Starting strong: Getting inception right in projects using the MSD approach

What do hurdling and managing development cooperation projects have in common? Clattering into the first hurdle can be hard to recover from!

A faltering start can be especially detrimental for projects using the market systems development (MSD) approach, where the relationship between higher-level results, expenditure and time is not linear. Projects in ‘catch-up mode’ may also face pressures from stakeholders to re-evaluate their approach, encounter new internal and external relationship management challenges, and risk falling even further out of rhythm.

Based on extensive one-on-one interviews and discussions, this brief explores many of the commonly encountered project start-up challenges and suggests recommendations that implementing organizations can employ to navigate them more effectively. It also looks into the role of the funder in enabling smoother starts.