Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Market-Development Programs
Dossier:
1. Introduction
Systemic change is the core goal of the Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P), or market-development
approach. M4P focuses on addressing the underlying causes of market barriers and failures and improving
the functioning of the market system through catalysing systemic change within the supporting functions
and rules of the market system1. Improving the efficiency of market systems and expanding access to
markets can lead to economic growth and poverty reduction for smallholder farmers if they are integrated
into the system. To ensure these impacts are achieved, the DCED Standard for Results Measurement2
recommends capturing systemic changes in market systems.
Systemic change takes many forms and is a challenging concept to define, identify, and measure.
This dossier provides an overview of what systemic change looks like in practice, frameworks for
implementing and measuring systemic changes, and some suggestions for improving the program
cycle to achieve systemic impacts based on the Australian aid context. Practical experiences and
insights are presented from Australias Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) marketdevelopment programs3, supported by information from the Donor Committee for Enterprise
Development (DCED) systemic change guidelines4, and Palladium and Swiss Contact M4P training5.
This document is intended for donors, implementing partners, and program managers and staff to
support knowledge sharing of M4P approaches and improve performance of programs in
achieving systemic changes within complex market systems.
1DCED
(2014). Assessing systemic change implementation guidelines for the DCED Standard, p. 3.
The DCED Standard for Results Measurement provides programmes working in complex market systems with the framework, tools and incentives
to monitor their results in a systematic way. It includes all of the elements now accepted as 'good practice', including articulating the Results Chain
or programme logic; defining indicators of change based on the logic; measuring changes in indicators, applying good practice; estimating
attributable changes; capturing wider changes in the system or market; tracking programme costs; and reporting results.
3Presentations, examples and recommendations from practice were provided during DFATs Agriculture and Food Security (AFS) Portfolio Reflection
Meeting in Canberra supported by the Food Systems Innovation (FSI) initiative on July 21 22, 2015. The meeting brought together a range of DFAT
programs and representatives from other organisations to discuss the challenges and lessons learnt within market-development programs.
4 DCED (2014). Assessing systemic change implementation guidelines for the DCED Standard, p. 3.
5 Palladium and Swiss Contact presentations during the Orientation to Market Systems Development Workshop, 29 Sept 2 October 2015.
2
Key points
Markets for the Poor (M4P) programs aim to affect systemic change by improving the functioning of
market systems in order to achieve scale, sustainability and resilience, and impact positively upon
the poor through improved income-generating opportunities and access to essential goods and
services.
Systemic change takes many forms; it can be large or small, global or local but it should aim to
impact on multiple actors at different levels, and provide lasting benefits for the poor.
The Adopt, Adapt, Expand, Respond framework (AAER) framework is aimed at identifying and
measuring systemic changes in market-development programs, or programs can adapt an
appropriate framework to embed systemic change within programming and results measurement.
Program designs should allow for flexibility and adaptation, consider portfolio approaches, allow
time for systemic change to be achieved, and aim to transform systems.
Final outcomes should be clearly articulated in results measurement systems and indicators should
measure systemic change, sustainability of impacts post-program, impacts on the poor and
Womens Economic Empowerment (WEE) in addition to activity achievements.
Donors have a valuable role to play in fostering an understanding of systemic change, supporting
Market Parameters
Autonomy: Independent business action by business or other market players to adopt and/or
improve a business model promoted by the program.
Sustainability: The extent to which the business model promoted by the programme is sustainable
and/or profitable.
Resilience: The extent to which the market system supporting the business model can adapt to stay
competitive, take advantage of new opportunities and recover from adverse shocks
Inclusiveness: The extent and depth to which the business model as practiced by the market players
includes and benefits the target group.
Scale: The proportion of the potential target group that gets goods, services and/or jobs promoted
by the programme.
Womens economic empowerment: The extent to which the business model includes and benefits
women in income, access to opportunities, assets, life chances, jobs workload and decision making.
