Market Based Approach Consultancy

Humanitarian and development organisations and donors progressively seek more impactful and sustainable programming, the contribution of systems thinking, including Market Based Approaches (MBA) (that includes cash and voucher assistance) has gained recognition and popularity. When used with good practices in mind, MBA enable humanitarian agencies to implement interventions that are mindful of wider market impact and linked to longer term actions, such as self-reliance, durable solutions and localisation. By acknowledging the fact that markets are central to the lives of the people we serve and vice versa, NRC should try and improve the power and agency of our beneficiaries (and the communities they interact with and rely on) within markets that are critical to life and livelihoods, contributing to livelihood outcomes^[1] and self-reliance. NRC CC strategies are embracing MBA as a core modality, with Livelihoods and Food Security, Shelter and Settlements, Youth programming, and WASH leading on the endorsement of this approach.

MBAs enable us to better understand our implementation context and acknowledge that the people we serve participate in market systems as consumers, producers, employees and even as employers. These market systems are utilised for more than daily needs, including information, access to legal documentation, employment (formal and informal), education and training and so much more. Every market transaction is embedded in a wider market system and systems interact with others.

Maximising programme impact and reach, contributing to self-reliance and durable solutions and, a “do no harm” approach resonates strongly with NRC EA&Y strategic documents that state:

• MBAs will broaden and complement our programming and accompany it as a core implementation modality.

• All programmes will carry out market analysis and demonstrate how they will use, support current market systems and/or the change and development of future market mechanisms.

• Our work in stimulating wider markets has impact beyond NRC’s physical presence and independent investments in direct delivery.

Using MBAs is applicable in humanitarian, protracted, recovery and development contexts, urban, rural, IDP and refugee camp settings. MBAs are applicable in single core competency (CC), multi-CC and integrated programmes. MBAs include a range of actions that use markets to deliver immediate relief (such as cash and voucher assistance or local procurement^[2]), to those that proactively strengthen (enabling access to financial products and support to market actors^[3] or price information sharing) and change or develop local market systems (addressing gender or ethnic exclusion, advocacy regarding lack policy implementation etc.). Therefore, NRC’s objective is to enable and strengthen a population’s access to and utilisation of a market to achieve positive, enduring livelihood outcomes and ensure local economies benefit from the multiplier effects.

[1] Livelihood outcomes include: increased income, improved food security, improved wellbeing, reduced risk and vulnerability and, more sustainable use of the natural resource base.

[2] Procurement based on criteria including local sourcing and social (targeted) sourcing is permitted at NRC. Local procurement is cited as a procurement principle in the Logistics Handbook (page 106). NRC logistics teams should use local markets and local suppliers where possible (and not large suppliers and framework agreements), be market sensitive and, ensure local economies benefit from the multiplier effects.

[3] Market actors are individuals or private and public sector organisations who are active in a market system, not only as suppliers or consumers but as regulators, developers of standards and providers of services, information etc.

Donors are interested in funding MBAs beyond typical emergency response cash and voucher assistance (CVA) and local procurement and are mindful of the role of market actors, including the private sector actors in finding enduring solutions to long term problems. In protracted complex emergencies and displacement contexts, systems thinking is increasingly seen as a solution to tackling systemic problems that require engagement from both public and private actors (including civil society and community based organisations).