Market Systems Development (MSD) to Reduce Poverty

Photo: Asian Development Bank / Abir Abdullah

Duration:
22/04–26/04/2024 | FULLY BOOKED - waiting list

Teaching format:
Classroom

Course objective:
This course provides a basic introduction to the concepts and methods behind market systems development (MSD), an approach to understanding and overcoming the failure of systems to serve the needs of people and communities who are living in poverty. The MSD approach stems from an appreciation of the importance of functioning systems in reducing poverty: systems for the exchange of goods, services and commodities; and systems for the delivery of basic services, such as education, health and water. Contrary to traditional project approaches, in which implementing agencies provide or support services that go directly to low-income communities, an agency applying MSD acts as a facilitator to align key players and improve the functioning of the overall system, in order to produce sustainable results. The approach was originally developed to analyse and strengthen market systems and private sector development — which will be the focus of the course. Today, the approach is also applied to systems with predominantly public sector activities, such as education systems.

Key topics:

Enabling an environment for private sector development
Strategic framework of the MSD approach
Analysing and understanding systems and system change
Sustainability and facilitation of system change
Monitoring and measurement of MSD interventions
Management of MSD interventions

ECTS points:
3

Examination:
The assessment will be a combination of group work completed during the course, and a short-written assignment.

Course fee:
CHF 950

Lecturers:
Rob van Hout, Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation
Manuela Kälbling, Swisscontact
Niklaus Waldvogel, Swisscontact
Jasmine Neve, NADEL (Coordination)

Registration starts 30 October 2023.

Managing Projects and Processes