This track explored practical examples of solutions and challenges related to transforming food market systems along the critical thematic areas of strengthening food market system competitiveness, inclusiveness, resilience and nutrition sensitivity. We focused on collaborative approaches that are reshaping rules and incentives, shifting behaviors, and promoting shared standards and principles across market and food systems. 

A-Card: Decentralized Digital Banking for Smallholder Farmers in Bangladesh

Chaired by CARE

This session discussed financial inclusion for smallholder farmers, especially women farmers through the “A-Card” model (A for Agricultural). This approach helps smallholder farmers participate in the formal banking system, increasing productivity by giving farmers access to an appropriate loan product. A-Card also helps local market actors to increase their sales, local microfinance organizations to open up new revenue streams as bank agents and commercial banks to reach millions of non-banked farmers they couldn’t previously reach. Session participants learnt how the financial model works in Bangladesh and how inclusive finance can be used to support improvements in production, value addition and trade.

Speakers: Tania Sharmin, CARE | Emily Janoch, CARE | Kazi Ashraful Hassan, Society Development Committee (SDC)

Data-driven Agriculture: The Future of Smallholder Farmer Data Management and Use

Chaired by Grameen Foundation

Data and technology exist to solve many constraints that many farmers face, but they are fragmented and not all service providers or farmers have equal access to them. “Big Data” could bring fragmented data, resources and service providers together to build a supportive farmer ecosystem capable of providing smallholder farmers with financial services, market access and input supplies and information services. Digitizing this ecosystem can improve transparency and trust among farmers and service providers, and improve farmer’s integration into value chains. This session presented three case studies highlighting innovative approaches to the development and use of smallholder farmer profile data.

Speakers: Gigi Gatti, Grameen Foundation | Bobbi Gray, Grameen Foundation | David J Spielman, IFPRI | Drew Marticorena, aWhere

Is Private Sector the Linchpin to Improving the Food System?

Chaired by ACDI/VOCA

Nutritionists and development practitioners more broadly have often hesitated to engage with the private sector to achieve social or humanitarian goals. However, there is a business case that can be built for the private sector’s role in helping to achieve nutrition outcomes, and the development community has a lot to gain from the expertise and knowledge the private sector brings on shifting consumer behavior and improving food environments. In this quick-fire forum, representatives from the private sector and NGOs working in this space shared their innovative approaches to creating synergies toward a healthier world.

Speakers: Ladd, ACDI/VOCA | Bonnie McClafferty, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) | Hannah Guedenet, Tanager | Felix Church-Brooks, Sanku

Joining Forces for Last Mile Nutrition: Increasing Availability, Affordability and Accessibility

Chaired by World Vision International

This session shared experiences of public-private-partnership (PPP) between World Vision International, Royal DSM (private sector) and Sight and Life Foundation (research think tank), from Rwanda and Indonesia. In Rwanda, resilience frameworks are being applied to food systems through local sourcing and strengthening cooperatives’ capacity to build resilient, inclusive food market systems to improve income and address nutrition needs. In Indonesia, sequencing of the supply and demand for eggs increases availability, affordability and accessibility of eggs, and is enhanced with social marketing to encourage increased consumption, particularly by vulnerable populations. Participants learnt through these examples the “what and how” of harnessing each other’s unique capabilities to maximize collective leverage, coverage and influence across nutrition value chains.

Speakers: Yvonne Bakken, Royal DSM | Klaus Kraemer, Sight and Life Foundation | Jean de Bonheur Munyandamutsa, World Vision International | Leonita Setyawati, Wahana Visi Indonesia

Trading Up to Agricultural Transformation: Smallholder Crop Aggregation and Markets

Chaired by DAI

Come share your experience in quick-paced collaboration stations as we look at how today’s African food systems shift to meet the needs of rapidly urbanizing populations. Trade between food-surplus and food-deficit nations in Africa is essential every year, but still difficult to make work to benefit SHFs. Home stores, village grain banks, agent networks, agro-dealers, small traders, Large-Scale Traders, backward-integrated processors, food reserve agencies and decentralized school feeding programs are all in the aggregation mix. And what about those commodity exchanges? Let’s learn!

