Resilience Planning and Project Finance Process:
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Scope the Problem to Define Objectives

Urban Resilience Roadmap
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Scope the Problem to Define Objectives
Introduction Competencies/Skills Tools Tips Supporting Entities Potential Outputs
Introduction

The second step to developing the project concept is to develop a clear explanation of the problem your project is seeking to address.  An accurate explanation of the problem is a fundamental requirement for planning because it will determine the selection of activities as well as implementing partners and arrangements.  A thorough exploration of the problem involves broad-based stakeholder engagement to identify what the core problem is, and the links between indirect and direct drivers and effects and the core problem itself. 

Meaningful stakeholder involvement will ensure that views of diverse groups, who may have different perceptions of the core problem and its causal links, have been considered in the problem analysis.  Through a well-facilitated process, stakeholders can come to a common understanding of the issues and agree upon the core problem, its effects, and the relationship between the factors that contribute to the problem.  Stakeholder consultations will also pave the way for identifying the parameters to resolve the problem, arriving at a consensus for potential solutions and build ownership and commitment for implementing the project.  Financiers will also often require details about stakeholder consultations that were conducted during the planning and design phases of project preparation. 

A commonly used tool for this step is Problem/Objective tree analysis.  Stakeholders work together to develop a Problem Tree, which is an overview of the causes and effects of an identified problem.  After coming to a consensus about the core problem, stakeholders collaborate to identify the direct and indirect causes and effects of the problem, revealing the complexity of the problem and identifying the key drivers.  The problem tree also helps to highlight potential intervention and complimentary project ideas. 

After the stakeholders agree on the problem tree, it can be converted into an objectives tree, transforming the core problem statement into a project outcome.  Then the direct and indirect problem drivers can be converted into direct and indirect enabling factors that contribute to the realization of the project outcome.  Likewise, the direct and indirect impacts of the problem become the direct and indirect impacts that would result from the ideal state.  The completed objective tree can be used to further detail the project concept with intended outcomes, objectives, and activities.

Tools/Resources
Tips
  • A well-facilitated process provides a framework to meaningfully solicit stakeholder inputs and identify local needs through a “bottom-up” process; 
  • Ensure that the problem/objective tree analysis is able to leverage local knowledge and experience, and reconcile it with national priorities and strategies; 
  • Incorporating accurate and up-to-date data with the problem/objective tree helps with developing the evidence base for the project by revealing the specific causal relationships that require evidence to back them up;
  • Design the consultations to identify information that builds the rationale for the project, or where information gaps exist, leading to step 3; 
  • Ensure that the problem tree/objectives tree analysis helps all stakeholders have a shared understanding and a common language.  It is also useful for exposing different perceptions of the problem and also direct and indirect causes and effects that might not be immediately apparent to the government; and
  • A rigorous problem tree analysis will take several sessions to complete, as stakeholders need time to agree upon the logic of the tree, and will likely require the revision of the tree several times.  The problem tree should be considered a living document that can be modified as new information becomes available.  
Supporting Entities/Processes
  • USAID Adapt Asia-Pacific
Potential Outputs
  • Narrative description of problem context