Causal layered analysis (CLA)
A futures studies method that analyzes a topic on four levels, from visible data to the worldviews and myths that sustain it.
What it’s for
It helps the futures you imagine go beyond the surface and also change how the problem is seen.
Key elements
The litany
What is repeated in public, with figures and headlines.
The social causes
The economic, political and historical reasons that explain it.
The worldview
The underlying ideas that make the problem seem normal.
The myth or metaphor
The deep stories that move emotions.
How it’s done
Describe the topic in each of the four layers.
Look for another metaphor that tells the problem differently.
Climb back up to the actions that come from that new story.
Applications in design
When to use it
When the scenarios you get look too much like the present.
Avoid
Staying in the first two layers, which are the most comfortable.
Don’t fall for it
The deep layers depend on who takes part; invite people with different perspectives.
Connections
Authors and works
- 1998
Sohail Inayatullah
Proposed the method in the journal Futures to combine the analysis of data with that of discourses and myths.
Sources
Original sources
- Inayatullah, S. (1998). Causal layered analysis: Poststructuralism as method. Futures, 30(8), 815–829. View source: Inayatullah, S. (1998)
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