SEEP Annual Conference 2014Scaling Impact in Inclusive Market Systems

The State of MaFI2014

Facilitator: Lucho OsorioReport of the Session

an initiative of

Structure of the Session

• MaFI today – Keeps on growing slowly but surely and with impressive vibrancy– Big focus on sustainable knowledge production processes– Still looking for a sustainable, low-cost model for Local Learning Groups

• LEO Programme: overview and collaboration with MaFI

• Production of knowledge products: MaFI Knowledge Factory

• E-Learning for inclusive market facilitators as a scale up strategy

• Inputs from the participants: questions, insights and ideas to engage

SEEP Annual Conference 2014Scaling Impact in Inclusive Market Systems

SEEP Annual Conference 2014Scaling Impact in Inclusive Market Systems

Main Progress Against the 2014 Work Plan

• Collaboration with USAID’s Leveraging Economic Opportunities (LEO) – Promotion of LEO activities via MaFI– Collaboration around the Inclusive Market Systems Framework paper: http://

bit.ly/mktsysmafi (see below) – Collaboration around facilitation tools: http://bit.ly/facilitationtools (see below)

• Production of knowledge products– After many tests and conversations with members, it seems that we are finally on the

way of implementing a sustainable model for sustainable knowledge production using the best discussions created by members: The MaFI Knowledge Factory (see below)

• Building capacity of facilitators on systems and complexity– This year, mainly through LEO, but stay tuned for a new take on the Complexity

Dialogues! (http://slidesha.re/maficomplexityproject)

Note: all graphs and calculations in this section were made on Sep 2014

MaFI keeps on growing(Oct 2009 – Sep 2014)

360 members today

NEW MEMBERS

TOTAL MEMBERS

SEEP Annual Conference 2014Scaling Impact in Inclusive Market Systems

Growth is important but not as important as vibrancy

COMMENTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Sep 2014Oct 2009

Vibrancy: the network’s rate of response to individual members posts (i.e., how much members engage, discuss and learn from each other)

MaFI’s vibrancy in context

MaFI (full X-axis)360 members

5 years on LinkedIn

MaFI’s Y-axis was corrected to allow comparison with the other two networks.Networks 2 and 3 operate in similar fields as MaFI.

Network 2 (sample)1,100-1,500 members

4 years on LinkedIn

Very high response rate to discussions

created by members

Low response rate to discussions created

by members

Lots of discussions created but very little

response

Network 3 (sample)2,500-3,000 members

6 years on LinkedIn

An impressive little network…

MaFI

Systems Thinking

World19,500 members

20 approx.

450 approx.

20/360 = 5.5 comments per

100 discussions created

450/19,500 = 2.3 comments per

100 discussions created

360 members

This comparison is with a very large network that is permanently generating discussions

Function of MaFI members

Prog and Proj Management

Entrepreneurship

Business Development

Industry where MaFI members work

International Trade and Development

NGO

International Affairs

Management Consulting

Program Development

Location of MaFI members

• The Knowledge Factory: both member-led and student-led models up and running

• Learning Group on E-Learning for Facilitators: to promote convergence and good practices in the use of “teach-nology”

• Collaboration with LEO: around building capacity in facilitation and local learning groups

• Collaboration with the new SEEP’s Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Group: stay tuned for details

• Collaboration with The BEAM Exchange: stay tuned for details

Do you have ideas for 2015? Please contact you facilitator Lucho Osorio at luis.osorio@practicalaction.org.uk

Possible areas of work in 2015(To be discussed further with MaFI members on LinkedIn)

The following comments and opinions do not necessarily reflect the position of SEEP.They appear unedited, as they were posted on the flipcharts during the MaFI session.

Inputs From the Participants

• Questions

• Insights

• Ideas to engage

Aha!!!

Oh yeah!!!

Inputs From the Participants: Hmmm

• Surprised there has been almost no discussion about changing the mindsets in communities – trust, aspirations, advocacy, enabling environments, empowerment.

• Are there enough good examples of markets systems projects that can be evaluated to provide the evidence to show the benefits of markets systems projects (i.e. chicken and egg)? Ewan Bloomfield, Practical Action Consulting

• Non-US-based donors have arguably been doing market facilitation longer and more successfully than USAID. Suggest more comprehensive look at other donor efforts.

• How is the LEO team implementing savings/microfinance in the barter systems of the extremely poor?

Inputs From the Participants: Hmmm

• How do the principles of human-centered design / iterative design process relate and are impacted by the existing procurement processes for development projects?

