Users
Causal Map is a tool designed to help diverse professionals navigate the complexities of qualitative data analysis and visualisation.
Whether you're an academic researcher seeking to uncover intricate causal relationships, an international development professional aiming to enhance program effectiveness, a business strategy consultant looking for actionable insights, or a foundation expert striving to maximise impact, Causal Map offers tailored solutions to meet your needs.
Explore how our platform can empower your work and drive meaningful change across various sectors:
Evaluators
As an evaluator, you're often faced with complex programs operating in challenging contexts. Causal Map offers a powerful tool to make sense of qualitative data and stakeholder narratives, helping you uncover the real impact of interventions.
Why Causal Map?
- Visualise complex causal pathways from program activities to outcomes
- Analyse large amounts of qualitative data efficiently
- Test and refine theories of change based on stakeholder experiences
- Facilitate participatory analysis and learning processes
- Present findings in clear, intuitive visual formats
- Answer research questions, such as ‘What are the main impact pathways of the intervention?’, ‘Are there unexpected outcomes?’, ‘Do your grantees see the world the same way as you do?’
Case Study: AgDevCo, Uganda
This case study showcases how Causal Map was used to analyse the impact of AgDevCo's investments in Ugandan agribusinesses. The app helped synthesise data from 48 interviews and 8 focus groups with farmers, workers, and other stakeholders to answer research questions such as ‘What are the impact pathways caused by the investments on local communities and economies and how do they relate with changes in the complex system?’
Source: AGDEVCO – GADC – A Qualitative Impact Assessment – Summary Report, p.8
Case Study: Does our theory match your theory? Theories of change and causal maps in Ghana
This case study evaluated an entrepreneurship programme for rural women smallholders in Ghana, supported by Opportunity International UK.
The evaluation used the Qualitative Impact Protocol (QuIP) to gather participant stories and compared their perceptions of change with the programme’s original Theory of Change, using the Causal Map app to create causa maps to visualise the data and answer evaluation questions, revealing insights into the alignment between participant experiences and organisational theories:
- What do the intended beneficiaries think about the drivers of change in their livelihoods and lives?
- Do their perceptions match up with the theories of change constructed by organizations trying to support them?
- Is the programme Theory of Change well adapted to the realities on the ground from the perspectives of key stakeholders?
Academic Researchers in Social Sciences
For social science researchers, understanding complex causal relationships is crucial. Causal Map provides a robust methodology for analysing qualitative data, allowing you to uncover intricate causal networks in your research.
Why Causal Map?
- Analyse large volumes of qualitative data from interviews, focus groups, and literature reviews
- Identify emergent themes and causal relationships and identify unexpected outcomes
- Visualise complex social systems and phenomena
- Support mixed-methods research designs
- Easily verify the evidence for causal links
Case Study: The Dynamics of the UN Voluntary Local Review using Causal Mapping within and across the Sustainable Development Goals: a case study of Bath and North East Somerset
In this publication, Causal Map was used to analyse the dynamics of the UN Voluntary Local Review (VLR) process across 20 cities implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The research team used Causal Map to process and visualise data from 20 VLR reports, creating both individual city maps and an aggregate map of 805 causal links. Causal Map generated clear visualizations of the complex relationships between various factors influencing SDG implementation, facilitating easier interpretation and communication of findings and decision making.
Case Study: Evaluation project about gender gaps faced by women pursuing STEM careers at DuocUC
DuocUC, a higher education institution in Chile, hired our consultancy to conduct QuIP-style interviews with Qualia and analyse them using the Causal Map app. The interviews were motivated by concerns about the gender gaps faced by women pursuing STEM careers at the university.
We set up the interviews in Qualia to ask questions about changes in 3 domains: educational experiences, professional development and relationship dynamics. The instructions for the AI interviewer were similar to the instructions you could give to a human interviewer. Both the interview instructions and the interviews itself were conducted in Spanish.
