A System for Measuring Change through Stories

I stumbled across a reference to the Most Significant Change process a week or so ago.  For the life of me, I can't recall exactly where.  A search on Google brought up a PDF that presents both the concept and the process for implementing MSC. It is designed as a participatory monitoring tool for social change campaigns that have complex goals, involve organizations with many layers and where conventional monitoring systems are proving less than effective at furthering the mission.

LINK to PDF.

What most impressed me about MSC was it's focus on stories of significant change and a system for evolving and growing the values of an organization around such.  The stories that most resonate with the organization are the same stories that slowly transform all levels of the organization.  A wonderful use of social phenomenon to shape and grow an organization (as opposed to market norms).

1. It is a good means of identifying unexpected changes.

2. It is a good way to clearly identify the values that prevail in an
organisation and to have a practical discussion about which of
those values are the most important. This happens when people
think through and discuss which of the SCs is the most significant.
This can happen at all levels of the organisation.

3. It is a participatory form of monitoring that requires no special
professional skills. Compared to other monitoring approaches, it is
easy to communicate across cultures. There is no need to explain
what an indicator is. Everyone can tell stories about events they
think were important.

4. It encourages analysis as well as data collection because people
have to explain why they believe one change is more important
than another.

5. It can build staff capacity in analysing data and conceptualising
impact.

6. It can deliver a rich picture of what is happening, rather than
an overly simplified picture where organisational, social and
economic developments are reduced to a single number.

7. It can be used to monitor and evaluate bottom-up initiatives that
do not have predefined outcomes against which to evaluate.

Again, here is the link to the PDF for those interested in learning more.

Comments

[Annalie Killian]

Hi Sean...I tweeted a link to this from my RSS feeds, and through the magic of twitter it may have rippled out, or come from elsewhere...but regardless, its a fantastic innovation. An exboyfriend who works with OXFAM Australia first introduced me to this- I dont use it a much these days but in my previous career in Africa, I initiated BHP Billiton Community Partnerships programme for rebuilding a new South Africa after the first democratic elections. We used a form of MSC very successfully to measure impact and change and even to report back on progress to donors of programmes because many of the beneficiary communities had few members who could write a business report (many couldnt write)and stories is their default reporting format. What was most amazing was people's ability to be analytical and identify catalysts, root causes and consequences intuitively.
BTW. a fantastic thing you have done with the ebook on Passion Economy. Are you writing it as a manifesto for http://www.changethis.com? I know Saul, and also Gavin and Katie personally, so it was a huge surprise how these all got connected- though its hardly surprising given the passion that we all see blazing out of these amazing people.

[Sean Howard]

Hi Annalie,

Thank you SO much for this comment. My apologies for the delay in my response.

It may have indeed come from your RSS feeds. It was a google link that led straight to the PDF. A very magical PDF that I truly cherish. Most of the other references I have found have been incomplete or on very badly designed web pages (by consultants of MSC, no less.)

I'm currently looking at an engagement framework/strategy and am very hopeful to incorporate MSC or elements of it into this process.

I LOVE your story of how people were able to be both analytical and identify "catalysts, root causes and consequences intuitively". So powerful when you earlier mentioned how not everyone had the skills to write business reports.

Very excited by MSC!

Thank you for the kind words on the Passion Economy piece. There is more in the works, for sure. The engagement framework being one such piece. I've been contemplating how to create something along these lines for changethis. Nothing concrete worked out yet. Lemme know if you have any ideas!

Sean

[Matt Moore]

Mr Howard - We tried to use MSC as an assessment tool for a management training program at a gov agency here in Australia but it was a bit too weird for them. I also pitched MSC to an advertising friend but again it fell in the too weird category.

Shawn Callahan has used MSC with IBM Australia and has built Zahmoo: http://zahmoo.com/ to help with the process.

There's an MSC mailing list but it's mostly for development types rather than us corporate whores.

[rick davies]

Hi Sean

Glad to see you are keen on MSC.

Here are some links re its use
= MSC email list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MostSignificantChanges/

= Translations of MSC Guide into other languages at http://mscguide-translations.blogspot.com/

= other info on monitoring and evaluation methods by the same author, at http://mande.co.uk/special-issues/ You might be especially interested in the Evolving Storylines

regards, rick davies, co-author of the guide