• Scale: Issues about cost/client & impact/client are the real tough questions. Is M&E around scale if its to have any real meaning. Mike Bowles

• Indirect beneficiaries, when being counted, often require monitoring through partners (e.g. rural retailers + biz). The ability of these local partners to collect data is limited. Such data is prone to failing data quality assessments. How to strike a balance between our (unattainably) high expectations and local ability to capture data?

• Simple, complicated, complex most of our systems are complex but our donor system is set up to target simple and complicated interventions. What would a complex funding structure look like & how would we convince donors to do it?

Inputs From the Participants: Hmmm

• For jobs support tools: along with looking at different sectors, what about extra donors? Scaling in inputs markets: How is a market that evolves across products and services represented in scaling criteria? E.g. A farmer who evolves / graduates from buying solely animal sickness medicines (i.e. a curative, emergency item) to, say, animal health services (i.e. a preventative service that are a bundle of products and services such as vet visits). And how would the facilitators of the animal health service be tracked and included in scaling criteria?

• Importance of research & recommendations taking into account lessons learned from past experience not just best practices

• Push/pull - we the ‘outsiders’ decide which interventions will PUSH and which will PULL BUT as MaFI-ers i.e. facilitators it is us who decide what and how to push/pull?

• Competitiveness, Inclusiveness, resilience: how do we measure that?

Inputs From the Participants: Aha!• How to make space for reflecting/learning? Make it essential part of work –

instead of following a pre-built plan, plan as you go along, reflecting on what happens.

• “Push/Pull” approaches: Question on sequencing & layering by Anna Garloch. Very relevant for AKF, but just a different language/jargon. We would be very pleased to be involved.

• People first: That we need to put aside our cultural judgements on what is good or bad + instead focus on what the people themselves determine good/bad + facilitate a suitable win/win trade off. Reference to migratory labour, labour pricing + pre-judgement. Push/pull and labour pathways.

• A key element of achieving “scale” is the snowballing effect that takes place both during and after the project ends = importance of a growth strategy

• Re. sequencing and layering: (i) no “one-size fits all”; (ii) as we develop capabilities we need to march with opportunities according to the rate of results. Also, stay attuned to opportunities that were “unintended”

• LEO is doing great stuff and I’m looking forwards to hearing more on these projects on MaFI!!

Inputs From the Participants: Oh Yeah!

• CARE has some work going on in labor in Bangladesh to contribute to this topic. Please contact me Late Lawson-Latergo

• Push/Pull: Save places, great emphasis on recognising the role of facilitating off-farm/labour linkages along with input/output markets. We would be interested in engaging with LEO as they develop a conceptual framework on this issue. Malini Tolat, Save The Children

• Models for input/output: looking at the diversity, complexity and risk prone nature of agric. sector in most of the countries in Africa a focus on input sector model alone might not be viable option for the reasons: (i) input business is seasonal and long slack period for suppliers; (ii) farmers are willing to invest on inputs when they are confident of end markets A one-stop shop / multiple service model need further study and experience sharing

Inputs From the Participants: Oh Yeah!

• E-learning and programme implementation: any thoughts on building e-learning with implementation software? E.g., as a project officer if I am reviewing a results chain, could I get a prompt to “organise a learning lunch with your team and discuss…” Could these prompts also celebrate and reward eg “well done, thanks for your blog post”

• Re. using students for MaFI blog… I have connections w/Touluse Business School (I’ve taught “Private Sector Development in Post-Conflict Countries” for about 8 years there). I think the prof. I work with would be very interested in this. Let’s talk… Karri Goeldner

• “Experts” for complex problems: how do we differentiate between expertise needed to solve a ‘complicated’ problem and the skills needed to solve a ‘complex problem’? What conversations could be facilitated through MaFI to frame this idea and build capacity at the field level to promote the value [of this idea?], after behaviour change with local organisations, build a pool of skills/people for complex problems and help source the right knowledge ‘solution’ to affect change in complex problems? (Anoushka, EVI).

Inputs From the Participants: Oh Yeah!

• Let’s look at what makes non-USG-funded facilitation different from what we find on USAID projects. What can we learn from the Dutch, the British, the Canadian donors? Not better or worse but let’s learn from all that is out there! Oh yeah!

