In our capacity strengthening model, analysis (Analyze & Prioritize) occurs between the assessment (Prepare and Assess) and Action Planning (Plan & Design) phases. Analysis is a critical step in the capacity strengthening process for making sure that you understand the causes behind the results of your capacity assessment before planning/designing capacity strengthening. The metaphor of an iceberg to illustrates this concept well. Oftentimes, the capacity issues raised during capacity assessment are just the visible problems, essentially the “tip of the iceberg”. Drilling down further to find and consequently address the root causes will help ensure the resulting action plans contribute to meaningful capacity strengthening.

Two popular techniques for root cause analysis are the 5 Whys and Problem Tree analysis methods, below you’ll find 4 resources to help you learn more about how to implement these methods when analyzing the results of your capacity assessments. 

5 WHYS

1. This video from MindTools, and the accompanying article. 

2. This short video from the American Society for Quality, gives some tips on when to STOP asking WHY.

Problem Tree

3. This toolkit from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) gives an overview of the Problem Tree method.

4. This article on the Evaluation Toolbox site provides more information on following your problem tree analysis with a solution tree.