MarketShare Associates

MarketShare Associates (MSA) is an economic and social development consulting firm.
Market systems development, job creation, international trade, economic empowerment, financial inclusion, and impact investing. The firm provides services in research, monitoring and evaluation, strategic advisory, and thought leadership.
MSA has worked in over 50 countries across six continents.Devex, "MarketShare Associates (MSA)," Devex, https://www.devex.com/organizations/marketshare-associates-msa-104012/.</ref> MSA’s partners and clients include international organizations, international development agencies,corporate foundations,think tanks, academia, and the private sector.
==History==
MSA was founded in 2009 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is registered in the United States and Canada, with two offices in Colorado and Washington, DC. MSA’s headquarters are located in Denver, Colorado at the Posner Center for International Development.Posner Center for International Development, "Posner Center for International Development," https://posnercenter.org/.
In 2020, MSA became a the General Services Administration (GSA) Professional Services Schedule contract holder.GSA eLibrary, "GSA Federal Acquisition Service," https://www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov/ElibMain/contractorInfo.do?contractNumber=47QRAA20D005Z&contractorName=MARKETSHARE+ASSOCIATES%2C+INC.&executeQuery=YES/.
==Approach and Services==
MSA provides services in five areas:USAID, Local Systems: A Framework for Supporting Sustained Development (Washington: United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 2014), p. 6, https://www.usaid.gov/policy/local-systems-framework.
*ResearchKlassen et al, Social norms in market systems development: A practitioner-led research brief. (London: BEAM Exchange, 2017), https://beamexchange.org/resources/983/. Feed the Future (FTF) Inova, Feed the Future Mozambique Agricultural Innovations Activity (FTF Inova): Findings from a Qualitative Study on Gender Norms in Farming, Input Use, and Distribution in Manica Province (Washington: United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 2018), https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00TD59.pdf. Habitat for Humanity Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter, Preparing for the Worst: How Low-Income Household and Mason Attitudes on Home Construction Affect Disaster Resilience (Atlanta: Habitat for Humanity Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter, 2019), https://www.habitat.org/sites/default/files/documents/TCIS-preparing-for-the-worst.pdf.
*Monitoring"Measuring Results & the DCED Standard - Projects Applying the DCED Standard," DCED, https://www.enterprise-development.org/measuring-results-the-dced-standard.
*Evaluation: Such as endline, ex-post, performance, formative, and midline evaluations.TradeMark East Africa (TMEA), "Rwanda Country Programme," TradeMark East Africa (TMEA), https://www.trademarkea.com/rwanda-evaluation/. Ben Fowler, Scaling Impact: Cambodia Ex-Post Assessment. (Washington: United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 2016), https://www.marketlinks.org/library/scaling-impact-cambodia-ex-post-assessment/.
*Strategic advisory
*Thought leadership: MSA publishes studies, briefs, blog posts, guidance, frameworks, and toolkits to share project results and learnings.MarketShare Associates and ACDI/VOCA, Disrupting System Dynamics: A Framework for Understanding Systemic Changes (Washington: United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 2016), https://www.marketlinks.org/library/disrupting-system-dynamics-framework-understanding-systemic-changes/. MarketShare Associates and ACDI/VOCA, Pathways Out of Poverty: Tools for Value Chain Development Practitioners (Washington: United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 2012), https://www.marketlinks.org/sites/marketlinks.org/files/resource/files/PoP_Tools_Value_Chain_Practitioners.pdf/. Leveraging Economic Opportunities (LEO), "What's All the Fuss About? How USAID is Embracing Systems Thinking With Supporting Frameworks and Tools (Event Resources)," Marketlinks, https://www.marketlinks.org/library/whats-all-fuss-about-how-usaid-embracing-systems-thinking-supporting-frameworks-and-tools--0/.
==Focus Areas==
MSA works in the international development areas of M4P. Decent jobs and Trade and trade,economic empowerment, financial inclusion, and impact investing.
===Market Systems Development===
M4P|Market systems development (MSD) approaches address causes of market failure in systems such as agricultural systems, WASH, and ref>BEAM Exchange, “Features of a market systems approach," BEAM Exchange, https://beamexchange.org/market-systems/key-features-market-systems-approach/.</ref> BEAM Exchange, “Features of a market systems approach," BEAM Exchange, https://beamexchange.org/market-systems/key-features-market-systems-approach/. Kenya Markets Trust, Transforming Kenya's Agricultural Inputs Sector (Nairobi: Kenya Markets Trust, 2019), https://www.kenyamarkets.org/kmt-agri-inputs-case-study/. Habitat for Humanity Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter, Hand in Hand with Homeowners: How Masons’ Norms and Practices Affect Low-Income Home Construction in India, Kenya and Peru (Atlanta: Habitat for Humanity Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter, 2019), https://www.habitat.org/sites/default/files/documents/TCIS-hand-in-hand-with-homeowners.pdf.
