When we find evidence supporting a causal relationship, we have learned that ‘it worked somewhere.’ However, this does not necessarily mean that it will work in your planning context. Explicitly consider and document what enabling conditions are necessary for a causal relationship to hold. For example, community enforcement of marine protected areas may reduce illegal fishing only if financial support for boat fuel is provided. It will often be the case that there is no direct evidence as to what are the enabling conditions. However, it is still essential to make an assessment of enabling conditions, as absence of enabling conditions is a major reason that projects fail. Ask yourself ‘why’ a causal relationship holds. Explicitly articulating this hypothesized mechanism can help you identify the conditions under which this mechanism holds.