2020people co-creating a sustainable world

We often come across situations that require careful consideration of the views of multiple stakeholders and the understanding of a wide variety of constraints and pressures before making an important decision or designing a solution to a problem. But often the groups that are charged with making those decisions have no way of reaching a shared understanding of the problem let alone coming to a reasonable consensus on what should be done about it. The resulting process often boils down to political posturing, spinning sound-bites, and back-room deals for the pragmatic purpose of getting anything done. The "solutions" which emerge are often so compromised they no longer suit many of the stakeholders who they are intended to help.

But by following a simple step by step process these problems can be overcome.
1. Consult with stakeholders to construct a detailed analysis of a problem from a systemic perspective. In particular establish the causes of the problem, the causes of the causes, the causes of the causes of the causes etc until the core problem is unearthed. Also establish the effects of the problem, and the effects of the effects, so that the case for change can be qualified and quantified.
2. Imagine a world with the core problem removed (as if by magic). Does that remove the rest of the problems effects? What else needs put in place to do that (if anything)?
3. What actions need to be taken to achieve the removal of the core problem?

By conducting this kind of participatory process, solutions emerge and decisions are taken by consensus which address the real root causes of problems. If problems are simple and already well understood the analysis can take minutes. The analysis of problems that are not well understood (that's just about everything), or to problems that are extremely complex and interlinked can take days or even weeks.

In a world where very few people have come across systems thinking or the interconnectedness of all things and hence the importance of root-cause-analysis, it is hard to win enthusiasm for a process which will take time away from the politicing and superficial analysis we are used to. But for me it is hard to imagine how short-cutting to a solution before the problem has been understood will advance anything.

Some problems cannot afford false starts or false dawns. Imposing a solution is not easy and certainly not likely to be as successful as a solution that has not been co-designed by stakeholders and takes into account their unique perspectives and challenges. So in the medium-long run, doing it right doesn't mean more effort but less.