“Most Significant Changes”

1. “Most Significant Changes” MSC @ Exchange

2. Adapted from: • Rick Davies - MandENEWS • Jessica Dart – Clear Horizon MSC @ Exchange

3. “If you knew what was going to happen in advance every day you could do amazing things. You could become insanely wealthy, influence the political process et cetera. Well, it turns out that most people don't even know what happened yesterday in their own business. So, a lot of businesses are discovering they can take tremendous competitive advantage simply by finding out what happened yesterday as soon as possible“ (Steve Jobs, Fortune, 1994:23) MSC @ Exchange

4. MSC @ Exchange

5. Why stories? • People tell stories naturally - indigenous • Stories can deal with complexity and context • People remember stories • Stories can carry hard messages /undiscussables • But stories not known for accuracy/truth MSC @ Exchange

6. Use of stories in MSC • Collection of stories + systematic, collective interpretation = storytelling can be effectively harnessed for participatory evaluation • Because interpretations tell another story & process has beneficial outcomes for evaluation utilisation MSC @ Exchange

7. MSC • Form of qualitative, participatory M&E • Based on ‘stories’ of significant change • Developed by Rick Davies 1996 - Bangladesh • Now used in numerous development programs and in the public sector MSC @ Exchange

8. MSC • Creates space for stakeholders to reflect, to make sense of complex changes • Provides dialogue to help make sense of each other’s values • Facilitates dynamic dialogue ie. “what do we really want to achieve and how will we produce more of it?” • Excellent for participatory programs with diverse, complex outcomes, & multiple stakeholders MSC @ Exchange

9. Purpose of MSC in M&E • Primary purpose to facilitate improvement by: • focusing direction of work towards explicitly valued directions • eg. what do we really want to achieve and how will we produce more of it? • Contributes to summative evaluation: • Information about unexpected outcomes • Performance information concerning very best success stories • Can inform criteria used to judge projects MSC @ Exchange

10. Qualitativevs quantitative monitoring Quantitative • Focus on measurement • Closed questions • About ‘proving’ • Easy to aggregate • Deductive • Static • Goal displacement can be a problem Qualitative • Focus on questioning • Open questions • About learning • Hard to aggregate • Inductive • Dynamic • Goal displacement is not an issue MSC @ Exchange

11. Qualitative monitoring • Can be used in conjunction with conventional output monitoring • Is usually more aimed at learning than accountability MSC @ Exchange

12. Indicators & their limits MSC @ Exchange

13. Limitations of indicator based monitoring • Goal displacement • Not about learning • Don’t tell you what you don’t know you need to know MSC @ Exchange

14. How to aggregate complex experience? • Example: • a bowl containing 2 oranges, 3 apples, 4 bananas, and 1 mango • Summary-by-inclusion • There are 10 pieces of fruit in the bowl • Find lowest common denominator = fruit • Cost: Loss of interesting detail • Summary-by-selection • The mango is rotten, it will spoil the rest of the fruit. Remove it, please MSC @ Exchange

15. Practice Now! • Turn to your neighbour and ask them • What was the most significant change that took place as a result of the workshop this week? (Get the details) • Then ask them why they thought this was the most interesting. • Document: • description (who, what, where, when) • explanation (why is it significant) • who documented the story (name, position location, date) • Then let your neighbour ask the same questions to you. MSC @ Exchange

16. Then… • Come to a decision about which of the two stories you think is most interesting, and identify why you both think so. • You may have a number of reasons. • When asked to, tell a group of 8 people the story you chose, and why you did so MSC @ Exchange

17. Then… • Come to a decision about which of the 4 stories you think is most interesting, and identify why you all think so. • You may have a number of reasons. • When asked to, tell the large group people the story you choose, and why you did so MSC @ Exchange

18. The core of MSC • A question: • “In your opinion what was the most significant change that took place in ….over the … months” • [describe the change and explain why you think it is significant] • Re-iteration of the same kind of question • “Which of these SC stories do you think is the most significant of all?” • [describe the change and explain why you think it is significant] MSC @ Exchange

19. Explaining MSC • The first challenge when introducing it • Can be difficult because it is very different to conventional methods • Make use of direct experience • Use metaphors • Highlight the key differences • Explain in terms of stages MSC @ Exchange

20. Using metaphors • Organisations as newspapers, • with journalists, sub-editors, editors, senior editors, etc • Stories get passed up the hierarchy, but only a few make it to the front page, and only one to the top of the front page • Organisations as amoeba, • sensing positive and negative experiences and moving to and away from those respectively. MSC @ Exchange

21. Organisations as amoeba MSC @ Exchange

22. How is MSC different? • Participants have a choice about what sort of information to collect • Uses diverse rather than standard data • Information is analysed by all participants, not simply by a central unit • Subjectivity is used rather than avoided MSC @ Exchange

