the problem have already been discovered. Another reason leading to this mistake is that we tend to analyse problems subjectively, assessing social situations in the context of our experience.
For example, if we were to analyse the unmet needs of foster children in Lithuania, it is likely that the social workers would name the problem as a shortage of social workers in the system, teachers would say that there is not enough information on how to teach such children, and children's rights activists would say that the legislation about children’s rights is not good enough.
Even though all of them are right, the social problem probably lies deeper. Such an error in the problem definition may prevent us from creating more effective and innovative solutions. In such problem definitions, it always feels that the solution to the problem already exists, and all that is missing are additional resources (such as money, more laws or training). If this was true and allocating more resources to the existing solutions would make it possible to solve all the problems, they would probably already be solved. Analysis of the problem, moving away from old beliefs, can provide many useful insights and perhaps even be the beginning of social innovation.
If your problem definition includes phrases such as “too little”, “missing”, “no service”, etc., make sure that when you formulate this problem definition you do not already have a correct solution to solve it. Problem definition should not lead to any solution.
2. Two problems in one definition
Being a complex social phenomenon, problems tend to become intertwined and get extremely complex and complicated. Social entrepreneurs, being proactive leaders, often have high ambitions to solve several problems at the same time. It is not advisable to combine all of the descriptions into one - this will prevent from carrying out a thorough and precise analysis of the problem.
3. We are eliminating causes of the problem to prevent its consequences
Such wording is flawed because it does not describe who is experiencing the problem and where. In addition, the definition of a problem should not include the causes nor the consequences of the problem. This complicates further analysis of the problem, making it almost impossible to explain the problem precisely. The problem formulated in this way loses its essence - it is not clear what is the core of it.
Social innovators who are properly prepared for their activities should always address the root causes of the problem. This is one of the simplest principles of developing effective solutions to social problems. This principle should be reflected in your organisation’s operational guidelines, but not in the problem definition.
Problem map
Once you have a clear definition of the main problem to be solved, you can move on to the next step and map out the problem. The problem map is designed to help you understand the context in which the problem is present. What causes it to occur and what consequences it causes?
Even though all social entrepreneurs work to solve their chosen problems on a daily basis, many of them do so intuitively. We are not trying to say that they do not understand the problem, but if the step of analysing the problem is skipped, there is a risk of not noticing important, deep-rooted causes. Moreover, we can waste our organisation's resources to "treat the symptoms of the disease", that is, destroy only the consequences of the problem. Meanwhile, the problem remains intact and continues to exist.
Due to these reasons, the problem map is an important step in social enterprise planning. It helps social entrepreneurs to find the best solutions, structure their activities and organizational strategy, stay on course, and communicate the importance of their activities to external stakeholders. For example, customers and investors; prepare quality project applications.
Problem map is a logic string: "Because problem causes exist, emerges the core problem. And it causes problem consequences." Let's explore it.
01
First step
Write down your problem definition in the middle of the string.
02
Second step
Name the causes of the problem that are. Try to name them so that anyone unrelated to your enterprise would be able to understand them. Do not try to name all the causes of the problem.
Choose only the most important causes that directly contribute to the problem. This is a very important step, because the solution of your enterprise should be focused on the causes - if we eliminate the causes, the whole problem will disappear.
03
Third step
Check the logical connection - is it clear how and why each of the identified causes contribute to the existence of the problem? If this is difficult to do, or you need to include many additional conditions, try to clarify and refine the causes of the problem, perhaps they are named inaccurately?
Another reason why a logical connection can be difficult to spot is that the core problem is indeed one of the causes. In this case, it is necessary to go back to the previous section of this topic and clarify the problem definition.
04
Fourth step
At the end of the string, write down the consequences of the problem. Consequences describe what happens to an individual and the society as a whole if the problem remains unresolved. The consequences’ list explains why the problem should concern not only you, but also those around you. And why it is necessary to solve it in general. In naming the consequences of the problem, we also urge not to try to list them all, but to pinpoint only the most important and painful ones.
05
Fifth step
Again, do a logic-check. Is it clear to you and to your neighbour that the causes are the reasons the problem exists and the problem is resulting in the consequences?
Problem analysis example
Problem causes
Lack of sexual education
Inadequate access to protection measures
Inadequate access to services tailored to young people
Sexual violence
Alcohol and drugs consumption
Core problem
Unplanned pregnancy of underage girls from rural areas
Problem consequences
Girls drop out of school or their learning results decline
Girls do not get into higher education
Lower income
Unemployment
Social costs
Social exclusion
Health-related risks and mortality
Illegal and/or unsafe abortions
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Problem causes
Core problem