The Most significant Change Strategy

Implemented for the SCAMPIS Project (micro-irrigation and natural fertilization for vulnerable small-holders), to improve the M&E strategy and the International Learning/Sharing Platform (Learning Path).
Involved organizations:
IFAD (Water and Infrastructure desk)
Guatemala: Funcafé;
India: IDEI, OTELP, IFAD ICO)

Started in:
Guatemala - Oriental Region (April 2012)
India - Orissa Region (May 2012)

The Scampis MSC steps are

1 - Stories Collection by young reporters
A small group of young reportes (trained by Scampis staff, age between 12 - 16) interview farmers of their own community. Modaily interviewr, video recording and photos makers.

2 - Field level analysis
The project local staff analyse the videos collected on the field and discuss about i)Most Significant Change perceived by the interviewed ii) Most Significant Difficoulties iii) Innovations and Hidden aspects of the project. Among the almost 30 videos 10 are selected to continue the analysis process.

3 - National Level analysis
Project supervisor and National staff analyse the videos (same criteria mentioned above) and select 6 videos.

4 - International Level analysis
The partner counties and IFAD will do the analysis on the 6 videos selected

5 - Linking MSC to M&E data collection
The qualitative and quantitative information will be linked together in order to provide a overall comprhensive understanding of the project, the achievements and the strategies implemented. This will provide a useful tool for the future to design and implement effective strategies for scaling up micro-irrigation.

The variation  from the ufficial MSC process

The Scampis MSC has been introduced during the last stage of the project due to a concrete need to improve the understanding of the project, numbers and data collected were not enough to understand the real changes and their dimensions. Due to this late start the stories collection has not been a continuous and incremental process (as it should be in order to capture the real change - daily change and challenges). The strong interest in the implementing organization in developing and practicing the method to discover/understand  the project brought to the formulation of the Scampis MSC. In this strategy the collection of the stories is limited in the time and the analysis of the stories is extremely articulated and developed in order to be sure to internalize the knowledge and transform it in learning (learning for change). The cross countries analysis is a fundamental step for the process. The analysis developed at each stage is a way to let the staff recognize the impact of their activities and understand how to improve them.

The Scampis MSC strategy (India, MSC training, May 2012)



What is the Most Significant Change Technique?

Our reporters for the MSC!

 The Scampis MSC reporters in Guatemala!!

April 2012

Moyuta, Conguaco, Olopa, San Pedro Pinula, Camotàn.

Most Significant Change Training, Bhubaneswar, 9 – 10 May 2012

Objectives of the training

• Explain what the Most Significant Change (MSC) technique and practice MSC with participants
• Identification and planning of the MSC strategy for SCAMPIS project

Results of the training

         i.            The MSC has been presented and discussed in plenary. The participants understood the main differences between quantitative monitoring and qualitative monitoring. They also identified the differences between simple stories collection and MSC stories collection. The importance of not influencing the interviewed and create the good environment for letting him/her tell the own story has been captured through exercises. 

        ii.            The participants practices exercise for the stories collection and analysis

      iii.            The participant develop their own MSC strategy to apply in the fields in following 2 weeks 

             Participants

The workshop hosted 26 participants (see participants list annex) with roles and responsibilities coming from different organizations.

• Scampis staff: BA, VBM and dealer
• OTELP
• NGOs
• Farmers
• Facilitators: Cecilia Ruberto (IFAD); Tapan (IDEI)

The participants are all in the position to be the implementers and designer of the Most Significant Change for SCAMPIS India.

Methodology

Introduction of MSC. Why we use this tool, to achieve which results: learning and improve our work improve our activities planning. To learn and use the knowledge for a more effective activities. Also to know the hidden stories that are behind the use of MIS technologies, the secret interlinks with the real stories, with the context, families and villages relations, constraints faced in the process.

A great effort has been put on 3 points

-       Create the friendly environment conditions that enable to get the story of life

-       Analysis process: the purpose of the analysis process

-       Practice the technique understanding which are the critical points in implementing it

The participants divided per group following the different district in which they work identified the strategy to implement MSC. The participant decided t

Finally each participant received her/his participation certificate diploma.

The participants identified the following strategy to develop the MSC stories collection:

-       Organize village meeting and explain what MSC is about and identify farmers interested in sharing their story and kids interested in collecting the stories.

-       In a second moment (after few days) train the kids of the village in collecting the story, method of interview, use of flipcam and photograph machine.

-       In the same day of the training go to the farmers of their own village to collect the stories/interviews.

Training Participants Evaluation

The methodology has been overall considered useful and not complex to develop. Generally MSC has been identified as an appropriate tool not only to show the change at the field level, but also to reflect on the strategy adopted by the same staff. The work with group of kids has not identified as a barrier, on the contrary has been consider a good way to reflect the “real story of the farmers” and don’t influence it.

The staff will have the challenge to develop good training technique for the kids and to do so the collaboration between SCAMPIS, OTELP and NGO will be extremely useful (different skills and competencies).

“Previously we didn’t evaluate properly our work as we didn’t know how to do it. A proper evaluation will improve our plan and work”

“I hope I can use MSC for different projects. I will teach others to use this technique. I believe that this technique is good also to evaluate our own life”

“MSC allow people to say what they want to say”

“I feel that now I learn how to collect information and how to evaluate them”

“Previously I was thinking that that was and ordinary agricultural training, but then she discovered that was about a technique to collect stories for learning. OTELP always had difficulties in collecting stories, now we know that is not difficult. We do a lot of work but we are not able to show how our work bring the change. This tool will help us in improve our planning and knowledge”

“Until now I was used to do surveys, surveys are difficult. With the MSC we have a big responsibilities, thanks to MSC farmers will be able to express their own story to their village and friends. They will be happy.”

“I think we should share the videos with the same villages and communities where it has been recorded, this will encourage other farmers”

“The farmers not always think in terms of “change” the MSC will let them think in terms of change, they will explain the differences with the past”

Differences between M&E and MSC for the SCAMPIS project

M&E and MSC at glance for the SCAMPIS project	SCAMPIS M&E	SCAMPIS Most Significant Change	Our strategy in connecting M&E and MSC
	Focus on measurement (output and outcome data; simple and composite indicators)	Focus on real life experience	Integrate data information to the stories: each data will have its related quality example for each country that will provide not only the context but the linkages with the other indicators. Reading the Scampis M&E will be a “virtual” tour between people of the 3 countries. Not only project beneficiaries will be monitored/evaluated, but as well the partner performance and strategy. Will be captured the various different effect of the project involvement, there will not be any ranking of importance, only a categorization per topics. Thanks to the consolidated multi-sectorial information the analysis will be an important tool for strategies and organization improvement and renovation. (at every level: - beneficiaries; field staff; local staff; national organization; partners organization and international level).
	Closed questions	Open question
	Deductive	Inductive
	Static	Dynamic
	Objectivity is the driver of the analysis.	Subjectivity is the driver of the analysis.
	Central tendencies (even if participatory)	Decentralized tendencies: unexpected results
	•          About ‘proving’ Looking of confirmation/not confirmation of pre-established indicators.	•          About learning Looking for unexpected effects, try to understand than what caused
	Needed to see if the strategy implement is efficient or not.	Needed for improving and innovate strategies at various levels
	Possible to see possible outcomes, but not impacts	Help us to pre-view possible impacts of the project