PFM reforms are often characterized by the importation of best practice forms that offer solutions that are deemed to be universally applicable. It is increasingly recognised that reforms are most effective when the problem at hand is well understood and the corresponding solution emerges from a process that takes into account a country’s social, political and economic realities. The Framing Workshop provided the space for two Gambian teams from the Ministry of Finance to explore this problem-centric approach to reform by identifying i) a problem statement, ii) causes and sub-causes of the problem identified, iii) an aspirational goal for their work and iv) immediate steps they would take to solve the problem.