We collected stories from 32 DuocUC students and alumni and uploaded the interview transcripts into Causal Map to analyse the causal relationships mentioned by the respondents. We used AI (GPT-4o) to identify each and every causal link in the interviews, and for each link, to label the cause and effect. We used a “radical zero-shot” approach in which the AI is given no codebook and is simply told to invent its own codes (in Spanish). We gave the AI context about the project.
Once the coding was done, we used the filters in the app to create different maps that answered their research questions:
- What was the immediate impact on the respondents’ lives because of gender discrimination?
- What is the causal network starting from gender discrimination?
- What are the most frequently mentioned factors?
Strategic Management Consultants
In strategic management consulting, understanding the complex drivers of organisational performance is key. Causal Map offers a powerful tool for analysing stakeholder perspectives and visualising the intricate causal relationships in organizational systems.
Why Causal Map?
- Synthesise insights from multiple stakeholder interviews and market research
- Identify key leverage points for organisational change
- Visualise complex strategic landscapes
- Support data-driven decision making
- Answer questions such as: what are the factor contributing and/or hindering outcomes?, what are the perspectives of my stakeholders? are there unexpected outcomes or causal pathways?
Case Study: Chartered Management Institute
Charge Management Institute hired Causal Map to seek their members’ views on how protected characteristics impact on progression in management roles. A series of qualitative causal analyses of structured questions in four manager surveys on inclusion in the workplace were conducted. 5 reports on different areas were created: Ethnic, Socio, Gender, Disability and Age.
The reports explored how good modern management and leadership practices can help workplaces to embrace diversity towards the 5 areas above. Also, the study was able to find areas where there has been less progress and the reasons for that.
Questions answered by the study included:
- What works in implementing inclusive recruitment and progression practice?
- What are the challenges in current inclusive practices in the organisation?
- How workplaces can become more inclusive for different ages:? (respondents’ suggestions)
Case Study: Global Young Academy: Tracing the paths of GYA’s impact
GYA’s 10-year anniversary was an opportunity to reflect on what has been accomplished so far and to inform the strategic plan to increase impact for the next 10 years. An impact evaluation was commissioned by the GYA to explore this impact further. The overall goal of this impact assessment was to understand personal narratives of impact and to generate data to inform the development of the next 5-year strategic plan.
The aims of the impact assessment were to better understand:
- How members, alumni, and other young scientists experience GYA activities
- The impact of GYA activities on them (on the individual, their institutions and countries, and globally)
- To explore the contribution of the GYA to this impact
To collect this data, we sent a web survey to all GYA members, alumni, members of National Young Academies, and other young scientists (who may have had contact with GYA) inviting them to share their stories of the GYA. Of the 683 people reached, 103 completed the survey
We analysed the stories looking for examples of where people had said that 𝐵 leads to 𝐶 - for example, where someone said “I loved the regional meetings because they helped me widen my professional network”. Then all the 𝐵s (like, Global and regional interaction) and all the 𝐶s (like networks, friendships, support) were grouped into themes to create a Theory of Change for GYA. All the individual stories linking 𝐵s and 𝐶 s were synthesised into one story using a pre-defined set of analysis steps.
Non-profit Organizations and NGOs
As a non-profit or NGO, demonstrating your impact and understanding how your programs create change is essential. Causal Map helps you turn beneficiary stories and staff insights into clear, evidence-based impact pathways.
Why Causal Map?
- Create data-driven theories of change
- Understand how your interventions lead to outcomes
- Identify unexpected impacts and pathways
- Identify if your grantees see the world the same way as you do
- Communicate your impact story effectively to donors and stakeholders
Case Study: Tree Aid - Empowering Communities Through Forest Management in Burkina Faso
Causal Map partnered with Tree Aid to evaluate their BB6 forest management project in Burkina Faso. We used causal mapping to assess the project's impact on forest governance, income, food consumption and households in two communes.
