Seminar agenda

Wednesday 21st February


Session 1, 08:30 – 10:00

  • Welcome and opening walk through the agenda
  • World cafe
  • Logistics

Coffee break, 10:00 – 10:30


Session 2, 10:30 – 12:00

  • Breakout 2.1: Urban Messiness: Income generation in cities

Ben Taylor (Springfield Centre), Nathalie Gunsekera (Mercy Corps)

Urban spaces present a unique context for a systemic approach to development. This session will illustrate how the market systems approach can help address the complexities of urban contexts and will share practical experiences from income generation programs in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.

  • Breakout 2.2: The DCED Standard: What is it? How can it help you?

Valeria Makuna (FSD Kenya), Kumau Kuria (KMT), Judy Odongo (RTI), Phitcha Wanitphon (DCED auditor), Veryl Adell (FSD Zambia), Jasper Hatwiinda (FSD Zambia)

Interest in the DCED Standard continues to grow with a broader range of programmes using it globally to improve their results measurement practices. This session provides an overview of the Standard with programmes sharing key learnings and insights about applying the Standard. Via a marketplace format, participants can also visit and learn more from financial services and agriculture programmes applying the Standard in Kenya and Zambia; changes to the latest version of the Standard; or about the audit process. Programmes including KMT, FSD Kenya and FSD Zambia will present their experience of using the Standard.

This is an introductory session that would be of most interest to those who are new to the Standard.

  • Breakout 2.3: Businesses create impact: adaptive management, feedback loops and the role of businesses in results measurement

Mayeso Mphande (Nathan Associates), Mollie Liesner (ITAD), Ben Fowler (MSA)

MSD programmes work with businesses but often the ‘impact’ results are measured by the programme, not the businesses that are creating impact. Embedding monitoring and impact assessment into business processes that can add commercial value to businesses is one strategy for increasing the achievement and sustainability of imapct. However, this requires businesses to invest in results measurement. MADE Ghana has been working with its partner businesses to develop and implement monitoring systems within business processes. They will share their lessons and insights into which businesses are more likely to invest in results measurement and tactics for increasing businesses’ update of results measurement.

A session focusing on feedback loops, looking at the value of collecting regular feedback from our target beneficiaries, as well as how best to help businesses improve their own feedback mechanisms.


Lunch break, 12:00 – 13:30 


Session 3, Plenary session, 13:30 – 15:00

  • MSD & Job quality – ILO Lab and decent work

Steve Hartrich (ILO), Raksha Vasudevan (MSA), Leanne Rasmussen, Callie Ham (ILO)

Evidence from the field about how the market systems approach can address job quality: what’s been effective and what can be done to better address job quality in future?


Tea break, 15:00 – 15:30


Session 4, 15:30 – 17:00

  • Breakout 4.1: Creating jobs in urban waste management

Ailsa Buckley, Deepak Khadka (IDE), Gerry McCarthy (Coffey)

How latrine services and other waste management services are creating job-rich opportunities for youth SMEs in emerging cities and markets, through recycling, manufacturing and assembly. This session will include presentations on iDE’s SanMark project in Bangladesh and GEMS 4 Waste Management work in Nigeria.

  • Breakout 4.2: What can qualitative approaches bring to assessing contribution? Experiences using mixed methods and realist evaluation approaches

GB Banjara (Swisscontact), Babui Salsabil (Swisscontact), Ed Hedley (ITAD)

Implementers of complex programmes often feel quantitative approaches to causal analysis do not enable programmes to capture and assess their impact. Programmes are extending their use of qualitative approaches to causal analysis, often using mixed methods that combine the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data to gain better insights into their contribution to outcomes and impact. The session will consist of presentations by Katalyst and ITAD, followed by small group discussion.

  • Breakout 4.3: Let’s hear it for technology: results measurement and tech solutions

Amelshwar Singh (Swisscontact), Adriana Mendieta (Swisscontact), Khaled Khan (Palladium), Mohammed Nurul Azam (Palladium), Sylvanus Abua (DAI)

Increasingly technology is seen as a solution to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of data collection, analysis and reporting. This session starts with a panel discussion critically examining the celebrations and pitfalls of technology to improve results measurement. It is followed by concurrent demonstrations by practitioners and their use of technology in results measurement. The demonstrations will showcase different software (such as KOBO, MS Access, Power BI, GPS and GIS) and how its been used. Presentations by Swisscontact, Palladium, Propcom Maikarfi and DAI will demonstrate how different technologies have been put into practice.

  • Breakout Session 4.4: Creating decent work and formal jobs for vulnerable women migrating to cities

Devon Krainer (MEDA), Nebil Kellow (Enterprise Partners)

Rapidly expanding urban sectors have great potential to provide decent work opportunities for disadvantaged women and youth.  This session offers contrasting insights from the home healthcare sector in India and the export-orientated manufacturing sector in Ethiopia. How does a market systems approach help overcome systemic constraints related to vocational training, socio-cultural norms, and labour market mismatches?


