Key M4P principles and framework: sustainability matrix

Definition of sustainability: the market system capability to ensure that relevant, differentiated goods and services continue to be produced and/or consumed by poor people beyond the period of intervention.

Putting it into practice: key steps Step 1: Recognise sustainability as part of market assessment - as facilitators’ understanding of a market system develops they need to think through how the market might work more effectively in the future Step 2: Understand the current picture of the market - what functions – core, rules and supporting functions – are being performed by different players and who is paying for them? Step 3: Identify and analyse interconnected markets - understanding the current market picture often leads to the identification of an interconnected market as a supporting function Step 4: Take account of the ‘given’ factors influencing a future view of market systems - the nature of the market, its historical context and the innovation landscape beyond the market in question Step 5: Take account of the ‘open’ factors shaping a future view of market systems - capacity and incentives, which can be shaped directly by interventions Most market development facilitators have a strong intuitive sense of sustainability – M4P’s emphasis on stimulating local ownership and light touch facilitation stems from a concern with sustainability. The matrix is a more formal way of operationalizing this concern. The purpose of the sustainability matrix is to link functions and players, as shown by the figure below: