INTRODUCING M4SDI

CHANGING CONTEXT OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

SUMMARY

WHAT M4SDI IS ABOUT

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Understand what M4SDI is

• Appreciate the need for managing for sustainable development impact within a changing context

This chapter sets out what M4SDI is about and how it connects to challenges in the management of development initiatives/organizations, which aim to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs or Global Goals). SDGs represent a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The 17 interconnected SDGs build on the successes and setbacks of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and their scope has been broadened to include new areas such as climate change, economic inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace and justice. The SDGs call for an integrated approach to address these global challenges. M4SDI, an integrated approach to managing organizations and development initiatives, can help governments, the private sector, NGOs, civil society and individuals respond effectively to these challenges and contribute to the achievement of set goals.

This approach provides ideas on strengthening the capacity of initiatives/organizations, including the competencies of individuals, to get their act together in responding effectively to complex (global) challenges.

INTRODUCING M4SDI

The M4SDI approach has evolved within the context of international development to contribute to the (collective) capacity and competencies of leaders, development practitioners and other change agents to guide development initiatives/organizations towards fulfilling their mission. M4SDI can be applied in various development settings including projects, programmes, organizations, networks, alliances, as well as in business enterprises. Each form of organization will have its own structure, context, management style and mission, so M4SDI in a development project setting will look quite different from M4SDI in the context of a business enterprise.

The approach was developed particularly for leaders and development practitioners engaged in more complex change processes, where the context is dynamic and unpredictable, requiring a need to respond quickly. It is part of a family of approaches used for well-informed planning and decision-making processes in initiatives/organizations. Others include results-based management (RBM) and managing for development results (MfDR). M4SDI differs from these approaches by actively engaging people in processes of understanding and adapting to the context, partnering in making explicit and adapting the Theories of Change (ToC) and turning M&E into an active instrument for learning and decision-making. M4SDI incorporates ideas and practices from other approaches, and draws on a range of readily available methods/tools. 'Managing' in M4SDI is about navigating complexity towards sustainable development impact.

The M4SDI approach consists of core processes, underpinned by key orientations that determine the nature and scope of these processes, and supported by communication and capacities and conditions to implement these core processes (see Figure 1.1). The core processes include strategic guidance, effective operations and monitoring and evaluation (M&E).

Management processes take place in a specific context and involve people from very diverse backgrounds in terms of their interests, values and perspectives. In M4SDI, it is important to deal with this diversity, and to engage people in a process of shared learning, to gain their commitment, support and perspectives for informed decision-making. This requires people and learning orientation. Further, it is necessary to keep a close eye on the context in order to learn from what emerges, and respond or adapt to any changes in the environment (context orientation). For these processes to function smoothly, key orientations, capacities and conditions and communication are crucial.

Strategic guidance is about managing strategic processes towards sustainable development impact. It includes understanding the situation and its context, making explicit assumptions about how change happens (ToC) and developing strategies towards agreed (visions of) changes. It also includes navigating within a complex and changing context, using information generated through M&E, as well as providing leadership with strategic thinking, strategic foresight and systems thinking.

Effective operations are about turning your strategic plans and ideas into action, and include project management, finance management, human resource management, operational planning, procurement and contract management, maintenance management, information management, and coordination and communication.

Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) are about informing strategic and operational decision-making. This includes monitoring what works and doesn't and what emerges in a complex context.

People orientation is about acknowledging the central role that human interactions play in complex development processes. This involves engaging people meaningfully to understand and work with others in contexts involving different interests, perspectives, relationships, and power dynamics. Strong leadership competencies and facilitation skills are crucial.

Learning orientation is about enhancing learning and creating an environment where learning takes place at the individual, group, organizational and societal levels. This includes not only understanding, but also sense-making to inform strategic and operational decision-making. Engaging people in planning processes and M&E makes these processes more meaningful and enhances the utility of M&E findings and related processes.

Context orientation is about understanding and responding to the internal and external environments in which an initiative/organization operates. This includes understanding: the wider setting (e.g. political dynamics, policies, future trends, key actors, etc.); the specific context (e.g. community setting); organizational structures and processes underpinning the initiative/organization; and the dynamics of staff and stakeholders. Responses to these dynamics need to be situational specific, and require strategic and systems thinking.

