Traction through action: An antidote to paralysis by analysis?

What role can action research play in paving the way toward better-informed interventions in projects using the Market Systems Development (MSD) approach?

This brief builds on recent work from ILO’s Systems Change Initiative, which questioned projects’ reliance on comprehensive market systems analyses and the conventional ‘study-design-implement’ formula. It offers practical reflections on how projects can overcome two commonly encountered phenomena: ‘paralysis by analysis’ and ‘the cliff-edge’, where teams find it difficult to move from analysis and design into implementation.

It draws on cases from Lebanon, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Fiji and Ethiopia, and outlines what action research is and how MSD projects can use it to gain greater traction on the ground, with attention to both its benefits and risks.