Are we asking the right questions?

Last week I analysed merits and demerits of standardising the entrepreneurship teaching, training and development curriculum in Rwanda. What I did not look into is the issues that led us on that path in the first place. The matter at hand is the concern that the training, teaching and development of entrepreneurship does not seem to produce good results fast enough. Why is this case? Somehow, we came to the conclusion that it is a problem of quality in the entrepreneurship training thus the need to standardise the entrepreneurship curriculum. But did we ask the right questions? Did we properly analyse and understand causes and effects of our problem? Suppose we wanted to build a house. There are things in terms of labour, materials and equipment that we will need to effect the same. If the building is not coming up at a pace we consider reasonable, we need to know why. It could be the design, the foreman, the sand, cement, topography, labourers, you name it. We need to interrogate each of these until we figure out where the problem is or which combinations of factors have caused the problem. This is what problem tree analysis does. Problem tree analysis is central to many forms of project planning and we should apply it in the cause of developing a new curriculum and indeed any project and business. It helps to find solutions by mapping out the anatomy of cause and effect around an issue. We need a better understanding of our entrepreneurship development problem and its often interconnected and even contradictory causes. This identifies the constituent issues and arguments, and can help establish who and what the actors and processes are at each stage. It also helps establish whether further information, evidence or resources are needed to make a strong case, or build a convincing solution. Present issues – real rather than apparent, future or past issues - are dealt with and identified. The process of analysis helps build a shared sense of understanding, purpose and action. Entrepreneurship, to be fair, is a broad and often misunderstood topic. It needs to be broken down into simpler manageable bits. This is where the matter needs attention. We should apply a case by case, sector by sector approach due to the dynamism of the subject matter. There is no ‘one size fits all’. The causes of our focal problem - the roots – are mostly around creativity, support systems alongside the training methodologies themselves. What we observe as the problem, the slow development are actually consequences, the effects of the problem. To get on top of this problem, we will have to ensure that what we are addressing represents the reality on the ground with its accompanying economic, political and socio-cultural scopes considered. Once we know the causes and consequences; we will look at them dynamically rather than in a static manner. We have to know which are getting better, which are getting worse and which are staying the same. What are the most serious consequences? Which are of most concern? What criteria are important to us in thinking about a way forward? Which causes are easiest / most difficult to address? What possible solutions or options might there be? Where could a policy change help address a cause or consequence, or create a solution? The Problem tree is then converted into an objectives tree by rephrasing each of the problems into positive desirable outcomes - as if the problem had already been treated. In this way, root causes and consequences are turned into root solutions, and key project or influencing entry points are quickly established. Mercifully, this approach can be widely applied. One thing is certain, however; we must ask the right questions in order to get the right answers. Sam Kebongo is an entrepreneurship Development Consultant based in Kigali.