• Engage in providing inputs on results of using various facilitation tools… and get feedback! World Vision Philippine, Rubylyn Gonzaga

• Customer loyalty for relationships in markets: A key piece around relationships is long term resilience and durability. Could one mechanism be a customer loyalty focus; e.g. programmes between farmers and agrodealers (farmers = customers; “their patronage, feedback, influence on other farmers is very important and core to my small business”) and also processing firms (where farmers = preferred suppliers; “the quality and quantity and regularity and regularity of products is most important for the growth of my firm”). How do we talk about programme models that have these concepts embedded in their strategies? (Anoushka, EVI)

SEEP Annual Conference 2014Scaling Impact in Inclusive Market Systems

Annexes

Slides used in:LEO (slides 22-52)

Knowledge Factory (slides 53-63)E-Learning (slides 64-118)

• An overview of LEO • Areas of collaboration with MaFI:

– Market systems framework– Facilitation job aids or tools

• Special thanks to the LEO team, Ruth Campbell, Ben Fowler, Margie Brand, Anna Garloch and Lindsey Jones, for sharing their LEO work with the participants

SEEP Annual Conference 2014Scaling Impact in Inclusive Market Systems

USAID’s LEO

Leveraging Economic Opportunities

Ruth CampbellLEO Program Manager

rcampbell@acdivoca.org

LEO Learning Agenda

Partnership with the SEEP Network

MaFI (The Market Facilitation Initiative)

STEP UP (Strengthening the Economic Potential of the Ultra Poor)

Women’s Economic Empowerment

Inclusive Market Systems Development

Objective: To catalyze a process that results in a market system that is

• Competitive—upgrade to meet demand

• Inclusive—of women, the poor, youth

• Resilient—to shocks

Inclusive Market System Framework

You can find the paper at: http://bit.ly/mktsysmafi

Characteristics of Market Systems

• Soft boundaries

• Contain simple, complicated and complex

• Self-organizing

• Reinforcing loops

• Balancing loops

Implications for Projects

1. Broader, ongoing analysis

2. Differentiate among • Simple—work plans, budgets• Complicated—experts, results chains• Complex—experimentation, learning

3. Competitiveness—stimulate change processes

4. Inclusiveness—build capacities

5. Resilience—communications, analysis, diversity

Peer Learning Events

Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda:

- 11 projects

Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe:

- 9 projects

Models for Scaling Impact – Our Focus

• ‘How can we best facilitate access by smallholder farmers to input and output markets at scale?’

• Reviewing the evidence from current and past projects

• Inspecting key barriers, models, results, and implications for project design

• Investigating outreach, outcomes, sustainability and equity

Work to Date

• Case study review • Identification of model typology and lessons

learned • Sharing findings:

– Bureau of Food Security – USAID Staff – Advancing the FIELD conference

Looking for Cases

Input markets • Input supplier-driven• Microentrepreneur-driven • Lender-driven• Buyer-driven • Producer Collective-driven

Output markets

Coming up

• Identify new cases • Synthesize learning into draft input markets

paper • Begin research on scaling in output markets • Share findings

M&E: Evaluating Systemic Change

http://bit.ly/leomandesystemschange

M&E: Facilitation Contact Groups

M&E Evaluation Agenda

1. Evaluation Framework • Oriented to market systems facilitation • Principles & guidelines • Link between monitoring, developmental evaluation &

impact evaluation• Linking evaluation and project staff

M&E Evaluation Agenda

2. Tools for Measuring Systemic Change • Indicators of systemic change• Analysis of market relationships with network

mapping• Tools for monitoring & managing facilitation

M&E Evaluation Agenda

3. Evidence on Scale from Interventions to Facilitate Inclusive Market Systems • Identify approaches around measuring indirect &

secondary contacts • Build the evidence base

Facilitation Job Tools

What form could staff adapt to assess the progress of private sector partners?

Is there a format others have used for partners’ cost-share reporting?

Is there a helpful format for a monitoring plan for a market facilitation project?Are there examples of

forms for recording observations of market actor behavior?

What are examples of market facilitation job postings and job descriptions?

Are there examples of performance assessments for market facilitation staff?

Are there examples of MOU templates with different market actors that we could adapt?

Facilitation Job Tools http://bit.ly/facilitationtools

Facilitation Job Tools

Contributing Organizations• ACDI/VOCA• Action for Enterprise (AFE)• Adam Smith International (ASI)• CARDNO EMG• CARE• CRS• EcoVentures International• Engineers Without orders• Kenya Markets Trust• Mercy Corps• Practical Action• SAMARTH• TetraTech• World Vision US

