Causal diagram

During this course you practice the content by applying it to a case, either your own case or one of the cases we provided.

Causal diagrams enable you to make explicit the causal mechanisms in the case you study. We invite you to construct a causal diagram using the action points Elianne provided you in the video. Also bear in mind the pitfalls she discussed. As a wrap up we have listed the action points and pitfalls below.

ACTION POINTS

1. Identify approximately 15 factors
   Identify approximately 15 factors for the complex problem situation you are analysing. If you have fewer factors, your diagram may become too obvious. If you have many more, it will be harder to communicate about your diagram to other actors.
2. Create a causal diagram using these factors
   Start from your criteria and relate the list of factors to each other. Draw lines of influence and define the relations by adding plus or minus signs. Continuously realise what a relation means. If there is a plus next to the arrow head, it means that if the factor the arrow comes from increases, the factor the arrow points at also increases. A minus sign indicates the opposite. If the factor from which the arrow originates increases then the factor the arrowhead points at will decrease.
3. Relate actor’s alternatives to factors in your diagram
   Identify the potential solutions (the alternatives), e.g., using the desired solutions of all the actors, by going over the internet to find alternatives, or, by using the creative brainstorm, brainsketch and brainwrite methods we present in chapter 3 of the book. But also, by asking for every factor in your causal diagram ‘what action can I take to influence this factor?’
   It is this last question that will provide you with many ideas about potential solutions that nobody thought of before.
   As a first test of all these alternatives, try to link them to factors in your causal diagram. Imagine, the criteria represent what the actors find important. So, their proposed alternatives should, somehow, be capable of influencing the criteria.

PITFALLS

• Badly formulated factors
• Diagram does not start with criteria
• Causality not defined