Capacities and conditions are about shaping to the readiness of leaders and practitioners to engage in and manage a development initiative/organization towards sustainable development impact. This includes having the capacity and competencies to implement initiatives effectively and responsibly and creating conditions conducive to facilitating change.

Communication is integral to all the M4SDI processes and is the basis for good relationships and collaboration, which are especially important when working in complex contexts.

The various elements of the M4SDI approach operate against the backdrop of maintaining the sustainable development impact focus and much effort is required to ensure that they work in unison to provide successful results (see Figure 1.1). This requires strategic choices on appropriate processes within a particular context.

CHANGING CONTEXT OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

A range of factors have had a marked influence on the international development landscape. They include increased global connectivity as seen in globalization, availability and use of mobile technologies, shifting power dynamics in the world, the increasing role of the private sector in development, and a rising demand for evidence of impact. In addition to these, there is increasing focus on scaling, (public-private) partnerships, and interdisciplinary approaches and teams. Together, these factors have resulted in a more complex and multifaceted environment, with important implications for management practices, strategic planning and M&E in development initiatives/organizations. Below are some conditions which shape the context of international development and how M4SDI seeks to connect to them.

Complex challenges

The development landscape has become increasingly complex. Many of the issues that we face, such as poverty (SDG 1), food insecurity and malnutrition (SDG 2), and climate change (SDG 13) call for partnerships to address these sustainable development challenges (SDG 17). According to the United Nations (2017), 'a successful sustainable development agenda requires partnerships between governments, the private sector and civil society. These inclusive partnerships built upon principles and values, a shared vision, and shared goals that place people and the planet at the center, are needed at the global, regional, national and local levels'. And in fact, the private sector is now playing a more active role in partnerships with the government and civil society. These partnerships, however, need good leadership (see Chapter 3) with strategic competencies like strategic thinking (Chapter 4) and systems thinking (Chapters 2 and 4), and call for an in-depth understanding of the situation and continuous adaptation to a changing environment (seeChapter 2, Chapter 3 section 'Context orientation', Chapter 6 section 'Theory of Change' and Chapter 8 section 'Trends in M&E').

To address the problems mentioned above, Buanes and Jentoft (2009: 446) state that 'contributions from many disciplines are needed with inputs that should preferably be balanced and integrated. Therefore, interdisciplinarity gains increasing support from scientists, policy-makers and funding agencies', but that structural and cultural barriers need to be addressed to support interdisciplinarity. Scaling is another issue that is getting increasing attention. Wigboldus and Brouwers (2016: 16), refer to scaling as 'strategies and approaches ... [aimed at realizing] the potential of relatively isolated inventions, innovations, and developments benefitting people and situations more widely'. Complexities need to be taken seriously in scaling. In the analysis, design, and strategic guidance of envisaged scaling initiatives, a transdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder approach needs to be considered.

Increasing pressure to show results and define Theories of Change

There is growing pressure from both funding agencies and the general public to show concrete results of how development interventions have affected the lives of the people targeted, or the environment they live in. This has resulted in a shift in emphasis from outputs to the demand for reporting on outcomes (i.e. the changes that come about as a result of an initiative, especially behavioural change, but also changes in awareness, motivation, skills, and knowledge) and impact. In relation to this, there has been an increasing request by funders to demonstrate a Theory of Change (see Chapter 6) for a development initiative.

The changing role of M&E

There is increasing demand for M&E though much of this still relates to external reporting requirements (proving) rather than to enhancing the ability to guide processes strategically towards impact (improving). This is perhaps linked to prevailing ideas reflected in some definitions of evaluation (see Chapter 8, section 'Trends in M&E'), which emphasize accountability rather than seeing it more in terms of a dynamic process of evaluative thinking. As a result, the role of M&E in M4SDI is often ignored, along with the information and insights generated. Gradually, however, this is changing and there is recognition that these processes can be used not only for accountability purposes, but also for self-assessment and learning (in terms of what worked and what didn't) and that stakeholders need to be involved in this. More and more initiatives/organizations are engaging multiple stakeholders and forming partnerships and strategic alliances in learning-oriented monitoring and evaluation processes to provide evidence and inform strategic and operational decision making. M4SDI offers ideas on connecting accountability with self-assessment, learning (from failure, success or emerging issues) and how to engage stakeholders in the various processes. However, whilst knowledge and experience on meaningfulM&E have grown, the capacities and conditions to support this still need strengthening. This includes not only M&E competence development, but also streamlining M&E between partners and providing the necessary resources to undertake useful, and evidence-based evaluation.

