Market System Diagrams: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Doughnut
Abstract
This chapter provides practical analysis of the doughnut diagram as used in Market Systems Development, examining why it remains an important but underutilized tool for program strategy. The paper identifies three common malfunctions in how doughnuts are applied: (1) that they are often abstracted from empirical reality and incomprehensible to practitioners, (2) that they tend to be abstract and disconnected from actual intervention strategies, and (3) that some diagrams emphasize actions while others focus on actors without integrating detailed analysis of both. The chapter details the conceptual and practical implications of these malfunctions for practitioners seeking to deliver sustainable and scalable change in market systems. It argues that improved understanding of what doughnuts are meant to represent -and how to use them alongside other Market Systems Development tools -can better enable strategic decision-making.
Key takeaways
- Market system diagrams are central to MSD analysis but are often created by external consultants and left to gather dust rather than being integrated into ongoing strategy and measurement systems
- Three common issues reduce the usefulness of doughnuts: abstraction from reality, lack of integration with intervention strategies, and incomplete analysis of either actions or actors without both
- The core limitation of MSD doughnuts is their lack of explicit connection between system map concepts and the operational elements practitioners need for implementation and measurement
- Using doughnuts effectively requires integrating them with other tools and ensuring that system diagnostics are translated into tangible action for program staff to understand and implement