Papers

A critical analysis of Market Systems Development core concepts, demonstrating how supporting functions and rules can be more precisely explained through actions, actors, and resources. This paper clarifies the conceptual ambiguity in MSD terminology for improved understanding and operationalization of system-level work.

A practical framework for assessing systemic change using six actionable steps focused on system snapshots and system dynamics. This foundational paper provides tangible concepts for measuring scale and sustainability through defining actors, actions, resources, and behaviour changes.

A comprehensive guide to system mapping that focuses on understanding the interaction between actions and actors. The paper explains how to represent who is doing what in a system through grid-based mapping that incorporates transfers, transformations, and the role of resources in enabling different actions.

A chapter from Making Market Systems Work for the Poor that explores the practical application and limitations of market system diagrams (doughnuts) in Market Systems Development. The paper details three common diagrammatic malfunctions and their implications for delivering sustainable change at scale.

A critical reassessment of the AAER (Adopt-Adapt-Expand-Respond) framework that highlights inherent limitations in its narrative approach to systemic change. The paper proposes an analytical reframing that addresses issues around inconsistency, mechanism understanding, and scope of change attribution.

A practical tool for embedding more consistent theory into programme theories of change. Strips the process of change down to four essential Building Blocks -behaviour change, rationale, blockers, and change resources -and introduces 'hopscotch results chains' for designing and testing programme theory at scale.

A practical classification system for behaviour change that establishes clear categories of behaviour change based on who changes what, with what resources, using what timing. The paper provides a working typology derived from practical experience to improve clarity and comparability of behaviour changes across development programmes.

A foundational paper that defines systemic change through three measurable components: change in system performance, system composition of actors and actions, and relationship between observed changes and programme intervention. This definition translates abstract system concepts into practical, actor-level measurement.

A comprehensive conceptual framework for understanding and representing various change processes at the actor level. The MOSC framework provides a generalizable meta-conceptual model applicable to both positive and negative change across organizational, value chain, market, and socio-ecological systems.

A detailed analysis of the specific factors that enable or constrain behaviour change in actors, connecting resources and priorities to behaviour characteristics. The ABC Factors framework provides practical guidance for analysing behaviour change incentives and capacities at individual, organizational, and system levels.