In the MSD approach, a carefully established and well-articulated vision for change acts as the compass guiding all programme activities.
The vision is much more than just a vaguely desirable outcome: it is a detailed picture of how a particular market system will function better in the future.
A clear and specific vision ensures alignment, fuels innovation and helps stakeholders understand and commit to a programme's goals. Establishing and articulating a credible vision requires strategic thinking, stakeholder engagement and a deep understanding of existing market system realities.
A well-defined vision provides a clear roadmap for your programme, guiding the selection of partners, the identification of points of leverage and the design of interventions. The vision also helps align the efforts of diverse market actors. When everyone understands the desired future state, they are more likely to work together towards achieving it. A clear and credible vision also provides a benchmark against which progress can be measured. It allows programme teams to track progress, identify challenges, and adapt their strategies as needed. Lastly, it helps communicate why your organisation is doing all of this work.
Chapter 3 of the MSD Operational Guide explains the main purpose of having such a vision, and recommends how to go about establishing it.
Key elements of your vision
A strong vision statement has several elements:
- Focus on the system, not just individual actors:
The vision should describe how the entire market system will function differently. It should not focus solely on individual businesses or beneficiaries. For instance, the vision shouldn’t be ‘100 new SMEs created’ but could be ‘A thriving ecosystem of interconnected SMEs is established that creates high-quality and value-added products’. - Addresses systemic constraints:
The vision should articulate how the programme will address underlying systemic constraints that are preventing the market system from functioning effectively. How does the future state overcome these constraints? - Measurable elements:
While vision statements are often qualitative, they should include elements that can be measured over time. This provides a basis for monitoring progress. - Inclusive and equitable:
The vision should promote inclusivity and equity, ensuring that all members of the target group benefit from proposed changes. How are women, youth, marginalised communities or other disadvantaged groups integrated into the future market system? - Realistic and achievable:
While ambitious, the vision should be grounded in reality. It should take into account the political, economic and social context of the market system. It's important to be ambitious, but must also be achievable. - Inspiring and engaging:
The vision should inspire stakeholders to take action. This can be done by highlighting the potential benefits for all involved.
Going about developing your vision for change
Start by thoroughly reviewing the findings from the analysis stage (see Conducting market systems analysis):
What are the key systemic constraints that are preventing the market system from functioning effectively?
What are the opportunities for improvement?
It is also useful to conduct consultations with key stakeholders, including businesses, government agencies, civil society organisations and the target beneficiaries. Solicit their input on the desired future state of the market system:
What changes do they want to see? What are their aspirations?
Next, facilitate a brainstorming session to generate a range of potential vision statements. Encourage participants to think creatively and challenge existing assumptions. Based on this, craft a clear and concise vision statement that summarises the desired future state of the market system. Ensure that the vision statement is easily understood and memorable.
Lastly, it is important to share the vision statement with stakeholders and solicit their feedback. Revise the vision statement as needed, based on the feedback.
This good practice note on sector strategy outlines two components of MSA: the vision of the future functioning of a market system; and a programme's strategic approach to making it happen.
Assessing the feasibility of your vision
There are three important factors to consider when assessing the feasibility of moving from the current to a future vision:
- The nature of the selected market system.
Some markets may have different types of transaction costs that affect how the market operates. - The history (past actions) and momentum (present and planned actions) of actors within the system.
New trends, such as buying preferences, can offer a guide to how the market is shifting. - Innovation from elsewhere.
Changes outside your market system may be workable for the context you’re operating in.
Common pitfalls to avoid
- A vision that is too vague or generic will fail to provide clear direction for the programme. Avoid vision statements that could apply to any market system.
- Setting a vision that is too ambitious or unrealistic will lead to frustration and discouragement. Ensure that the vision is grounded in the realities of the context.
- A vision that is developed without stakeholder input is unlikely to gain support or ownership. Actively engage stakeholders in the vision-setting process.
- A vision focused on the short-term is unlikely to be successful. A vision should have a reasonable and long-term viewpoint. This will ensure it benefits a wider group of people.
- The vision should directly address the systemic constraints identified during the diagnostic stage. If there is a disconnect, the programme is unlikely to be effective.