The Market Facilitation Initiative (MAFI) aims to enhance the practice of measuring market system change by fostering a global dialogue among donors and practitioners focused on inclusive market development. It emphasizes the need for a systemic approach to monitoring and evaluation (M&E) that aligns with the complexity of market systems rather than traditional linear methods. Key activities include workshops, e-consultations, and the publication of discussion documents to facilitate understanding and application of these systemic M&E approaches.

1. The Market Facilitation Initiative (MaFI) – an initiative of The SEEP Network
“Systemic M&E”
Catalyzing a global dialogue to improve practice
in measuring market system change
Concept note, version 31 July 2012
1. Background
In recent years, pro-poor (or inclusive market development) initiatives have shown a major
shift away from direct inputs and service provision towards the creation of appropriate
conditions for public and private stakeholders to drive structural changes in the market
system more easily and more cost-effectively. This paradigm shift was driven by the
realization that only through a systemic or holistic approach to markets and a focus on
stakeholder-driven solutions, can these initiatives reach sustainability and scale.
When considering markets from a systems perspective, it becomes crucial to recognize that
markets are not predictable machines, but rather complex and dynamic systems that are
constantly learning.1 For this reason, using linear and deterministic methods and tools to
measure how markets change, and how we change them, is not only inappropriate but can
lead to wasted resources and missed opportunities to achieve poverty reduction.
As emphasized by Dr. Jeanne Downing from USAID in her presentation to the market
development community at the M4P Hub conference in 2011, there is growing consensus
about systems thinking and market facilitation, there is however a recognition that evaluating
projects implementing these approaches as projects is difficult. Current impact evaluations
require that counterfactuals are established using control groups, treatment versus non-
treatment groups are defined, differentiation is made between program participants and
non-participants, and baselines and endlines are needed. In contrast, effective market
development projects move after baselines have been completed, no clear distinctions are
made between program participants and non-participants as projects aim to catalyze change
beyond direct assistance, projects and activities evolve over time, and control groups
become contaminated as spill-over effects are seen as an explicit success of effective
market facilitation practices.
New thinking and practice is needed that is relevant to complex and evolving projects.
Complex and adaptive systems must be monitored and measured using approaches that
embrace complexity and facilitation principles, concepts and tools. In order to do this, we
need a systemic approach to M&E2. To our knowledge, no systematic process of collective
learning with a focus on M&E of inclusive market systems and with the participation of a
global community of practitioners and donors has been attempted.
2. Project in brief
The project is designed to catalyze an international process of debate, dialogue and learning
between donors and practitioners who are trying to support market systems to work better
to reduce poverty at a large scale. It will achieve this through an intentional learning process
comprised of in-person workshops, e-consultations, plenary presentations and discussions,
and publication of an ongoing discussion document.
The project will assist donors and practitioners alike to improve understanding and practice
of systemic approaches to M&E is and its application to inclusive market development
programs worldwide.
1 These are often referred to as complex adaptive systems (CSAs).
2 This is not a new idea per se. Experts such as Michael Quinn Patton have written extensively about the need
for such types of approaches (which he refers to as “Developmental Evaluation”).
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2. 3. Project context – the conditions are ripe for success
The project in itself is relatively limited in terms of budget and duration but it will play a
key, catalytic role in unlocking and cementing ongoing and long-term processes that have
been promoted by USAID and the SEEP Network, mainly through one of its initiatives: The
Market Facilitation Initiative (MaFI), in recent years. These processes are geared towards
revolutionizing market development approaches and private sector engagement.
Three examples of ongoing processes that create fertile conditions for this project to
succeed are:
● MaFI-festo: A distillation of discussions that MaFI members have had over the
past several years on the changes required to make the international development
cooperation system more efficient and effective through facilitation approaches
and complexity science. One of the four issues proposed by the MaFI-festo is
precisely “changing what and how we measure change”.
Catalyzing the learning about systemic approaches to M&E will show the 250+ MaFI
members and donors, such as DFID and SDC, that turning the MaFI-festo ideas into
real change is possible. This will in turn unleash the energy that has been building in
the past several years around the MaFI-festo principals and motivate key donors and
hundreds of practitioners to contribute to the success of this project.
● Complexity Dialogues: A series of conversations promoted by MaFI members in
different parts of the world to bring inclusive market development practitioners and
complexity experts together to find concrete applications of complexity science in
inclusive market development practice. The Complexity Dialogues are currently
in Phase 1: the production of a learning agenda (a set of questions) built by MaFI
members using the inputs of a 12-lesson video course by complexity expert Prof.
Scott E. Page.
The Complexity Dialogues are building a global movement of reflection and learning
about complex systems in the context of inclusive market development practice that
will enrich the discussions that will take place as a product of this project.
● USAID’s initiatives: Among all key donors, USAID is one of the thought leaders
when it comes to innovative and cutting-edge policies and frameworks about
complexity in development practice.
