Call for papers for an online conference: The Most Significant Change (MSC) technique in 2024: Diversity and Innovation.
rick davies
This is the title of a conference scheduled to be held this year. More information will be provided soon on the date and timing of this event, which will be held online, in two versions suitable to those in the early and later time zones.
We are seeking proposals for presentations, posters, pre-recorded videos, or panel discussions, on these topics:
Theme A. Different approaches people have taken to the following:
Deciding why to use MSC - what is the intended purpose.
The types of people whose MSC stories are to be collected.
Ways of collecting MSC stories.
Translation issues (in particular the phrase ‘most significant change’);
Ways to increase the likelihood of collecting negative stories and not just positive stories.
Ways of structuring and using MSC story selection processes.
Methods of doing content analyses of complete sets of MSC stories (including secondary analysis).
Elaborating and verifying the contents of MSC stories.
Feeding back and communicating MSC stories and their selection.
Making use of MSC stories (and their analyses) to change the way programs are being implemented:
Changing activities,
Changing theory,
Changing strategy.
Ways of combining MSC with other methods of inquiry, including outcome mapping, outcome harvesting, realist evaluation, and any other possibilities.
Theme B. Institutionalising MSC as an ongoing monitoring and learning process.
Theme C. Introducing and training people in the use of MSC.
Theme D. Visions of the future: Thoughts, ideas, proposals for how MSC could be used creatively and constructively in the future. This includes ways of integrating technology and AI in MSC evaluations.
We are interested in both previously published work and work that has never yet been published in any form.
Your contribution can be about your own work, or it can be about the work of others which you have reviewed or evaluated, on a commissioned or independent basis. You can be a student, employed (part-time or full-time) or retired, young or old.
When thinking about your possible contribution please look at and make use of the Zotero online bibliography on MSC which lists a large number of papers, theses, presentations, videos, et cetera, which have been produced on the topic of MSC. Contact rick....@gmail.com for membership access to the bibliography (which contains full texts of many of the listed papers).
Your proposal should be sent to rick....@gmail.com. They should include the following:
Type of contribution you wish to make: paper, poster, video recording, panel discussion,
Title of presentation or panel discussion and theme (please label according to the themes above under A/B/C/D),
A summary of the intended content, around 300 words,
Information describing yourself, in terms of your interests and responsibilities, as they are relevant to your proposal.
We will acknowledge your proposal as soon as possible and be happy to provide advice and suggestions on its development, where we can and if it is requested.
Best wishes, rick....@gmail.com
on behalf of the MSC Working Group
PS: Please feel free to circulate this Call for Papers on any email lists and social media that you think are relevant.