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Climate Finance Readiness Workshop Maputo, April 2016 Problem and Objective Analysis Training on Project Formulation
Climate Finance Readiness Workshop
Maputo, April 2016
Problem and Objective Analysis
Training on Project Formulation
Objectives
By the end of this presentation you will be
able to:
Use a problem tree to analyse cause and effect
relationships
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What is Problem Tree Analysis?
Involves identifying key:
problems,
constraints and
opportunities;
Determining cause and effect
relationships
The problems are visualized in the form
of a Problem Tree or ‘hierarchy of
problems’
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Problem tree
Core problem
Effects
Consequences
Immediate causes
Underlying
causes4
Why do a Problem Tree?
The cause and effect relationships are
key to identifying effective interventions
A problem can easily be translated
into a potential project objective
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Problem Tree – key steps
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Example problem tree
Little investment in urban
infrastructure
Old aging infrastructure
Low efficiency / high resource
consuming infrastructure
High GHG emissions from urban sector
Limited funding for urban
modernizationHigh cost of
failure
Low awareness of opportunities
and benefits
Limited ability to plan investments
National modernization programme not
functional
Municipal utilities have no
funds for investment
Tariffs are too low to cover investments
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
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Important notes
Problems are worded as negative situations
Problems are existing problems, not future ones or imagined ones
Position does not mean importance
A problem is an existing negative situation, not the absence of a solution
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Two common difficulties
Inadequate problem specification: ‘Poor management’
vs.
‘Poor financial control’, ‘late delivery of services’
Problems are not an absence of a solution: ‘Lack of trained staff’
vs.
‘Staff has insufficient or inappropriate skills’
This risks biasing intervention to absent solution when it may be a question of eg. ‘recruitment’
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Group work
Revisit your project idea
Decide on a core problem to analyze
Develop a problem tree focusing on the
roots - reject, improve and group
Tips:
Keep asking why
Beware of jumps in logic. Fill these gaps
Use post-it notes
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Objectives analysis
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Objectives tree
Problem tree Objectives tree
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In an objectives tree we will see…
Statements of positive achievements,
Whose relationship to each other is that of
means to ends,
That answer the question: “What if?”
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Objectives Tree – key steps
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Group work
Revisit your problem tree
Develop an objectives tree from the problem
tree
Tips:
Keep asking “What if?”
Beware of jumps in logic. Fill these gaps
Use post-it notes
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Discussion
What happened in that exercise?
How has this changed your thinking?
What will you do differently in future as a result?
How would you use the problem and objective trees when formulating a project?
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