Speakers: Don Humpal, DAI | Gerald Masila, East Africa Grain Council | William J. Burke, Michigan State University

This track explored the multiple approaches that organizations are using to address resilience issues in communities. We learnt from successful and experimental approaches to shelter programming, youth resilience, market systems, and institutional learning that can support more resilient livelihoods and markets.

CLA on the Fast Track: Iterative Learning in Crisis Settings

Chaired by Global Communities

In crisis settings caused by conflict and disasters, development actors are constantly challenged to respond to evolving needs and adapt to fluid situations. Timely information is difficult to collect and analyze due to limited access, tight deadlines and pervasive uncertainty. Using a quick-fire forum, four practitioners will share methods from the Collaborating, Learning and Adapting Toolkit (CLA), which was used to improve their response in the face of rapid change and extreme vulnerability. Participants heard donor and NGO perspectives from Yemen, South Sudan, Nigeria and Liberia about success factors, techniques and strategies for collaborating, learning and adapting to achieve measurable and systemic impacts.

Speakers: Jake Thomsen, Creative Associates International | Apollo Nkwake, Education Development Center | Emmanuel Gumbiri, Global Communities | Laura McAdams, USAID

Designing Effective Programs to Build Youth Resilience in Fragile Contexts

Chaired by FHI 360

In this session, participants learnt how to help youth successfully build resilience using holistic, multi-sector approaches with elements of positive youth development. Participants learnt what program elements might work with youth in your work context based on examples of programs implemented by FHI 360 and World Vision International in various contexts in Latin America and Africa. Using a quick-fire style panel with generous time for discussion, the audience engaged with experienced colleagues and development practitioners who had observed, planned and implemented youth programs.

Speakers: Diana Rutherford, FHI 360 | Kristin Brady, FHI 360 | Aaron Ausland, World Vision International | Olga Merchán, USAID

Moving Beyond Skill-building: Linking Refugees with Market Opportunities

Chaired by Making Cents International

Six years into the Syrian war, no peaceful resolution is in sight, and humanitarian actors are grappling with how to devise long-term economic solutions that build refugee resilience. Two organizations, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) supported by Making Cents International, have developed holistic employment and self-employment pathways for Syrian refugees living in Jordan in collaboration with local partners and the private sector. During this session, participants explored models and tools being used to build Syrian livelihoods, learnt about program results and discussed the challenges and barriers to supporting refugee populations in an evolving policy environment.

Speakers: Sawsan Issa, International Rescue Committee (IRC) | Anne Bitga, Making Cents International | Jason Andrews, Norwegian Refugee Council

Beyond Commodities: Market Approaches Fit for Emergency Shelter Response

Chaired by Habitat for Humanity

Are shelter markets different from the commodity markets that we are comfortable assessing for humanitarian response? Humanitarians are increasingly using market-based approaches, and with less than 10 percent of displaced households receiving shelter assistance following a disaster, the sector seeks to increase impact through market-based programming. However, we struggle to include this strategy in our repertoire partly because assessment tools are not giving practitioners the information needed for appropriate response analysis. Join Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Habitat for Humanity and Notre Dame University to learn how we are addressing these challenges by adapting tools and guidance for the sector.

Speakers: Jennifer Weatherall, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) | Sheldon Yoder, Habitat for Humanity | Jessan Catre, Habitat for Humanity | Jenna Ahn, Notre Dame University

Analysis to Action: Applying Market Systems Approaches in Protracted Crises

Chaired by Mercy Corps

There has been a global call to action that crisis response needs to change in order to respond to fluid contexts and begin building resilience in protracted crises. This session covered practical approaches to support better market analysis and systems-driven programming in Northeast Nigeria, the Middle East and globally. Mercy Corps and Danish Refugee Council (DRC) reflected critically on their journey to engage field teams in analysis and program design. From the donor perspective, USAID/OFDA shared lessons from evolving guidance on market systems recovery, and each presenter highlighted how their approaches had helped to improve programming, hard-learned lessons and strategies for the future.