Facilitation Job Tools

Facilitation Job Tools

Facilitation Job Tools

• HUMAN RESOURCES• Staff Performance Assessments• Job & Consultant Position

Postings• Staff Job Descriptions

• PROJECT MANAGEMENT• Workplan & Intervention

Planning• Intervention Review & Reporting

• IMPLEMENTATION• Designing Interventions• Delivering Traditional Capacity

Building & Meetings• Delivering Non-Traditional

Capacity Building & Meetings• Observing & Facilitating Market

Actor Behavior• Market Surveys

• MANAGING PARTNERSHIPS• Managing Partnership & Grant

Applications• Planning & Developing Cost-

Shares & MOUs• Managing Cost-Shares & MOUs

• M&E• Monitoring Plans• Results Chains Examples• M&E / Indicators• M&E / Reporting

Support managers and staff in …

Facilitation Job Tools

Pathways out of Poverty through Push/Pull

A push/pull approach is a strategic approach to poverty reduction that utilizes both push strategies—which build capacities, and pull strategies—which facilitate access to opportunities, to incrementally drive more beneficial and sustained inclusion of the very poor into market systems.

Key Features:• Adopts a theory of change• Embraces a systems approach• Is demand driven in development of capacities and markets• Utilizes sequencing and/or layering• Sensitive to the diversity of income sources within a household• Emphasis on how, when, where, and why ‘push’ and ‘pull’ interact, and ‘who’ has

incentives• Attention to behaviors, aspirations, and relationships• Includes a knowledge management systems that supports the effort

Our Focus

• Identifying models of integrated push and pull

• Capturing practitioner experience from implementation – what is working? What is missing?

Coming Up

• SEEP Conference Track and Synthesis

• Framework

• Project case studies

• Country-based portfolio case studies

• Labor and pathways out of poverty

Discussion

• Experience with Push/Pull:– What strategies are you finding most impactful to drive

inclusion?– Do your models include sequencing and layering – why/why

not?

• Labor and Pathways out of Poverty – What should our focus be?– What tools and resources would be most helpful to you?

Women’s Empowerment

How LEO is contributing to the Women’s Empowerment Agenda:

• Framework for Women’s Empowerment through Market Systems Development

• Business Cases for Women’s Empowerment Resource

• Intervention Guide for the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI)

• Women’s Economic Empowerment Working Group

• Women’s Empowerment and Market Systems Training Materials

• Addressing gender-based violence

microlinks.org/activities/leveraging-economic-opportunities-leo

acdivoca.org/LEO

SEEP Annual Conference 2014Scaling Impact in Inclusive Market Systems

The MaFI Knowledge Factory

Facilitator: Lucho Osorioluis.osorio@practicalaction.org.uk

an initiative of

as MaFI grows, more knowledge is produced by its members…

… making it harder to keep up with their best ideas and experiences

useful knowledge that MaFI members produce and share on LinkedIn every year

…

… must be shared with others

outside of MaFI too

but the best of this knowledge must be edited and synthesised

SEEP Annual Conference 2014Scaling Impact in Inclusive Market Systems

Searching for a sustainable model

Principles• Low cost• Decentralised production• Standardisation• Collaboration

Webpage example. Stay tuned via Twitter @marketfacil to learn when the pages will go live!

Webpage example. Stay tuned via Twitter @marketfacil to learn when the pages will go live!

Webpage example. Stay tuned via Twitter @marketfacil to learn when the pages will go live!

SEEP Annual Conference 2014Scaling Impact in Inclusive Market Systems

Standardisation

Three modules• Blog• Synthesis

– Convergences– Divergences– Pending questions / issues– Resources

• Original (raw) text

Blog by the authorSynthesis of key pointsOriginal discussion preview

Webpage example. Stay tuned via Twitter @marketfacil to learn when the pages will go live!

SEEP Annual Conference 2014Scaling Impact in Inclusive Market Systems

Partnerships with Universities

Discussions as inputs for post-grads• Supervisors champion the initiative• Agreement with student and

supervisor• Connection with key discussants• Follow-up• Support high quality papers -> journals

SEEP Annual Conference 2014Scaling Impact in Inclusive Market Systems

E-Learning for Inclusive Market Facilitators

Scaling Up Capacity

Presentations by: Adam Keatts – Fintrac, Inc.

Steve Morris – VSOMark Harwood – World Vision Australia

e-Learning for Inclusive Agricultural Development

Lessons from Fintrac University

Adam M. KeattsKnowledge Manager

Fintrac, Inc

SEEP Member Day: MaFI Working GroupSeptember 22, 2014

What is Fintrac University?

