Method Description for Challenge Mapping.
Challenge Mapping is a tool used to break down complex issues into manageable challenges. In the climate context, it supports collaborative planning by aligning diverse perspectives and clarifying systemic barriers to climate action and interventions.
Name of Method
Brief description
Challenge mapping helps to understand the barriers to innovation within a certain thematic area / challenge / societal mission and to indicate the most promising routes towards overcoming the barriers. The challenge map is a tool to engage with a certain community of experts to build this understanding and discuss the routes towards solutions. A ready challenge map provides a good overview of how different aspects are interconnected and where the ‘sore points’ are vs. what can ‘the cure’ consists of.
https://netzerocities.app/resource-4102
Type/Level of Method
Challenges
Challenge mapping can help to make a broad overview of a complex problem setting. Thereby it can show how a certain challenge extends its reach across sectoral and organisational borders and can thereby require both punctual and systemic interventions and even a certain sequencing of them.
Problem, Purpose and Needs
The main aim of a challenge map is to support conversations with experts that have understanding about a complex challenge and could potentially contribute to finding solutions that overcome the identified barriers.
Relevance to Climate Neutrality
Challenges
Thematic Areas
Impact Goals
Issue Complexity
Issue Polarisation
Enabling Condition
Essential Considerations for Commissioning Authorities
Engagement Journey
Governance Models and Approaches
Enabling Conditions
Democratic Purpose
Spectrum of participation
Communication Channels
Actors and Stakeholder Relationships
The stakeholders are either gathered together to discuss the ‘anatomy’ of the challenge or are interviewed individually or in groups to inform the team that visualises the challenge map.
Participant Numbers
Actors and Stakeholders
Participant Recruitment
Interaction between participants
Format
Social Innovation Development Stage
Scope
Time commitment
An expert group could deliver the required content within half a day but the visualisation time would come on top of that (and would vary according to the level of ambition). The process might also need several iterative rounds for the map to correspond well enough with the experts’ view of the challenge. eg. Some methods require a minimum amount of planning and implementation otherwise they risk being poor quality or little impact. Others can be deployed quickly.
Resources and Investments
Typical duration
Resources and Investments
In-house
Step by Step
Work in one group or several groups that come together and do the exercise again together. List the reasons why it is important to tackle the chosen challenge. Formulate a vision where the challenge has actually been solved. Identify which barriers have to be overcome for the vision to realize. Name the ‘sore points’ where development is slow due to some barriers. Name the aspects of the ‘cure’, i.e. the leverage points where changing a specific aspect of the underlying problem will have a major impact. Visualise the outcome to get an overview – and preferably revise the draft with those who participated.
Evaluation
Connecting Methods
Connecting methods include challenge prototyping and challenge reporting. Using all these jointly would typically happen in the context of a challenge competition.
Flexibility and Adaptability
There is no one-fits-all model for preparing and drawing a challenge map. The most ambitious visualisations may be close to pieces of art graphics but more simple maps are often sufficient. Being able to bring the essentials into a single ‘map’ or ‘landscape’ (i.e. some kind of visual image) should not be compromised.
Existing Guidelines and Best Practice
References and Further Resources
https://www.science-practice.com/blog/2015/01/15/challenge-mapping
https://demoshelsinki.fi/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/demos-try-out-www-1.pdf