The ‘Most Significant Change’ (MSC) Technique

The `Most Significant Change' (MSC) Technique

A Guide to Its Use

by

Rick Davies and Jess Dart

Funded by CARE International, United Kingdom Oxfam Community Aid Abroad, Australia | Learning to Learn, Government of South Australia Oxfam New Zealand | Christian Aid, United Kingdom | Exchange, United Kingdom Ibis, Denmark | Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke (MS), Denmark Lutheran World Relief, United States of America

Version 1.00 ? April 2005

Most Significant Change Guide

Table of Contents

Acronyms

Preface: The Structure of this Guide

Acknowledgements

Chapter One: A Ten Minute Overview of MSC What is MSC, in a nutshell? What's in a name? The MSC story Overview of implementation steps The kernel The purpose When and when not to use MSC Where to get further information

Chapter Two: Ten Steps to Implementing MSC Step 1: How to start and raise interest Step 2: Defining domains of change Step 3: Defining the reporting period Step 4: Collecting SC stories Step 5: Selecting the most significant of the stories Step 6: Feeding back the results of the selection process Step 7: Verification of stories Step 8: Quantification Step 9: Secondary analysis and meta-monitoring Step 10: Revising the system

Chapter Three: Troubleshooting Concerns expressed by participants Concerns expressed by others

Chapter Four: Building Capability for Effective MSC Building the capacity of MSC `champions' Building the capacity of the staff tp participate fully in MSC Considering resources and time required

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Table of Contents

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Most Significant Change Guide

Table of Contents

Chapter Five: MSC within a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Framework

58

MSC within the program cycle

58

MSC as monitoring and evaluation

58

MSC as a specific type of monitoring

58

MSC as program evaluation

61

MSC and organisational learning

63

Other uses of MSC within programs

64

Chapter Six: Validity and Voice in MSC

67

MSC: a valid technique

67

Purposive sampling

69

Bias in MSC

70

Issues of voice and power in MSC

71

Chapter Seven: How MSC Compares to Other Approaches and Epistemologies

72

Appreciative Enquiry

72

Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (PM&E)

72

Case studies and vignettes

72

Evolutionary epistemology and MSC

73

MSC under a constructivist lens

74

Chapter Eight: History of MSC

75

History as process

75

Types of MSC uses

75

The differences that make a difference

77

Chapter Nine: New Directions for MSC

81

Fine tuning

81

Combining with other approaches

82

Innovations

84

Future research areas

86

An invitation to innovate, review and communicate

87

Bibliography

88

Appendices

Appendix 1: Sample Story Collection Formats

92

Appendix 2: Sample Significant Change Stories

97

Appendix 3: Sample Story Reporting Format

103

Appendix 4: Facilitation Guide for Story Collection

104

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Most Significant Change Guide

Acronyms

Acronyms

ADB ADRA AKRSP BADSP CCDB CRS DFID IDSS M&E MSC NGO ONZB SC stories VSO

Asian Development Bank Adventist Development and Relief Agency, Australia Aga Khan Rural Support Program Brong Ahafo Rural District Support Project, Ghana Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh Catholic Relief Services Department for International Development, UK International Development Support Services, Australia monitoring and evaluation most significant change (MSC) technique non-government organisation Oxfam New Zealand Significant change stories Voluntary Service Overseas

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Most Significant Change Guide

Preface

Preface: The Structure of this Guide

This publication is aimed at organisations, community groups, students and academics who wish to use MSC to help monitor and evaluate their social change programs and projects, or to learn more about how it can be used. The technique is applicable in many different sectors, including agriculture, education and health, and especially in development programs. It is also applicable to many different cultural contexts. MSC has been used in a wide variety of countries by a range of organisations. By 2004, MSC had been used both by NGOs and governments in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and Australasia.

The structure of this Guide

The introductory chapter provides a quick overview of MSC. In Chapter 2 we focus on the practicalities of implementing MSC and divide the process into ten steps. Chapter 3 offers guidance on practical troubleshooting, and Chapter 4 looks at building capacity for effective use of MSC. In Chapter 5 we examine how MSC fits into the program cycle and how it can contribute to program improvement.

After Chapter 5, we delve more into the theory. We believe that MSC can be successfully implemented without a strong understanding of the theory. So if you just want to know about the practicalities ? stop there! But for those readers who enjoy a foray into theory, Chapters 6 and 7 examine validity in MSC and how it fits with other approaches and epistemologies. The final two chapters outline the evolution of MSC: where it came from and where it might be heading next.

The structure of this Guide reflects our attempt to cater for different types of use. We want the Guide to be of practical help to those choosing to implement MSC for the first time. But we also want to provide information and analysis that will be of use to those who are already experienced in using MSC yet want to extend their knowledge of the technique or refine the way they use it. As well as addressing the needs of practitioners, we also hope to address the interests of those doing research on MSC and related methods of participatory and qualitative research.

Notes about the terminology

We struggled at times in writing this Guide to find language that worked equally well in the development sector and the public sector of developed economies. We have made a few choices in the name of consistency and we encourage you to consider translating these terms to ones that makes sense for you.

Firstly, we had to decide how to refer to the people who are targeted by social change programs. In the development sector, these people are often referred to as beneficiaries. In the public sector context of developed economies, they are referred to as clients, service users or participants. In this publication we used the term `participant' where the meaning is clear, and `beneficiary' as a second resort.

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