However, there is no clear definition of what systemic looks like in practice. In addition to these
overarching guiding characteristics, experienced program staff within the Australian aid context have also
identified that systemic change can be achieved through a range of changes based on the context, such as9:
Changes in behaviours and decision-making processes across multiple levels including individuals,
institutions, and rules;
Changes to policy, trade relations, the enabling environment, and removing trade barriers;
Direct and indirect impacts which extend further than individual partnerships and interventions; to
changes in the operation of markets, systems and sectors;
Smaller-scale, local impacts, or global-level market changes; and
Longer-term changes in resilience and autonomy, and reductions in vulnerability.
6Springfield
Centre (2008). A Synthesis of Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) approach
DCED (2014). Assessing systemic change implementation guidelines for the DCED Standard, p. 4.
8 MDF (2015). Achieving Changes in Markets: The MDF Framework for Defining and Populating Pathways for Systemic Change. Strategic Guidance
Note no 3, p. 10.
9 DFAT Agriculture and Food Security (AFS) Reflection Workshop, 21-22 July 2015.
7
10
Example used in the July 2015 DFAT Agriculture and Food Security (AFS) Reflection Workshop and Palladium and Swiss Contact presentations
during the Orientation to Market Systems Development Workshop, 29 Sept 2 October 2015.
Dossier: Systemic Change in Market-Development Programs | 5
11
Example used in Palladium and Swiss Contact presentations during the Orientation to Market Systems Development Workshop, 29 Sept 2
October 2015..
Dossier: Systemic Change in Market-Development Programs | 6
RESPOND
initial innovation
buy-in, viability
functions, rules
and interconnected
markets crowd in
(depth)
ADAPT
EXPAND
ADOPT
SCALE
AIP-PRISMA is one DFAT-funded program which uses this model in these ways14. AIP-PRISMA have also
found the framework useful to communicate their progress and future plans to donors which can be
challenging for M4P approaches which are characterised by their flexibility and increasing scope over time.
12For
more information on DCED recommendations on measuring systemic change, refer to the DCED (2014) Assessing systemic change:
Implementation guidelines for the DCED Standard
13 Developed by Katalyst and The Springfield Centre; more information about the model can be found in The Springfield Centres (2014) AdoptAdapt-Expand-Respond: A framework for managing and measuring systemic change processes. Katalyst is a market based programme operating in
Bangladesh rural areas which aims to contribute to increased income for poor men and women by increasing the competitiveness of farmers and
small enterprises by facilitating changes in services, inputs and product markets. The Springfield Centre is a UK based independent consulting,
training and research organization focuses on inclusive development with an orientation towards markets.
14
Market
Parameters
Beginning State
Businesses &
Institutions:
Autonomy:
Beneficiaries:
Ini= Initial
Assessment
Sustainability:
The business is
showing more
ownership but
needs to be
supported
more to make it
more resilient
and more
commercially
driven
Resilience:
Inclusiveness
Scale:
Womens
economic
empowerment:
Int=Intermediate
Adv = Advanced
I
n
i
I
n
t
A
d
v
M
a
t
Good impact is
being achieved
in terms of
inclusiveness
and scale. The
impact on WEE
is likely to
follow soon.
M = Matured
15
Vicky Carter & Mujaddid Mohsin, MDF (2015). Canberra Conference Slides, and MDF (2015). Achieving Changes in Markets: The MDF Framework
for Defining and Populating Pathways for Systemic Change. Strategic Guidance Note no 3.
16Vicky Carter & Mujaddid Mohsin, MDF (2015). Canberra Conference Slides, p20
Dossier: Systemic Change in Market-Development Programs | 8
4.
To ensure systemic changes are catalysed, a range of interventions can be applied to programming across
the program cycle. Lessons/ suggestions from practical experiences for improving an interventions ability
to achieve systemic impacts include17:
Sector analysis and Intervention design
By taking an investigative approach and collating information on the whole enabling environment, initial
analyses can identify opportunities within the context to understand where markets exist that could benefit
the poor and consider the constraints that exist to their participation. Data can be drawn from a range of
sources, including stakeholder feedback, tacit knowledge, desk research, and examining trends identified.
Approaches should allow for long-term interventions based on the local context as systemic problems
require long-term approaches, and time is required to identify opportunities and for systemic impacts to be
realised and evidenced. Program plans can clearly follow a path to systemic changes by articulating the
changes expected, the desired end state/outcomes and what success looks like at different stages, and
mapping the causal pathways of how activities will achieve these changes18.