Speakers: Louisa Seferis, Danish Refugee Council | Alison Hemberger, Mercy Corps | Danielle Jolicoeur, Mercy Corps | Laura Meissner, USAID

Market Systems Resilience: What Is It and Why Is It Important?

Chaired by EcoVentures International

How can the concept of resilience be applied to the individual, household, community and society level as the aggregate patterns of interaction and behaviors in market systems? This session explored the concept of “market systems resilience” and discuss its importance and application within market development contexts, and application to USAID’s resilience agenda. The session drew on examples from Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. Key questions include: What is market systems resilience? How is market systems resilience important to sustainability? And how is USAID integrating market systems resilience at the mission level?

Speakers: Michael Field, EcoVentures International | Sashi Jayatileke, USAID | Jeanne Downing, Independent Consultant

This track explored collaborative change processes that address systemic barriers affecting large numbers of women and girls in key economic areas, while tapping into new opportunities. We specifically emphasized themes that cut across enterprise growth/job creation, agriculture development, and inclusive finance.

Leveling the Regulatory Playing Field for Women's Wage Employment

Chaired by Nathan Associates

This session highlighted findings from recent and forthcoming reports and analysis to understand how policies and regulations limit or enable women to enter, remain and advocate in the workforce. We explored policies that we, as development practitioners, could promote government and private sector to implement in order to increase women's economic opportunities. The session discussed challenges of addressing restrictive policies and how donors could move the needle. Participants were then grouped by sub-topics and presenters facilitated discussions around the application of policies around: equal pay, occupational restrictions, women's decision-making, leave and care policies, among others.

Speakers: Shauna Olney, International Labour Organization (ILO) | Laura Addati, International Labour Organization | Lis Meyers, Nathan Associates | Anastasia de Santos, USAID

Collaborating with Businesses: Women's ROI in the Workplace

Chaired by MarketShare Associates/AWEF

Funded by the U.K. Department for International Development and working in Jordan and Egypt, the Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF) stimulates increased women’s economic empowerment through a market systems approach. The session presented the findings from AWEF’s work within the ready-made garments sector in Egypt to value women’s access and agency in the workplace. The session showcased different perspectives, including donors, the private sector and practitioner views. Participants learnt about practical lessons learned and explore a key new tool for calculating return on investment on women’s access and agency in the workplace.

Speakers: Nandi Hall, AWEF/ DAI | Yomna Mustafa, AWEF | Kate Cooper, DFID | Mohammad Ezzat, Network for Employment Promotion | Julia Lipowiecka, AWEF/MarketShare Associates

Addressing Sex-based Harassment in Workplaces: Unleashing Women's Economic Potential

Chaired by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)

This evidence-based session discussed how sex-based harassment deters women from entering labor markets and curtails their participation and contributions. Presenters shared findings on the magnitude and cost of the problem,
the types of legal and regulatory frameworks that needed to be in place and an exploration of underlying gendered power imbalances and toxic masculinities that needed to be addressed in order to prevent sex-based harassment. A case study from China illustrated opportunities for engaging with industry associations, employers and civil society to improve employer practices in addressing sexual harassment.

Speakers: Theodore Rizzo, ICRW | Lis Meyers, Nathan Associates | Brian Heilman, Promundo | Ji Hongbo, The Asia Foundation

Money, Power and the Risk of Violence

Chaired by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)

This session brought together innovators in women’s economic empowerment from very different social contexts in Nepal, Cambodia and Burundi to discuss their learnings and solutions around gender-based violence (GBV) and empowerment interventions. Participants learnt how program design could minimize unintended negative consequences, such as GBV, and how to monitor and measure the effects of women’s growing economic power on GBV.

