The MSC Approach for Monitoring an Australian Extension Project
Between May 1998 and May 1999 I was involved in facilitating the implementation of a novel approach to project monitoring referred to as ‘the Most Significant Change’ approach across an Australian extension project. As far as I am aware, this approach had never been attempted in Australia before. The purpose was twofold: to collect data about the impact of the project as a whole; and to promote organisational learning within the project team. The Most Significant Change (MSC) approach is participatory, in that all the project stakeholders are involved in deciding the sorts of change to be recorded. Essentially the process involves the collection of stories of change, emanating from the field level, and the systematic selection of the most significant of these stories by project steering committees.
This article describes the MSC approach and highlights some experiences gained during a 12-month trial with the Target 10 Dairy Extension Project. It is suggested that this approach constitutes an appropriate and credible process for monitoring change, helps to promote organisational learning, and can be motivational for those involved.
