News / M4P Resources

Following a discussion paper for an M4P WEE framework written by Dr Linda Jones for the M4P Hub, this paper represents the second phase of the Women’s Economic Empowerment in M4P series.

SDC published a synthesis of its recent e-discussion with the e+I network, held from 19 March to 10 April 2012. The discussion on Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) in Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) projects was the first e-discussion of SDC’s e+I Network in 2012, organised in collaboration with the M4P Hub.

A new case study of the Samriddhi project documenting lessons from market systems development in Bangladesh is now available to download on the Hub website. Samriddhi combined SDC-supported projects of Livelihood, Empowerment and Agroforestry (LEAF) and Sustainable Access to Agroforestry Knowledge, Technology and Information (SAAKTI), which have contributed to remarkable achievements in the provision of information, knowledge and technology to rural small-holders.

This briefing paper provides an overview of the facilitation approach to project implementation adopted by USAID, which attempts to address the challenges of achieving sustainability and scale in value chain or market systems development.

The M4P Hub is coordinating a multi-step process aimed at strengthening women’s economic empowerment (WEE) issues within the M4P framework. Dr. Linda Jones produced a discussion paper that was presented at the M4P Hub Conference in November 2011, where additional input from donors and practitioners was captured to gather collective perceptions from the M4P community.

Monitoring and evaluating programmes that take a market systems approach presents a distinct set of challenges. As the number and scope of market systems programmes grows, finding solutions for robust measurement of impact is an increasingly central task.
We share here the views of two presenters at the M4P Hub conference that met a growing interest in measuring results from both practitioners and donors.

Mohammad Muaz Jalil of Katalyst (Swisscontact) shared the lessons learnt and experience gained by Katalyst, during its work in bringing about a systemic perspective within the training systems for health workers in Bangladesh.

Rajesh Jain (ACCESS Development Services) and Sonali Chowdhary (The SEEP Network) presented lessons in engaging government through urban value chain development drawn from the experience of the Jaipur Jewellery Development programme (JJADe, 2007-2011).