For example, in Nov 2011, Dr. Tjip Walker from USAID’s Policy and Practice
Learning Unit collaborated with two MaFI members to design and deliver a
workshop on complexity and inclusive market development during the SEEP Annual
Conference. Dr. Walker talked about the importance that USAID is giving to these
issues, especially in highly volatile contexts like Afghanistan, and how much donors
needs practitioners to demand more progress in this field. One month earlier, Dr.
Walker had organized a 1-day workshop for USAID staff to learn about complexity
issues and concepts.
Other senior USAID staff, such as Dr. Stacey Young and Dr. Jeanne Downing, are
working with USAID colleagues and partners to promote complexity concepts and
proposing ideas that support the construction and application of systemic approaches
to M&E frameworks.
4. Potential consultants and experts
Potential leads managing this process and shaping the learning agenda:
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3. ● Marcus Jenal, Consultant involved in complexity sciences and market development.
Co-editor of SEEP’s MaFI-festo. Active member of SEEP’s Market Facilitation
Initiative (MAFI).
● Lucho Osorio-Cortes, International Market Systems Specialist at Practical Action
Consulting and Coordinator of SEEP’s Market Facilitation Initiative (MaFI). Co-editor
of SEEP’s MAFI-festo.
Mr. Jenal and Mr Osorio-Cortes will assist in writing discussion papers, mobilizing
involvement and input from MaFI members and other relevant experts, co-facilitating online
discussions, synthesizing the online discussions, supporting the participation of high level
speakers at the SEEP’s Annual Conference plenary, and designing a practitioner learning
agenda in moving these dialogues forward.
Potential experts to involve in online e-consultations, plenary presentations, in-person
workshops, and input into discussion papers involve complexity scholars as well as
development practitioners that are recognized as applying an innovative and forward looking
approach to M&E using insights from the field of complexity and processes of social change.
5. Activities and outputs
This initial project will consist of a introductory paper, an e-consultation and a plenary
session during the 2012 SEEP Annual Conference.
The e-consultations will bring practitioners, complexity experts and donors from all over
the world together to discuss systemic approaches to M&E: what it is or should be, what
principles should underpin it, how a general framework would look, and how to make it
practical for inclusive market development practitioners and policy makers.
September 2012: A discussion paper that will inform and catalyze an online e-consultation.
Output 1: Initial discussion paper to catalyze initial dialogues, with a potential
focus being a synopsis of how are current M&E practices may be undermining and
hampering good inclusive market development and facilitation practices and how a
new paradigm for M&E could look like. This paper could draw on existing literature
by M&E experts such as David Snowden, Michael Quinn Patton, Don Snodgrass and
Lucy Creevey.
Output 2: Online e-consultation with discussion synthesis
November 2012: At the beginning of November, select speakers will be invited to participate
in one of the SEEP Annual Conference plenaries with an audience of over 200 professionals
in-person and an internet audience far beyond this. They will use this space mainly to:
● send two clear messages to the development industry: “better ways of measuring
impacts in market systems are possible” and “if we want the current M&E paradigm
to improve we have to be in this together for the long run and have a joint, long-term
vision”
● share the key results from the first round of discussions (the discussion paper and e-
consultation)
● capture feedback from the audience to improve the discussion paper and identify
missing issues
○ Proposed plenary: Rethinking the current M&E paradigm - measuring impacts
in market systems: This plenary will explore cutting edge thinking and
enquiry around ways to improve the current M&E paradigm and improved
practice in measuring impacts in market systems. When considering markets
from a systems perspective, it becomes crucial to recognize that markets are
not predictable “machines”, but rather complex and dynamic “organisms” that
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4. are constantly learning. Changes in complex and adaptive systems must be
monitored and measured using approaches that embrace complexity and
facilitation principles, concepts and tools rather than linear and deterministic
ones. This plenary will bring economic development practitioners and
complexity experts together to explore applications of complexity science in
inclusive market development. The plenary will explore ideas that support
the construction and application of systemic approaches to M&E of inclusive
market development, the principles that should underpin this and how to
make it practical for practitioners and policy makers.
Output 3: Plenary presentation and discussion published in online video format
Output 4: Presentation materials and discussion synthesis
6. What happens after the project? Main outcomes
● Increased levels of energy, awareness and commitment among inclusive market
development practitioners and donors (including MaFI members) that will contribute
to making the application of systemic approaches to M&E a reality in inclusive market
development.
● A sense of possibility and practicality in the field of inclusive market development
about systemic approaches to M&E – where it is currently perceived as a
complicated or intractable issue, which it is not if we use the right paradigms and
concepts. This can contribute to the adoption of systemic approaches to M&E by
NGOs and donors.
● Increased reputation and legitimacy of the organizations leading this project. in the
case of SEEP, reputation as a thought leader is essential for its capacity to mobilize
and align the interests of its members
● Development of a strong foundation for learning programs that incorporate systems
approaches to M&E to be applied in planning and evaluation phases by practitioners
and donors.
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