Civic Academy
Hidden Obstacles
D · Draft — not verified Not line-checked against the Navajo Nation Code. How we verify →
The problems behind the problems.
Purpose
Help Cal and citizens ask why a problem persists, not just whether it exists.
Same root, two tools
How this connects
Hidden obstacles are the root-cause lens in work clothes. The lens asks why does this keep happening? — this page names the usual answers: the bottleneck seat, the jurisdiction tangle, the funding gap, the rule with a loophole. Not identical, but the same investigation: the lens is the question, hidden obstacles are the catalog of what it finds, and The Runaround is the map of where they hide. See the lens itself in the five lenses, and where naming obstacles leads: how oversight works.
Examples by area
Housing
- Visible problem: not enough homes.
- Hidden obstacles: homesite process, utilities, financing, construction workforce.
Healthcare
- Visible problem: long waits.
- Hidden obstacles: recruitment, retention, transportation, credentialing, oversight.
Justice
- Visible problem: delays.
- Hidden obstacles: staffing, legal desert, backlog, appeals, jurisdiction.
Economy
- Visible problem: few jobs.
- Hidden obstacles: capital, leases, infrastructure, workforce readiness.
Signature question
What is one obstacle most citizens do not know exists?
One hidden obstacle worth naming out loud: a workplace climate that quietly drives skilled people away — see the debate underneath many answers in Economic Development 101.
Goes with: The Runaround · Prevention vs Damage Control
These obstacles now have a home of their own: The Runaround — the growing map of bottlenecks, loopholes, workarounds, and jurisdiction tangles.
Survey — what hidden obstacle has your family hit?
Community participation — your experience feeds the pattern · anonymous, published only as combined counts
Continue
All Civic Academy lessons · Task Guides · My Civic Journey
Your voice: today’s Corner question · all surveys, by subject · the data so far.