Want Your Project to Stand Out? Define the Problem Clearly

Why a single phrase changes everything

If your problem is explained with generalities, it is lost among thousands of causes.

 “Poverty is a great challenge in our community.”
That phrase is real... but too wide to move to action.

Instead, when you define the problem of form clear and concrete, the public understands instantly the urgency and scope of your mission:

“In our community, 7 out of 10 young people drop out of high school, and we want to change it.”

The difference is the precision: makes visible the size of the challenge, who it affects and why it matters now.

What achieves a definition in a sentence

• Get attention in seconds (ideal for web, pitch and networks). 
• Line up the team and avoid dispersion. 
• Allows measurement progress with clear indicators. 
• Facilitates anchoring: donors understand what problem you are attacking and how they can help.
  

“problem in 1 sentence” template

Complete the fields and try them on your website, dossier or pitch:

In [place/population], [X of each Y / % / #] [concrete situation], and we want to change it with [short approach/solution].

Examples:

• “In Altavista, 6 out of 10 women microentrepreneurs do not access credit; we want to change it with formation and seed capital.” 
• “In the rural Caribbean, 4 out of 10 families lack safe water; we will install filtration systems and community education.”
  

Mini-exercise (5 minutes)

1. Write your current sentence. 
2. Replaces generalities with numbers and specific public. 
3. Read aloud: Do you understand in 5 seconds? 
4. Relay it until it fits in a line. 
5. Try allies: can they repeat it easily?
   

Common errors (and how to fix them)

• Too abstract: “combat inequality.”
  
  
  It changes to: “1 out of 3 teenagers does not finish secondary due to lack of school transportation.”
   
• Without territory or public: “We support vulnerable people.”
  
  
  Specifies: who, where and what happens to them.
   
• No metric: “we want to improve education.”
  
  
  Adds database and population data: “200 students from 9th and 10th without access to STEM.”
   

From the phrase to the plan (next step)

Your problem phrase is the starting point of the rest: theory of change, KPIs, budget and communication.
Turn it into the first block of your landing You donor profile and you 60 seconds pitch.

 

Clarity attracts resources.
In SIGUE Network We help you express your problem in form powerful and affordable and to turn it into a strategy with metrics and results.

contacto@siguenetwork.org | @siguenetwork
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