Scaling

The topic of scaling is high on the agenda of development initiatives. In this context, it is essentially about seeing the benefits of initiatives and innovations go beyond the initial focus groups/areas in which they emerged. However, in many cases development initiatives have not thought this through very well. Theories of Change rarely articulate how scaling is expected to happen, or rather linear perspectives are dominant in which complexities involved in scaling processes have not been addressed. The effects can be twofold: 1) scaling does not happen or only in a very limited way, 2) scaling does happen, but has adverse economic, social, and/or environmental effects. What is good at a small scale or in one place (e.g. a particular country) may not necessarily work out positively at a larger scale or region. This means that we need to take scaling processes more seriously, e.g. by articulating a Theory of Scaling to enhance readiness to engage effectively and responsibly with scaling processes. This includes asking questions such as: Why would this go to scale? What if this goes to scale? Who drives the scaling agenda and who would ultimately benefit? Scaling is rarely a process which can be directed by one group or organization. It usually involves and affects a range of stakeholders as well as processes which cannot be controlled. This means we need to often start thinking in new ways about scaling processes.

Public-private partnerships (PPPs)

Public-private partnerships (PPPs), sometimes referred to as P3s or public finance initiatives (PIFs), are mechanisms or long-term arrangements that governments enter into with the private sector to provide works and services to the public. These may include public infrastructure such as bridges, roads and schools, as well as social services such as the provision of on-the-job training, subsidized housing and health services. PPPs are a good way for governments to procure efficient services. There has been growing interest in PPPs since the financial crisis in 2008, as many cash-strapped governments see the private sector as an additional source of funding to improve infrastructure, provide essential services and share risks and responsibilities. PPPs are also a way to: improve the capabilities of local firms by entering into joint ventures with international firms; introduce new technology to enhance government services; assist in the provision of social services and works where government resources are stretched. Managing PPPs requires strong leadership with strategic competencies to bring about sustainable development impact. Strong management is also needed to ensure that PPPs operate efficiently and transparently.

Integrated approaches/transdisciplinarity

Transdisciplinarity refers to the integration of academic knowledge from various disciplines and non-academic knowledge. Throughout the research process academic and nonacademic stakeholders are in dialogue. Societal renewal more and more takes place at the interface of disciplines with synergy between multiple actors. There is growing recognition in the value of sharing insights between disciplines and with people with different experiences in order to bridge the gap between theory and practice, stimulate creativity and out-of-the-box thinking and develop more comprehensive approaches to tackle the problems we face today. However, there are not many examples of transdisciplinary cooperation, which can be attributed in part to structural and cultural barriers. As a result, Buanes and Jentoft (2009: 453) call for a change in the way people review proposals and point to the fact that this is difficult because 'norms, values and worldviews are deeply embedded in this professionalization, and would tend to work against it'. Given that change does not come about overnight, what is important now is for us to start laying the foundation for a culture of transdisciplinarity to emerge. A study by Shahin et al. (2014: 7) for the European Commission proposes a 'smart approach' that includes 'structuring projects [initiatives] in order to enhance the role of the different disciplines' and 'structuring call texts and using additional tools and mechanisms to ensure that useful interaction across disciplines is guaranteed'.

Methodological debate on what is considered evidence

There has been a push towards generating and using credible evidence of meaningful outcomes and impact in order to support policy- and decision-making processes. The methods used to assess such evidence have consequently become very important, sparking the debate on the reliability of the methods used to obtain this evidence. For example, some people believe that only scientific knowledge should be considered as evidence, while others think that socially-constructed knowledge can be used as evidence. In any event, what is clear is that there are different paradigms and theories and this has implications for the methods and approaches used in M&E (see Chapter 8 section 'Trends in M&E').

Proliferation of information

The information and guidance documents on planning, monitoring, and evaluation are countless. This may be overwhelming for many. So, how do you choose what to work with? M4SDI helps navigate the multifaceted options, shows ideas on connecting or integrating methods and methodologies, and offers ideas on how to make choices in designing a tailor-made approach to manage for sustainable development impact.