23. MSCvs quantitative monitoring Quantitative • Focus on measurement • Closed questions • Project out • About ‘proving’ • Deductive • Static • Inclusive • Central tendencies MSC • Focus on questioning • Open questions • Context in • About learning • Inductive • Dynamic • Selective • Outer edges of experience MSC @ Exchange

24. Program out Context in Goal-based evaluation Goals Extent to which they were achieved From the view point of the program staff + consultation Program From the viewpoint of the Participants MSC @ Exchange

25. Explaining MSC in stages • Defining Domains of Change • Define reporting period • Collecting SC stories • Selection of collected SC stories • Feedback of the choices made • Verification • Quantification • Meta-monitoring and secondary analysis • Re-settings of MSC system MSC @ Exchange

26. 1. Defining “domains” • Opposite of SMART indicators? • Like newspaper sections: sports, finance, leisure, business, etc • Defined by how people use them • Examples: • “changes in peoples’ lives” • “changes in relationships with our partners” • “changes in government policy on HIV/AIDS MSC @ Exchange

27. Defining domains… • Not essential but • Can help structure the selection process • Can help focus on goals of concern • Their use tells us how what goals mean to participants • Options • Open window domain • Negative changes domain MSC @ Exchange

28. 2. Set the reporting period • “In your opinion what was the most significant change that took place in ….over the … months • Period used by NGOs varies from 2 weekly, to monthly, to three monthly, and yearly. • Three monthly is most common • Time demands on staff is the main constraint on frequency MSC @ Exchange

29. 3. Collecting SC stories • From those closest to the event’s of concern. • But do not exploit people’s unpaid time • Basic format: • Description (who, what, where, when) • Explanation (why is it significant) • Who documented the story (name, position location, date) • Option: Recommendation MSC @ Exchange

30. Collecting SC stories… • Reminder: Key parts of the question • “Looking back over the last month…” • “…what do you think was…” • “…the most significant…” • “…change…” • “…in the quality of people’s lives…” • “…in this community?” MSC @ Exchange

31. 4. Selecting SC stories MSC @ Exchange

32. Funder meeting State meetings flow of stories feedback Region1 Region 2 Region 3 Region 4 Story tellers MSC @ Exchange

33. Selecting SC stories… • Task is to read through and identify the most significant of all the submitted SC stories. Take one domain at a time • Need to decide who to involve: story providers, their superiors, their peers,.. • Need to decide whether to predefine selection criteria, or let them emerge through discussion of SC stories MSC @ Exchange

34. Selecting SC stories… • Must (not optional) • Document what SC was selected • Why it was selected • Process used to make the selection • Participants • Their preferences • [Subjectivity is made accountable through transparency] MSC @ Exchange

35. 5. Feedback • To immediate providers of SC stories, on what was selected, why selected and process used • Enables adjustment of focus of MSC next time around • A motivational factor • Weakest point in all M&E systems, including MSC MSC @ Exchange

36. 6. Verification of SC stories • What • Factual content & interpretation of facts • Why • Encourages some discipline in reporting • Enables elaboration and further learning • When • When SC story first enters system • When selected as MS of all SC • When SC stories are publicly used MSC @ Exchange

37. 7. Quantification • Within the SC story • Number of people, events, etc involved • As once–off follow-up to SC story • How many other cases like this known • Within meta-monitoring (see next) • How many other SC stories like this MSC @ Exchange

38. 8. Meta-monitoring and secondary analysis • Keep all SC stories on record • Meta-monitoring (Recommended) of • Changes in numbers of SC stories, who provides them, whose SC stories are selected, changes in percentage of negative stories • Secondary analysis (Optional) by • Categorising and counting of types of changes reported, and types of explanations given, at different levels MSC @ Exchange

39. MSC @ Exchange

40. 9. Re-setting of MSC process • Frequency of reporting • Definition of domains to use • Who sorts SC stories into domains • Selection process design: participants & process used • Feedback and follow up MSC @ Exchange

41. Where to use MSC? • Talk to your neighbour, and identify where you think MSC • Would be most useful, and why • Would be least useful, and why • Share this view with the whole group, when asked MSC @ Exchange

42. Where to use MSC • Not as a stand-alone method • Alongside indicator based systems • To identify unexpected changes • To engage people in analysis of change • To involve a wide range of people • To focus on outcomes rather than outputs MSC @ Exchange

43. Finding out more about MSC • Original MSC paper (n’th version) is at http://www.mande.co.uk/docs/ccdb.htm • MSC Mailing list is at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mostsignificantchanges • Rick Davies at rick@mande.co.uk MSC @ Exchange