Speakers: Maureen Miruka, CARE | Ramona Ridolfi, Hellen Keller International | Neetu John, ICRW 

Progress through Partnerships: Engaging Market Actors for Women's Empowerment

Chaired by Chemonics

Brokering strong partnerships built on shared value and common incentives can be the foundation for sustainability—especially critical when facing the multifaceted challenges of promoting women's economic participation in complex operating environments. Three different actors in Pakistan – the USAID mission, the USAID Punjab Enabling Environment Project, and the Pakistan Partnerships in Inclusive Seed Systems activity– are navigating their complex environment by facilitating and leveraging partnerships with public and private market actors to ensure sustainable interventions and commitments to women's economic empowerment. We heard about everything from mobile training buses to women's forums, and other solutions only made possible by partnerships

Speakers: Muhammad Junaid, Chemonics | Zahra Mir, Chemonics | Majid Mirza, MEDA | Asad Ullah, USAID

Why Can't We Close the Gender Digital Divide?

Chaired by FHI 360

Those in traditional development sectors often eschew digital development as a distraction. Development technologists often forget that people (and the power dynamics between them) are at the root of development, and women in poverty lose in both cases. Why does technology “fail” women so often, and why do traditional development, and gender programs ignore technology to reach women that they otherwise cannot? This collaboration station session touched on the state of the gender digital divide and, through an interactive exercise, participants each created a gender equitable solution based on complex but realistic scenarios provided.

Speakers: Revi Sterling, FHI 360 | Elise Young, FHI 360 | Melissa Persaud, Viamo

Empowerment for Girls and Youth: What Works, What Doesn't?

Chaired by BRAC USA

The existing research on youth employment in low-income countries is not encouraging. But a few programs stand out in terms of their ability to build human capital on a cost-effective basis, with especially strong evidence for multi-pronged, holistic interventions targeting girls. These programs tend to deliver a packaged set of hard and soft skills and have succeeded on multiple indicators where many standalone interventions have failed. The evidence from these programs suggests that it’s hard to have social empowerment without economic empowerment and vice versa.

Speakers: Tasmiah Rahman, BRAC USA | Silvia Paruzzolo, Save the Children | Markus Goldstein, World Bank | Narayan Das, BRAC

This track, first presented at the 2016 SEEP Annual Conference, explored effective methods for collecting both "new" and "traditional" data and then transforming it into useful evidence to understand real-time needs, improve decision-making at multiple levels, promote learning, influence policy, and increase overall development impact.

Fulfilling Project Evidence Needs: A Customer-centric Approach to Measuring Impact

Chaired by DAI

In this interactive session, market systems and M&E practitioners explored the opportunities (and limitations) of using data collected by businesses to fulfill a project’s evidence needs both in terms of learning for market system change and for donor monitoring and reporting requirements. Participants learnt how to incentivize and support partners to track and use evidence as it relates to customer satisfaction and growth strategies, creating positive market system change while responding to donor monitoring and reporting requirements. Critical questions were addressed, such as: Why don’t market actors value evidence as a general rule? How can development practitioners improve market systems so that companies use evidence and make better decisions? And how far can market systems approaches go to meet both the data needs of market actors for their own businesses purposes, as well as learning and adaptation projects?

Speakers: Venu Aggarwal, Acumen | Luca Crudeli, DAI | Margie Brand, EcoVentures International | Meghan Bolden, MarketShare Associates

Fast and Slow Evidence: What Works Best in Different Contexts?

Chaired by Nathan Associates

From fast, high-frequency data for adaptive management to slow, large-scale quantitative and qualitative research projects, it is evident that getting the right evidence and using it effectively is essential in all development contexts. We illustrated different challenges and solutions with a focus on financial inclusion interventions. Factors such as costeffectiveness, collaborative working, private sector engagement and sustainable market systems approaches were explored. There was an audience-led, hands-on “ideas workshop” looking at various development scenarios where we brainstormed innovative approaches and highlight the necessity of collaborative working to deliver the greatest impact. 

