Most Significant Change MSC

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Most Significant Change(MSC)
Tracey Delaney
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MSC - Background

• Originally developed in Bangladesh by Rick Davies
  (1996)
• Evolutionary approach to organisational
  learning
• Adapted by Jess Dart (1999)
• The story approach
• Based on stories of change
• Form of qualitative, participatory ME
• No indicators are used
• Now used widely in development programs as well
  as in the public sector in Australia
• Not used on its own

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Why Stories?

• People tell stories naturally
• People remember stories
• Stories can carry difficult messages
  /undiscussables
• Stories provide a rich picture
• Stories provide a basis for discussion
• (But stories not known for accuracy/truth)

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In MSC the stories provide

• information about project impact
• a basis for discussion about project activities
  and future direction

Learning Project improvement

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The steps of MSC

• Determine sorts of change to monitor
• Collect stories
• Review filter stories regularly (selection)
• Discuss communicate the results of selection
  (feedback)
• Verification of stories
• Quantification
• Secondary analysis and meta-monitoring
• Revising the system

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• A CASE STUDY
• OSI TANATA,
• BOUGAINVILLE, PNG

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Osi Tanata

• Background
• Formerly Oxfam New Zealand Program
• 8 staff
• Community development training
• income generation projects
• Main aims - reconciliation and reconstruction
• 2004 began to use MSC

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Collect Stories

• Central to MSC is the collection of a story of
  significant change
• Looking back over the last few months, in your
  opinion, what do you think was the most
  significant change that took place as a result of
  the support/ training you received from Osi
  Tanata?
• Two parts to the story
• Descriptive (describe change before/after)
• Explanatory (why significant to them/the
  community)

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• Stories were collected
• by Osi Tanata staff (some also collected by an
  external evaluator)
• from project beneficiaries
• How
• during an interview
• Using a story collection guide

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Story Selection

• A similar question is then used by those who read
  the stories which were collected
• From among all these significant changes, what
  do you think was the most significant change of
  all?
• The stories are reviewed by
• The Osi Tanata Staff (every 3 months)
• The Osi Tanata Board, and Oxfam New Zealand
  (every year)

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4. Feedback

• The stories are discussed to identify any
  emerging issues
• Are there any issues?
• Why did this happen?
• Action to be taken?
• What are the key learnings?
• The results of the selection and discussion
  process are communicated to staff

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• Exercise
• Imagine you are members of the board of Osi
  Tanata...
• Select the story you consider to be most
  significant

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Selection is a key tool of MSC!

• People dont like it necessarily
• It puts people out of their comfort zone
• Its a technique to get people to enter into
  deeper level of dialogue
• Its ensures people to really read the stories
• But its not about the choice - its about the
  dialogue! Its about surfacing values.

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Impact of MSC onOsi Tanata

• Staff gained a whole new view of impact
• Process boosted their morale
• Helped develop a more fully shared vision
• Gave a voice to the beneficiaries

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MSC and traditional monitoring
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• MSC User guide can be downloaded at
  www.clearhorizon.com.au
• Quick start guide can be downloaded at
  www.clearhorizon.com.au
• Public Training available through Clear Horizon
  twice a year
• In house training available on request
• E-group and repository of many papers from all
  over the world on MSC http//groups.yahoo.com/gro
  up/MostSignificantChanges