Shifting the Locus of Learning: Catalyzing Private Sector Learning to Drive Systemic Change

  • Partner.: USAID Feed the Future Market Systems and Partnerships (MSP)
  • Publication Type: Learning Brief
  • Date: January 23, 2023

Learning is at the heart of the process of economic development—it drives more competitive, resilient, and inclusive firms and systems. Yet learning is less frequently seen as a critical function within systems that can catalyze and quicken systems change and enable adaptation. This brief makes the case that programs can and should shift the locus of learning from being only program-focused to system-focused.

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Feed the Future Inova Business Cases

  • Partner.: USAID, DAI
  • Publication Type: Business Cases
  • Date: February 10, 2022

The USAID Mozambique Feed the Future Agricultural Innovations Activity (FTF Inova), implemented by DAI in partnership with MSA, developed six business cases to offer tangible proof that enterprises can profit from investing in addressing challenges experienced by smallholder farmers. The business cases cover three themes: supply chain management; input distribution networks; and support services. Each business case summarizes the prevailing business model being applied, the new opportunity, what options were explored, the value proposition for smallholders and others, the timeline, return on investment, recommendations, and risks going forward.

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Beyond building: how social norms and networks shape mason construction practices in incremental homebuilding

  • Partner.: Habitat for Humanity Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter
  • Publication Type: Journal Article
  • Date: September 1, 2021

How do low-income households and masons make house construction decisions? This three-country study examined social norms, networks, and information flows that influence construction practices in Kenya, India, and Peru. The research sought to answer the following questions: 1) How do households and individuals make housing decisions? 2) What are the information flows, key influences, and social norms that steer these decisions? and 3) How can programmes leverage knowledge about norms to improve the quality of home construction?

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The Return on Investment of Social Inclusion: An Evidence Gap Analysis from Developing Countries

  • Partner.: USAID
  • Publication Type: Brief
  • Date: August 16, 2021

This brief analyzes the existing literature from developing countries on how firms invest in social inclusion and measure its return on investment. It then analyzes existing evidence gaps and makes recommendations on how firms and USAID partners working in private sector engagement and market systems development can improve their investments and fill evidence gaps.

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The Great Opportunity and Challenge of MSD Ex-Posts: 4 Takeaways from a Rapid Harvest of Insights

  • Partner.: USAID
  • Publication Type: Blog
  • Date: August 5, 2021

Ex-post evaluations are a key way to build the evidence base for the scalability and sustainability of the market systems development approach, yet few have been funded through to completion. This blog shares insights on conducting market systems development ex-post evaluations as part of the DAI-implemented Market Systems and Partnerships (MSP) activity.

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How the Private Sector Measures Social Inclusion and its Return on Investment: A Framework to Inform Future Research

  • Partner.: USAID
  • Publication Type: Brief
  • Date: May 25, 2021

This brief documents how different private sector actors understand and measure social inclusion and its return on investment (ROI) as an initial step to frame further research on the business case for social inclusion in developing countries. This brief was produced as part of MSA’s work with the Feed the Future Market Systems and Partnerships (MSP) Activity, a set of learning initiatives around social inclusion.

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Measuring what matters: Monitoring and results measurement

  • Partner.: Springfield Centre
  • Publication Type: Book Chapter
  • Date: April 2021

In Chapter 4 from "Making Markets Work for the Poor," a recent edited work inspired by the life and legacy of Alan Gibson, MSA Founder and Principal Ben Fowler and co-author Jake Lomax examine the shift in M4P programmes from monitoring and evaluation to monitoring and results measurement to inform decision-making and understand system-level change.

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What Does It Take to Achieve Scale in Women’s Empowerment Activities?

  • Partner.: USAID
  • Publication Type: Blog
  • Date: February 18, 2021

Insights and examples of approaches to scaling women’s empowerment from the Feed the Future Advancing Women’s Empowerment (AWE) program team, particualrly relating to gains in agricultural productivity, resilient and sustainable livelihoods and nutrition.

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Making Digital Finance Work for Women in the MENA Region: 8 Lessons from the Field

  • Partner.: Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF), DAI, UK Department for International Development (DFID)
  • Publication Type: Blog Post
  • Date: April 13, 2020

This blog builds on MarketShare Associates' work supporting the Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF) to stimulate increased women’s economic empowerment through a market systems approach in Jordan and Egypt. Drawing from AWEF’s Practitioner Learning Brief, Making Digital Finance Work for Women in the MENA Region (2020), the authors explore opportunities and challenges of Digital Financial Services (DFS) and highlight eight lessons on how to design and implement interventions that can pave the way for women’s digital financial empowerment across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and more widely.

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Making Digital Finance Work for Women in the MENA Region: 8 Lessons from the Field

  • Partner.: Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF), DAI, UK Department for International Development (DFID)
  • Publication Type: Report
  • Date: April 2020

This Practitioner Learning Brief builds on MarketShare Associates' work supporting the Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF) to stimulate increased women’s economic empowerment through a market systems approach. The Brief explores opportunities and challenges of Digital Financial Services (DFS) and highlights eight lessons from 14 case studies on how to design and implement interventions that can pave the way for women’s digital financial empowerment across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and more widely. This Brief aims to encourage others to test and scale innovative approaches to making digital finance work better for women’s empowerment.

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