•Global, internal e-learning platform

•Capacity building for 500+ staff

•Agricultural systems knowledge

•Learn, Contribute, Share, Discuss

The Pillars of Fintrac University

Foundation for e-Learning

Com

mu

nit

ies U

sers

Tech

nolo

gy

Lead

ers

hi

p

Con

ten

t

Leadership

Inspiration from the top

• The vision of our President

Commitment of corporate resources

• Significant investment of time and money

Buy-in from field and HO directors

• Balance competing demands from deliverable-based projects

Learning Content Development

We want well-rounded, technically competent, broad thinkers

• Conceptual knowledge is insufficient• Technical agricultural knowledge is critical

Continuous development of content

• Stay current• Keep staff engaged

How do we develop it?

• Dedicated Corporate Learning team• And crowd-sourced from across the organization

Technical Learning Topics

Approach + Technical + Interactive

User Engagement

Push - Pull

• Compulsory – performance evaluations

• Incentives – leaderboard, badges, social networking

Ambassadors

• In country advocates• HO – Field

reinforcement

Continuous Content

• Keep them coming back

Community

• Global, cross-project discussions

• Tag individuals to bring them into discussions

• Attach technical documents, links, relevant current events, etc

• Periodic webinars with subject matter experts around the company

Technology

Website Design Software

• Open-source website development program – Drupal• Dedicated back-end programmer (design, maintain, update)• Simple content management interface for Corp Learning

Video content

• Animated and field based learning videos• Dedicated videographer• Fintrac U embed, YouTube host

Webinar content

• Back-end tech support -- Adobe Connect

Final Thoughts

An e-Learning platform is just a vehicle for learning

• It will not drive itself

Customize platform and content to system context

• Fintrac U was built from scratch to reflect Fintrac’s corporate culture

We are still learning!!

• Fintrac U is a constant work in progress, and we have a long way to go

Thank you

Adam M. Keattsakeatts@fintrac.com

Welcome to VSO's Learning Hub the learning and development hub for VSO volunteers and employees

MOODLE

• VSO works in 27 Developing Countries

• through 500+ partners in 4 themes

• 950 international volunteers at any time

• 800+ employees across the federation

Why e-learning?• Increasingly, our workforce and volunteers “live online”

• Their roles and their learning needs are so diverse

• Formal, time-specific training programmes are only appropriate for certain needs

•Self Study Modules: • Cost-effective (no airfares,

trainer time, venue costs)

• Consistent quality/content to all employees

• People learn at their own pace, at any time (24-hour clock)

• Learn “just-in-time but can return to modules to refresh learning

How we do e-learning

•Webinars:• Cost-effective, global access to

expert speakers, reach shared conclusions

• Dispersed participants build relationships, learn from each other

• Valuable as part of “facilitated self-study”

• Great for keeping up momentum and providing an external “deadline”

81

•Challenges:

• Internet connectivity/ reliability

• Culture of “doing” and not “learning/reflecting”

• Lack of compliance re: mandatory training

• High drop-out rates for courses

e-learning

• Philosophy:

• Learning is a 3-way responsibility

• The individual - main driver (commit to finding the time ),

• Line manager or programme manager (help individuals to identify learning needs)

• VSO global learning team (provides access )

82

83

84

85

86

87

• New Line managers to support L&D in their teams

• No corporate incentives

• Those who take learning seriously more likely to do their jobs better and progress

User Engagement

The Learning Hub will become the main source of learning:

• Linked to our online performance management system• Part of VSO “ways of working”• People will barely notice the difference between “learning”, “knowledge sharing” and “doing our job”• Seamless process of continuous improvement

Vision

PALSProject modelAccreditedLearning &Support

5 Practical tips for effective eLearning

1. Know your Audience

1. Know your Audience:

• Watch your writing style: not your thesis!

• How do they learn?

• Where do they learn? Field/Classroom

• Asynchronous

2. Create a learning

community

2. Create a learning community:

• Respect their expertise: you are not the teacher

• Learner-created content ensures relevancy

• Encourage peer reviews/internal feedback

• Use their programmes as real case-studies

• Tea-break!

3. Engage your participants

3. Engage your participants

• Part of learning community, they are not alone

• They all have something to add: value inputs

• Discussions, debates, wikis, quizzes, videos

• Major assignments, group leaders, peer support

groups, group leader opportunities

• Peer support groups

4. Recognition

4. Recognition:

• Badges

• Ongoing feedback (bring in SMEs)

• Assess submissions and assignments

• Global certificates and acknowledgement

• Manager endorsement, activity summaries

5. Evaluating

5. Evaluating:

Questions?

SEEP Annual Conference 2014Scaling Impact in Inclusive Market Systems

Thank you!Lucho Osorio

luis.osorio@practicalaction.org.uk

@marketfacil

http://on.fb.me/fbpagemafi