EXECUTIVE COURSE ON MARKET SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT FOR DECENT WORK

To make progress in promoting decent work through private sector development, development actors, including the international labour organization, use a systemic approach to catalyse large-scale and long-lasting change. One popular systemic approach is known as market systems development (MSD), which focuses on selected markets to address specific decent work deficits. MSD involves a three-step process: • Strategy. Select sectors and the decent work focus, based on criteria of relevance, feasibility and opportunity. • Analysis. Understand which aspects of the system are not working, moving from visible ‘symptoms’ to the ‘causes’ which can often be found in underlying behaviours, attitudes and enabling conditions. • Action. Facilitate change by building both the incentive and capacity of partners which involves a trial-and-error process to test new ways of working. Applying Market Systems Development to Decent Work requires a specific mind-set and approach not only for implementers, but also for those in charge of designing, funding and managing development programmes in regional or headquarter offices. This executive course seeks to provide development actors with the tools to understand the Market Systems Development approach and integrate it into their project portfolios. OBJECTIVES • Explore the key concepts surrounding value chain and market systems development • Learn about the main steps of a typical market systems development programme cycle • Brainstorm around the opportunity of introducing market systems development interventions in their organization’s operations • Acquire the tools to better design and communicate about market systems development projects and programmes • Understand how to monitor more and better job creation is systemic project CONTENT WEEK 1 The first week of the course introduces participants to the main concepts around the market systems development approach, as well as provide an overview of the key steps of the MSD project cycle. The second part of the week is devoted to the design of interventions. Session 1 – Value chains and market systems: key concepts Session 2 – The Market Systems development Project cycle Session 3 – Project design and resource mobilization using a systemic lens Session 4 – Designing interventions, managing partnerships, and acting as a facilitator WEEK 2 The second week of the course concentrates on the implementation of Market Systems Development projects, with a specific focus on the point of view of backstopping staff and portfolio managers. Session 5 – Adaptive management Session 6 – Market Systems development in forced displacement contexts Session 7 – Measuring Market Systems development Session 8 – Greening Market Systems Development