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Understanding social issues

On this page, we introduce four tools used for mapping social impact and entrepreneurship. With first an overview of framing social issues, and then how the tools can be used sequentially or separately.

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Understanding social issues

Knowledge drives change

The best way to fail at creating meaningful change is to rush into solutions without fully understanding the problem. As a social entrepreneur, your first and most important step is to research and characterise the challenge you want to address. Social and environmental issues are complex, with multiple causes and far-reaching consequences. No intervention can fully solve them without first identifying who is affected, how the problem manifests itself in their lives and what they believe should be done. By investing time and resources in understanding the root causes and dynamics of the problem, you can design solutions that are both impactful and sustainable. This process requires two perspectives: seeing the problem clearly and recognising its opportunities. The more information you gather, the more effectively you can take action that leads to tangible, lasting improvements. Before you take action, data and insights should guide your approach, because knowledge is power when pursuing social change.

As a social entrepreneur, you need to be able to characterise a challenge from two angles: you need to be able to see the problem as well as the opportunities. It is important to create an Impact Gap Canvas for your challenge by using different mapping tools and asking questions.

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Impact GAP CANVAs

The Impact Gap Canvas is a strategic tool used to thoroughly understand a social or environmental challenge. It helps organise information about what the problem is, who is affected, what has already been tried and where there are still opportunities for impact, the ‘gaps’. It bridges the gap between understanding a problem and creating effective, evidence-based solutions.

The canvas is usually divided into two main parts:

  1. The challenge (understanding the problem): this includes defining the problem, identifying affected populations, investigating root causes, analysing trends and exploring available data. It focuses on what is already known about the problem and why it persists.
  2. The solutions (learning from what already exists): This side identifies what interventions, policies or innovations have been tried, what succeeded or failed and why. Based on this analysis, users can identify what has not yet been addressed: the impact gap.

The importance of the Impact Gaps Canvas lies in its ability to promote systemic thinking and deliberate action. It prevents ‘solution jumping’, where people design interventions without fully understanding the complexity or context of the problem. By highlighting data gaps, root causes and lessons from previous efforts, the canvas helps social entrepreneurs and changemakers develop more focused, sustainable and scalable solutions. In short, it transforms enthusiasm for change into strategic, evidence-based impact.

Mapping methods for social entrepreneurship

Mapping societal challenges is essential for social entrepreneurs to effectively address complex problems. Social entrepreneurs need to understand the context of the problem to create impactful and sustainable interventions. Using mapping tools is a way for social entrepreneurs to learn more about their focus areas.

Many tools are available to help social entrepreneurs understand the causal effects and interrelationships of a social issue. The following four mapping methods help visualise problems, identify stakeholders and find leverage points for intervention.

4 mapping methods

  1. Typology mapping: helps social entrepreneurs find areas with complex problems that can be tackled by a social enterprise.
  2. Transition Design Problem Mapping: tracks the historical development of a problem to identify trends and leverage points.
  3. Fishbone Diagram (cause-and-effect mapping): identifies root causes by categorising different factors.
  4. Mess mapping: visualises the interdependencies between different aspects of a problem to find useful insights.

 

These mapping tools can consecutively or separately be used.

Methods in focus

sources

Academic articles

Alford, J., & Head, B. W. (2017). Wicked and less wicked problems: a typology and a contingency framework. Policy and Society, 36(3), 397-413. https://doi.org/10.1080/14494035.2017.1361634

Books

Chahine, T. (2022). Social entrepreneurship. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003094715

Websites

  • GNDR. (2022, September 13). Mess mapping to prioritise climate risks | GNDR. https://www.gndr.org/resource/localising-climate-projections/mess-mapping-to-prioritise-climate-risks/
  • Untapped (n.d.). A righteous way to solve “Wicked” problems. https://www.untappedjournal.com/issues/issue-6/transition-design-solve-wicked-problem
  • The Compass for SBC (n.d.). Fishbone Diagram Template - The Compass for SBC. https://thecompassforsbc.org/sbcc-tools/fishbone-diagram-template
  • The Compass for SBC (2022, April 21). How to conduct a root cause analysis - the Compass for SBC. https://thecompassforsbc.org/how-to-guide/how-conduct-root-cause-analysis
  • The Compass for SBC (2022b, July 21). Root Cause Tree Template - the Compass for SBC. https://thecompassforsbc.org/sbcc-tools/root-cause-tree-template
    Meyer, R. (2024, July 1). Meyer’s Management Models #61. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/meyers-management-models-61-ron-meyer-cynwe/?trackingId=eHdl3QtiQCe2AEKv9%2BnA%2FA%3D%3D
  • https://odi.org/en/publications/planning-tools-problem-tree-analysis/
  • https://www.strategykinetics.com/files/New_Tools_For_Resolving_Wicked_Problems.pdf
  • https://www.anewdirection.org.uk/asset/3624