Root Cause Analysis
Root Cause Analysis
Root Cause Analysis
analysis
Address the cause , not just the symptom.➠
Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001
in partnership with
Root Cause Analysis is about trying to identify the primary cause of a problem so
that we can prevent the problem from happening in the first place. It’s about
asking questions like...
Can we prevent homelessness rather than just feed the people who end up on
the streets?
Can we prevent people from littering our beaches rather than clean up after
them after the fact?
Can we prevent the elderly from catching the flu rather than treat them after
they have the disease.
By the time you get to the 4th or 5th why, you might see something that
resembles a root cause. Here’s an example...
Climate Change
Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 8 of 21 ➤
root cause analysis
3. Ask why this is the case - why are carbon dioxide levels rising?
Clean sources of
energy have not
been properly
developed.
There are countless ways you can act - you can sell
“carbon offsets” to car owners or create a program
that teaches youth how to use solar and wind
technology. As long as your solution answers the
question above, you can be sure you are
addressing a “root cause” of the problem.
Now it’s your turn...
2. Root causes don’t have to be universal. They can and often are very specific to
a community. The cause for homelessness can be x in one town and y in another.
3. It’s tempting to offer multiple explanations for something. You might want to
say something is happening because of x and y. But for this exercise, choose one
explanation - the one you think is most important.
4. Ask a friend, a teacher or mentor to do this exercise with you. The best way
they can help you is to repeat your answers back to you. “So you think this is
happening because of this?”
Good luck!
Problem
Indicator
Why
Why
Why
Why
Why
Root Cause?
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