Speakers: Elvis Mushi, FSD Tanzania | Samuel J. Schueth, InterMedia | Paul Enrico Neumann, LIFT Ethiopia | Collins Marita, Mercy Corps | Amalia Johnsson, Nathan Associates

Impact for Change: Social Norm Transformation for Women's Empowerment

Chaired by International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

Social norms are often the unexplained challenge in creating successful and sustainable programs for women’s economic empowerment. They are invisible, deeply ingrained and hard to change, but there is some evidence to support that change is possible. This session presented lessons from studies and evaluations rooted in various contexts. From collectivization and peer networks to indicators measuring agency and attitude change, presenters discussed effective tools, mechanisms and programs that have evidence of social norm change. Session participants came away with an understanding of the importance of social norms in the context of women’s economic empowerment, the ways to measure norm change and early evidence on how norms can both limit and enhance empowerment through various evaluated programs.

Speakers: Sabina Rashid, BRAC Bangladesh | Alejandra Vargas Garcia, IDRC | Lucia Diaz Martin, JPAL | Julia Cardoni, MUVA | Rachel Marcus, Overseas Development Institute

Integrating Resilience Measurement into Practice: Bridging the Gap

Chaired by Mercy Corps

Need some practical approaches for integrating resilience measurement into program monitoring and evaluation systems? Wondering if resilience measurement can lead to improved collaboration, learning and adapting in programs? This session would be valuable to anyone grappling with accessible methods for measuring resilience in market systems or multi-sector programs. Session participants learnt practical approaches to measuring the contribution of program interventions to resilience building from leading resilience measurement experts and practitioners, and how this evidence could be incorporated and used for program decision-making and motivating collaboration across program teams. We also explored modalities for collaboration, learning and adapting using resilience evidence both within program teams and across agencies and programs.

Speakers: Olga Petryniak, Mercy Corps | Dinee Tamang, Mercy Corps | Tilahun Asmare, Mercy Corps | Keith B. Ives, Causal Design

M&E for Markets: Building Evidence, Tracking Distortion, and Measuring Success

Chaired by Chemonics

Analyzing a market system for inefficiencies or distortion can be daunting. How do we decide what to measure? How can we use data to ensure interventions don’t distort local markets? How do we measure success? In this session, we discussed key issues in designing M&E approaches for market systems. We grounded this discussion in the humanitarian context by hearing about the Local and Regional Procurement Learning Alliances’ updates to the MARKit price monitoring and response kit, and in the development context by hearing about the USAID Agriculture and Rural Development Support Program’s evidence-driven pilot that triggered unexpected systemic change.

Speakers: Dina Brick, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) | Kseniya Sydorkina, Chemonics | Kristin O'Planick, USAID

Systemic M&E for Food Security and Nutrition

Chaired by EcoVentures International

The USAID Bureau for Food Security is preparing standards in Systemic M&E to assess outcomes and impact for food security and nutrition as it relates to market systems development contexts. This session shared findings from a recent literature review conducted by the Feed the Future Enabling Environment for Food Security project for USAID’s Bureau for Food Security. It highlighted resulting conclusions around measuring systemic change and the most effective indicators in doing so. The findings were highly relevant to market systems development and food security programs globally.

Speakers: Margie Brand, EcoVentures International | Meaghan Murphy, Fintrac | Elizabeth Dunn, Heifer International | Tatiana Pulido, USAID

Show me the Data: ICT Solutions for Real-time Agriculture Extension

Chaired by RTI International

Given that the average shelf-life of a mobile application is 6 months, when does it make sense to invest in an app? Who pays for long-term services linked to the app? After investing in development, does it really have a lasting impact? This armchair chat shared the experiences from two panelists about ICT solutions for agriculture extension, CommAgri in Senegal and Smallholdr in Malawi, to stimulate a discussion on when it makes sense to introduce ICT solutions, explore the prerequisite conditions for maximizing system adoption, and common pitfalls to avoid when investing in tools. Come with questions and ICT failures and successes to share.

Speakers: Anthony Connor, Dimagi | Hillary McCall, Souktel | Jo Anne Yeager Sallah, RTI International