===Jobs and Trade===
Interventions to support inclusive trade, job creation and decent work can help to promote sustainable economic growth.United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, "Decent Work and Economic Growth: Why it Matters," United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Sustainable Development, https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/8_Why-It-Matters-2020.pdf/. This area can involve engaging the private sector,Ben Fowler and Erin Markel, Measuring Job Creation in Private Sector Development (Cambridge: Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED), 2014), https://www.enterprise-development.org/wp-content/uploads/MeasuringJobCreation_WP_MarketShareAssociates_for_DCED_16June2014.pdf. developing Business case|businesses cases to help firms to understand their social impact in terms of Corporate social responsibility#Potential business benefits|potential commercial benefits,Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund, Working with the Private Sector to Empower Women: What to Measure and How to Build the Business Case for Change (Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF), 2019), https://seepnetwork.org/Resource-Post/Working-with-the-Private-Sector-to-Empower-Women-What-to-Measure-and-How-to-Build-the-Business-Case-for-Change/. assessing Labour economics|labour market dynamics and job quality,The Lab - Market systems development for decent work, Market Systems and Job Qaulity: What Do We Know and What Can We Do About it? (Geneva: International Labour Organization, 2017), https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---emp_ent/---ifp_seed/documents/publication/wcms_568481.pdf. and designing strategies to promote inclusive trade for poverty reduction.ACDI/VOCA. Leveraging Economic Opportunities (LEO) Final Performance Report. (Washington: United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 2016), https://www.marketlinks.org/library/leveraging-economic-opportunities-final-performance-report/.
===Economic Empowerment===
Empowering women and youth in the economy can generate gains for Human development (economics)|human development, economic growth, and businesses.United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment, Leave No One Behind: A Call to Action for Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment (United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment, 2016), https://www.empowerwomen.org/-/media/files/un%20women/empowerwomen/resources/hlp%20briefs/unhlp%20full%20report.pdf?la=en/ Laura Kim, Erin Markel, and Ruba Aladham, Empowerment-forward Poverty Measurement: Real-Time Learning from the Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund’s Disadvantage Assessment (MarketShare Associates and DAI Europe, 2017), https://seepnetwork.org/files/galleries/Disadvantage_Assessment_Brief_Revised_(Nov_2017).pdf/. Emilie Gettliffe and Erin Markel, Women's Economic Empowerment in the MENA Region (Bonn and Eschborn: GIZ, 2016), https://www.empowerwomen.org/en/resources/documents/2016/08/womens-economic-empowerment-in-the-mena-region?lang=en/. Habitat for Humanity Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter, Women’s work and men’s decisions: Gender norms in low-income homebuilding (Atlanta: Habitat for Humanity Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter, 2019), https://www.habitat.org/sites/default/files/documents/TCIS-gender-norms-low-income-homebuilding.pdf.
===Financial Inclusion===
Economic development programmes can improve access to financial services in frontier markets.Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund, Making Digital Finance Work for Women in the MENA Region: Eight Lessons from the Field (Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF), 2020), https://seepnetwork.org/Resource-Post/Making-Digital-Finance-Work-for-Women-in-the-MENA-Region-Eight-Lessons-from-the-Field. MEDA INNOVATE, NTF4AG: NTF4Ag: Emerging Lessons and New Frontiers - INNOVATE Final Synthesis Report (Waterloo: MEDA, 2020), https://www.meda.org/innovate/ntf4agreport/.
===Impact Investing===
This area can include developing impact measurement frameworks and systems and tools for impact screening and Performance attribution analysis,EVal20 Reimagined, "Tackling Attribution in Social Impact Measurement," https://www.evaluationconference.org/e/in/eid=37&s=8628&print=1&req=info/.
	
==Notable Research==
===Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF) Learning Series===
The Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF) is a Department for DFID-funded project (2015-2020) to stimulate increased women’s economic empowerment in Jordan, Egypt, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories through a market systems approach.DAI, "Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine—Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF)," DAI, https://www.dai.com/our-work/projects/jordan-egypt-and-palestine-arab-women-enterprise-fund/. From 2018 to 2020, AWEF, MSA and Development DAI Europe facilitated a learning series with The SEEP Network called, “In Practice: Women’s Economic Empowerment in Market Systems” comprised of webinars, reports, blog posts and practitioner learning briefs."AWEF Learning Series," The SEEP Network, https://seepnetwork.org/AWEF-Learning-Series/.
===Feed the Future Agricultural Innovations (FTF Inova)===
Feed the Future Initiative|Feed the Future Agricultural Innovations Activity (FTF Inova) is a USAID-funded project (2017-2022) to stimulate sustainable, agriculture-led economic growth in Mozambique by supporting agricultural market systems.DAI, "Mozambique—Feed the Future Agricultural Innovations (FTF Inova)," DAI, https://www.dai.com/our-work/projects/mozambique-feed-the-future-agricultural-innovations-inova/. "Programme profile: FTF Inova: Mozambique Agricultural Innovations Activity" BEAM Exchange, https://beamexchange.org/practice/programme-index/246/. MSA developed a Monitoring and evaluation|monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) system for FTF Inova.Feed the Future (FTF) Inova, Feed the Future Mozambique Agricultural Innovations Activity (FTF Inova) Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) plan (Washington: United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 2019), https://beamexchange.org/resources/1294/.
===Leveraging Economic Opportunities (LEO)===
Leveraging Economic Opportunities (LEO) was a USAID-funded project (2013-2016) to support programming that fosters inclusive growth through markets."Leveraging Economic Opportunities (LEO)," Marketlinks, https://www.marketlinks.org/collections/leveraging-economic-opportunities-leo/. As part of LEO, MSA developed a market market systems framework, Learning agenda|learning agenda, and provided services to USAID|USAID missions, including Value chain|value chain assessments, regional trade studies, and Capacity building|capacity building.ACDI/VOCA, Leveraging Economic Opportunities (LEO) Final Performance Report (Washington: United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 2016), https://www.marketlinks.org/library/leveraging-economic-opportunities-final-performance-report/.
== References ==