Session 5, Plenary session, 17:00 – 17:30

  • Summing up the first day

Social, 18:00 – late

  • Reception and buffet

 

Thursday 22nd February

Session 6, 8:30 – 10:00

  • Breakout 6.1: The results achieved by programmes using the markets systems approach (Evidence for success: definitions, results and responsibilities)

Mike Albu (BEAM), James Robinson (ITAD), Mollie Liesner (ITAD), Jim Tanburn (DCED)

Analysis of BEAM’s Evidence Map shows there are now sufficient evidenced examples to validate the MSD approach for promoting economic development, improving access to services and reducing poverty.

But much could still be done to improve the quality of ‘evidence’ produced by MSD programmes. How can we help ensure our ‘evidence’ informs programming policy and decision-making?

  • Breakout 6.2: What can qualitative approaches bring to assessing contribution? Experiences using outcome harvesting and contribution analysis

Tim Sparkman (Helvetas), Zakaria Tavberidze (Mercy Corps – ALCP), Ed Hedley (ITAD), Gordon Freer (ITAD)

Implementers of complex programmes often feel quantitative approaches to causal analysis do not enable programmes to capture and assess their impact. Two evaluation approaches that have gained increased exposure in the last five years are outcome harvesting and contribution analysis.

Presentations on these two approaches from ALCP and ITAD will be followed by a discussion on when it is appropriate to use qualitative approaches like outcome harvesting or contribution analysis, adjusting qualitative approaches to fit the needs of the programme – or can you take them straight off the shelf?

  • Breakout 6.3 (split session): Industrialisation sector: challenges and opportunities for results measurement + Job creation in the tourism sector: using multipliers to estimate employment creation

Adam Kessler (Enterprise Partners), Muaz Jalil (Palladium), Mujaddid Mohsin (Palladium), Fisnik Bajrami (Swisscontact)

There is increasing interest in industrial policy as a way to support developing countries to increase their productivity and economic growth. Enterprise Partners is a programme in Ethiopia that seeks to support industry-led growth through facilitating market development in the garments, leather, horticulture and investment sectors. This presentation will examine some of the challenges and opportunities this poses for results measurement. For example, how can programmes take advantage of the bigger data opportunities in industrial sectors, assess attribution in large investments and many investors, understand and measure systemic change.

Two programmes, Swisscontact in Kosovo and MDF in Fiji, will share their their development of multipliers to estimate employment creation in the tourism sector.


Coffee break, 10:00 – 10:30


Session 7, Plenary session, 10:30 – 12:00 

  • The competencies needed for market systems development

Aly Miehlbradt (Miehlbradt Consulting), Mike Albu (BEAM Exchange), Rubaiyath Sarwar (Innovision Consulting)

What professional competencies do market systems facilitators and programme managers need to develop?  How can we improve the supply and take up of professional capacity-building services in our industy?

We present BEAM’s latest mapping of the knowledge, skills and attitudes that create competency in market systems facilitation, in order to get feedback on the framework from Seminar participants. Together we will discuss how best to publish the information and resources we’ve identified, so as to strengthen the market for training, mentoring and coaching services aimed at MSD professionals.


Lunch break, 12:00 – 13:30


Session 8, 13:30 – 15:00

  • Breakout Session 8.1: Jobs & urban growth from IT services in Palestinian Territories

Arsalan Ali Faheem (DAI), Naomi Somerville-Large (DAI), Ryan Sturgill (Mercy Corps)

How IT outsourcing, online freelancing, and technology entrepreneurship can address the urban growth and jobs challenge. Market facilitation projects run by DAI (PMDP and AWEF) and Mercy Corps’ Sky Geeks Technology Ecosystem Development Programme are tackling the urban unemployment challenge and stimulating growth in the Palestinian IT Services sector, particularly IT Outsourcing, Online Freelancing, and Technology Entrepreneurship.

  • Breakout Session 8.2: Adaptive management and RM: Integrating the DCED Standard with other approaches (USAID Collaboration, Learning and Action and CGAP)

Wiebe Vos (Swisscontact), Bilash Mitra (ACDI VOCA), Deanna Morris (UNCDF), Muaz Jalil (UNCDF)

Often the choice of results measurement framework by a programme is influenced by funders’ systems or sector organisations. This session showcases two interesting experiences (UNCDF and ACDI/VOCA) of adaptive management in market systems development programs, with special attention given to how the DCED Standard has been combined with other useful frameworks and approaches.

  • Breakout Session 8.3: Small but mighty: Applying the DCED Standard to small programmes

James Elekwachi (PIND Nigeria), Julius Mutio (ILO), Mena Gul Hemat (ILO)

The presentation demonstrates how to the DCED Standard for Results Measurement has been implemented in a small programme in a fragile context. A presentation will explain the experiences of ILO Afghanistan. This will include some discussion on how the project measures indicators and attributes results in the context of having a “lean” team and in a context where there are little to no secondary data, and inherent security risks limit field measurement. The focus of the presentation will be on tactics to streamline resource commitment to pragmatically follow the DCED Standard – defining where the programme has done well/could do better from their own perspective and from the perspective of following the Standard.


Tea break, 15:00 – 15:30


Session 9: Final plenary, 15:30 – 16:30

  • Insights gleaned during the two days
  • Next steps
  • Tearful goodbyes