The study focused on answering some research questions, such as:
- What’s the difference of impact pathways between 2 areas?
- What are the differences in narrative between the different types of interview?
- What’s the impact of the intervention on women’s lives?
- Are there any unexpected outcomes?
- Why is the project directly related to increased crop yield?
The study revealed how integrating forest management with economic empowerment and sustainable agricultural practices, has contributed to a community-driven environmental conservation. And it also demonstrated how combining qualitative research with advanced analysis tools (Causal Map app) can provide deep insights into community development projects.
This map helps quickly grasp the project's multiple impacts and their relationships, showing how it influenced various outcomes like forest protection, agricultural practices, and income generation; providing a comprehensive overview of the BB6 project's effectiveness in community development and forest management.
Case Study: AgDevCo, Uganda
This case study showcases how Causal Map was used to analyse the impact of AgDevCo's investments in Ugandan agribusinesses. The app helped synthesise data from 48 interviews and 8 focus groups with farmers, workers, and other stakeholders to answer research questions such as ‘What are the impact pathways caused by the investments on local communities and economies and how do they relate with changes in the complex system?’
Source: AGDEVCO – GADC – A Qualitative Impact Assessment – Summary Report, p.8
Foundations
As a foundation professional, maximising the impact of your grants and initiatives to address complex social challenges is essential. Causal Map offers an innovative approach to understanding and visualising the intricate relationships between various factors influencing program outcomes and social change.
Why Causal Map?
- Synthesise insights from grantee reports, stakeholder feedback, and impact evaluations
- Visualise theories of change and test them against real-world data
- Identify unexpected outcomes and leverage points in complex social systems
- Generate clear, compelling visuals for board presentations and impact reports
- Answer research questions, such as ‘What are the main impact pathways of the intervention?’, ‘Are there unexpected outcomes?’, ‘Do your grantees see the world the same way as you do?’, ‘How is the system changing over time?’
As a foundation professional, you'll appreciate how Causal Map facilitates a nuanced understanding of program impacts, going beyond simple metrics to reveal the interconnected nature of social change. The tool's ability to handle large volumes of qualitative data and generate clear visualisations makes it invaluable for strategic planning, program evaluation, and communicating impact to stakeholders in the philanthropic sector.
Case Study - Tree Aid: Empowering Communities Through Forest Management in Burkina Faso
Causal Map partnered with Tree Aid to evaluate their BB6 forest management project in Burkina Faso. We used causal mapping to assess the project's impact on forest governance, income, food consumption and households in two communes.
The study focused on answering some research questions, such as:
- What’s the difference of impact pathways between 2 areas?
- What are the differences in narrative between the different types of interview?
- What’s the impact of the intervention on women’s lives?
- Are there any unexpected outcomes?
- Why is the project directly related to increased crop yield?
The study revealed how integrating forest management with economic empowerment and sustainable agricultural practices, has contributed to a community-driven environmental conservation. And it also demonstrated how combining qualitative research with advanced analysis tools (Causal Map app) can provide deep insights into community development projects.
This map helps quickly grasp the project's multiple impacts and their relationships, showing how it influenced various outcomes like forest protection, agricultural practices, and income generation; providing a comprehensive overview of the BB6 project's effectiveness in community development and forest management.
Case Study: Fondation Botnar - Analysing qualitative 'data lake' in grantee reporting
This is an ongoing project in which Fondation Botnar has hired Causal Map’s consultancy to identify potential causal mechanisms/factors for a set of fellowship-focused grants.
This set of (closed) grants focused on supporting individuals as change-makers through capacity-building activities and micro-grant support. In the first phase, Fondation Botnar used Causal Map to draw a package of lessons learned that will allow a better understanding of:
- what this individual-focused support achieved
- what the mechanisms behind the change were
- what challenges met
- identify whether their hypotheses hold true.
Check our subscription options if you’re interested in using the app yourself or our consultancy packages if you prefer that we do the work for you!