The Most Significant Change (MSC) technique is a form of participatory monitoring and evaluation. It is participatory because many project stakeholders are involved, both in deciding the sorts of change to be recorded and in analysing the data. It is a form of monitoring because it occurs throughout the program cycle and provides information to help people manage the program. It contributes to evaluation because it provides data on impact and outcomes that can be used to help assess the performance of the program as a whole. It helps identify values that prevail in an organization and unexpected changes.
WHEN TO USE IT AND WHY
MSC is not just about collecting and reporting stories, but about having processes to learn from these stories – in particular, to learn about the similarities and differences in what different groups and individuals value. MSC can be very helpful in explaining HOW change comes about (processes and causal mechanisms) and WHEN (in what situations and contexts). It can therefore be useful to support the development of program theory (theory of change, logic models).
MSC is most useful when it is not possible to predict in any detail or with any certainty what the outcome of a certain activity will be. It is also very helpful when there may not yet be agreements between stakeholders on what outcomes are the most important. MSC can also be included when interventions are expected to be highly participatory, including any forms of monitoring and evaluation of the results.
MSC is most useful when it is not possible to predict in any detail or with any certainty what the outcome of a certain activity will be. It is also very helpful when there may not yet be agreements between stakeholders on what outcomes are the most important. MSC can also be included when interventions are expected to be highly participatory, including any forms of monitoring and evaluation of the results.
HOW TO?
The complete process typically considers ten steps:
- Raising interest: explaining to stakeholders what MSC is, and how it can be useful
- Defining the domains of change and reporting period: what kinds of change are we interested in? Over weeks, months or years?
- Defining the stakeholders to write MSCs: Who will join? Will participants be internal or external persons? Are they all project beneficiaries?
- Collecting MSC stories: giving all stakeholders the key question we want answered, and collecting hard copies or other formats
- Selecting the most significant stories
- Feeding back the results of the selection process, following a set of pre-defined criteria
- Verification of stories: checking their veracity, and then gathering further information (especially on those stories that were seen as particularly significant)
- Quantification: Is it possible to quantify the extent of MSC in various locations over time?
- Secondary analysis and meta monitoring, checking who participated in the exercise, and how did this participation influenced the results
- Revising the system: Using the lessons learnt to improve the MSC process itself.
WHAT DO YOU NEED?
MSC techniques takes time and need to be repeated through several cycles.
- writing material
- audio recording material
- story recording form
MORE INFORMATION
- Davies, R. and J. Dart, 2005. The Most Significant Change (MSC) technique: A guide to its use. This publication is aimed at organisations, community groups, students and academics who wish to use MSC to help monitor and evaluate their social change programs and projects, or to learn more about how it can be used.