root cause

analysis
Address the cause , not just the symptom.➠
Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001
 in partnership with

Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 2 of 21 ➤

root cause analysis introduction
You live on a street where many kids ride
their bicycles every day after school.

One day, a girl riding her bike gets hit by a

car. You run out of your house to make
sure she’s ok. She’s conscious but may
have fractured her arm. You call for an
ambulance. It comes and takes her away.
She’ll be fine...

Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 3 of 21 ➤

root cause analysis The next week, the same thing
happens. Another kid gets hit by a
car at the same location. You call
for help again.

The week after that, the same thing

happens yet again! Now you’re
thinking, something weird is going
on.

Why are all these accidents

happening all of a sudden?

Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 4 of 21 ➤

root cause analysis
You walk down the block to the You trim the tree a bit. No more
intersection and you see the problem - accidents. You’ve identified the
an overgrown tree has covered up the root cause.
stop sign so cars are not slowing down
at the intersection.

Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 5 of 21 ➤

root cause analysis

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.

A simple way to identify the root cause of a problem is The 5 Whys.

Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 6 of 21 ➤

root cause analysis
?????
The 5 Whys
This is a simple yet powerful exercise that involves seven steps.

1. State the problem you’re trying to address.

2. Identify an indicator - something that tells you there IS a problem.
3. Ask why this is the case - why does the indicator show x.
4. For the reason you just gave, ask why that is the case.
5. Again, for the reason you just gave, ask why that is the case.
6. Again, for the reason you just gave, ask why that is the case.
7. One last time, for the reason you just gave, ask why that is the case.

By the time you get to the 4th or 5th why, you might see something that
resembles a root cause. Here’s an example...

Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 7 of 21 ➤

root cause analysis

1. State the problem

Climate Change
Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 8 of 21 ➤
root cause analysis

2. Identify an indicator - something that tells you there IS a problem.

Carbon dioxide levels in the

atmosphere are rising
Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 9 of 21 ➤
root cause analysis

3. Ask why this is the case - why are carbon dioxide levels rising?

Coal-powered plants are

pumping more carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere
Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 10 of 21 ➤
root cause analysis

4. Why are more coal-powered plants generating more CO₂?

As the world’s energy needs

increase, we are relying on coal
to meet the gap.
Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 11 of 21 ➤
root cause analysis
5. Why are we relying on coal to meet our energy needs?

Coal is still the “cheapest”

source of energy.

Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 12 of 21 ➤

root cause analysis 6. Why is coal still the “cheapest”?

Clean sources of
energy have not
been properly
developed.

Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 13 of 21 ➤

root cause analysis

7. Why are clean sources of energy not sufficiently developed?

There isn’t enough investment

or market demand for clean
energy.
Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 14 of 21 ➤
root cause analysis In summary...

Problem Climate Change

Indicator Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are rising

Coal-powered plants are pumping more CO₂ into the

Why
atmosphere

Why We are relying on coal to meet our increased energy needs

Why Coal is still the “cheapest’ source of energy

Why Clean sources of energy have not been properly developed

There isn’t enough investment or market demand for clean

Why
energy
Root Cause?

Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 15 of 21 ➤

root cause analysis

So one root cause for climate change could be...

There isn’t enough investment or
market demand for clean energy.

Now you’re ready to ask...

How should I intervene? How can
I help increase investment or
demand for clean energy?

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...

Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 16 of 21 ➤

root cause analysis

Before you begin, here are some tips...

1. There can be many root causes. Try to identify one at a time.

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!

Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 17 of 21 ➤

root cause analysis

Problem

Indicator

Why

Why

Why

Why

Why
Root Cause?

Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 18 of 21 ➤

root cause analysis

if you use this toolkit...

tell us! post your root cause analysis as a comment
or a new discussion on globalyouth.ning.com. ask
for feedback. let us know if this chapter helped you
or how it can be improved.

download and forward...

share this with someone you know. you can
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Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 19 of 21 ➤

 about the author
Charles Tsai is the founder and Executive Director of Global
Youth Fund and also works for Ashoka’s Youth Venture as
Director of Virtual Program. Previously, he worked at CNN
as a reporter and producer.

creative activist toolkit thanks

The Creative Activist Toolkit is a series of PDF
booklets designed to help today’s youth
impact the world through creativity and social
entrepreneurship. Produced by the Global
Youth Fund and the Creative Visions
Foundation, the toolkit chapters are offered
free to download. Email us if you would like
to contribute a chapter.
The Creative Visions Foundation
The Vancouver Foundation
The Steve Nash Foundation
Jon and Amy Eldon Turteltaub
Elaine Munro, Debbie Riopel, Jaspal Lisa Rai
Bruce Johnson, Brooke Kuhn, Serge Martin

Copyright ©2009 Global Youth Fund credits

Feel free to pass this booklet on but you may
not alter the content or charge for it. You may
quote brief sections if you credit Global Youth
Fund and provide a link to
globalyouth.ning.com
Amy Eldon Turteltaub Executive Producer
Charles Tsai Managing Director
Photos from globalwarmingart.com
and iStockphoto.com

Global Youth Fund Creative Activist Toolkit 001 ➤ page 20 of 21 ➤

 Global Youth Fund
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Vancouver, BC V6Z 3G2
CANADA
Tel: +1 (604) 628-1807
www.globalyouthfund.org