Where appropriate, programs can test interventions with phased approaches or pilots, assess their success
and failure using monitoring information, then adapt and scale up often working with a different set of
partners rather than simply replicating or enlarging an initial pilot. Programs can also consider portfolio
approaches, collaborative approaches, and a range of delivery methods appropriate for the specific
context.
Program implementation, adaptation and M&E
Measuring and attributing systemic changes which are by definition non-linear, complex and achieved over
time, can be challenging. The DCED Standard for Results Measurement is a results measurement
framework that can be used, which is centred on a results chain. This adds more granularity to causal
relationships between project activities with partners, and their outputs at the market system level,
improved performance at the beneficiary level and ultimately poverty reduction. Each step is measured
and changes are made accordingly if certain stages are not reached, or other things happen as a
consequence. Hence this is also a management as well as a measurement tool.
It is advisable that programs adapt the DCED framework and develop their own indicators that assess short
and longer-term changes within their market system; for example the number of innovations, number of
farmers and enterprises that crowd-in, deeper investigation of impacts beyond outreach and income, and
sustainability indicators to demonstrate that impacts last beyond funding (i.e. ex-post).
It is essential with market-development programs that designs, theory of change, and M&E frameworks are
flexible and adaptable so that they can respond to feedback, including opportunities and failures to
improve the likelihood that they will achieve planned systemic changes. AIP-PRISMA suggests taking an
investigative approach to monitoring and evaluation and to engagement with stakeholders to identify
impact. Programs could also invest in rolling baselines to identify impacts as the program approach evolves
over time.
17
Recommendations were provided during the July 2015 DFAT Agriculture and Food Security (AFS) Reflection Workshop. Further program planning,
implementation, and results measurement information can be found in the resources and through the DCED and The Springfield Centre.
18 DCED (2014). Assessing systemic change implementation guidelines for the DCED Standard.
Dossier: Systemic Change in Market-Development Programs | 9
There is a need for more empirical studies, practice notes on implementer experiences on what
systemic change looks like in differing contexts with a key focus on ways to catalyse change from
which others can learn. Key to this is also research on wider policy dimensions as an embedded
part of these programs to enable new way in which organizations and institutions are able to
function in the market and generate the changes required to decrease poverty through market
systems and not further embed inequalities
Appendices
A.1
Acronyms
AAER
DCED
MDF
M&E
WEE
A.2
Resources
AIP-Rural (2015). Systemic Change PowerPoint, DFATs Agriculture and Food Security Portfolio Reflection
Meeting, 21 - 22 July 2015. Presented by Goetz Ebbecke.
Cambodian Agricultural Value Chain Programme (CAVAC). Sustainability Strategy.
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Agriculture and Food Security (AFS) Reflection Workshop,
21-22 July 2015.
Department for International Development (DFID) (2013). Review of Making Markets Work for the Poor
(M4P) evaluation methods and approaches.
Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED) (August 2014). Assessing systemic change:
Implementation guidelines for the DCED Standard.
Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED). (2015). Standard for Results Measurement.
Market Development Facility (MDF) (2015). Canberra Conference Slides, DFATs Agriculture and Food
Security Portfolio Reflection Workshop, 21 - 22 July 2015. Presented by Vicky Carter and Mujaddid Mohsin.
Market Development Facility (2015). Achieving Changes in Markets: The MDF Framework for Defining and
Populating Pathways for Systemic Change. Strategic Guidance Note no 3.
Palladium/Swiss Contact (2015). Conference slides, Orientation to Market Systems Development
Workshop, 29 September 2 October 2015. Presented by Goetz Ebbecke. .
Springfield Centre (2008). A Synthesis of Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) approach.
The Springfield Centre (2014). Adopt-Adapt-Expand-Respond: A framework for managing and measuring
systemic change processes.
A.3
Acknowledgements
Gavin Blake from Fever Pitch for the animation pictures in this document drawn during the DFATs
Agriculture and Food Security Portfolio Reflection Meeting, 21 - 22 July 2015.