Aims of the Working Group
The Working Group for Market Systems Development aims to curate, share and elaborate knowledge about the MSD approach, its use and its achievements; and to develop products, services and support for donors and implementers who are already using, or are interested to use, the MSD approach. The Group, formed in 2017, is chaired by Margot Lobbezoo and Pauline Baars of CBI; it oversees the work of the BEAM Exchange.
Recent achievements of the Group
Recent achievements are documented on the BEAM Exchange website; they include:
- a lively and popular series of webinars
- an up-to-date Index of MSD programmes
- a compilation of 12 case studies on MSD programmes (2020)
- a competency framework structuring the skills needed for MSD implementation
- tools for adjusting procurement processes for MSD programmes
- a study on How to use the market systems approach for digital transformation (2021)
- a study on Promoting Economic Transformation through MSD (2019)
Current activities of the Group
The current Work Plan of the Working Group includes:
- Maintenance of the BEAM Exchange platform and community of practice, including additional webinars
- Further strengthening the evidence base for MSD, including a synthesis of MSD Donor Portfolio Evaluations and Reviews
- Strengthening the capacity-building system for MSD, including dissemination of the MSD competency framework, exchange on procurement practices in MSD programmes, and building members’ capacity to use the MSD approach.
- Considering MSD and current challenges in development cooperation (development finance, youth employment, greening MSD)