Market Mapping Tool
Overview of the Market Mapping Tool. The Market Mapping Tool is designed to assess the key markets where. consumers purchase food within a community. There are four modules included in the tool: 1) market properties and infrastructure; 2) market vendor types (optional if conducting a sub-sample rather than full vendor census of market); 3) market vendor roster; and 4) market promotion. After identifying the key markets where the tool should be implemented, enumerators will complete an observational checklist related to the market properties and infrastructure (Module 1). They will subsequently conduct a transect walk of the market and complete an observational checklist to identify which vendor types are present in the market (optional Module 2). However, this is only necessary if enumerators do not plan to conduct a full census of the vendors present in the market. If a full census of the vendors is being conducted, Module 2 (can be skipped prior to completing Module 3, which captures the types of food vendors sell and their overall quality using an observational checklist. Module 4 captures the food and beverage promotion within the market. The market mapping tool is informed by the USAID Advancing Nutrition Market Mapping assessment, the Environmental Profile of a Community’s Health (EPOCH), and the Multisectoral Food and Nutrition Security Project (MUSEFO) surveys (Chow et al., 2010; USAID AN, 2023; GIZ, 2020). This tool provides insight into the market infrastructure, the types of vendors in a given market, the availability of foods, and their promotion.
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To assess the types of vendors that consumers have access to in key markets, and the availability and quality of food sold and promoted within them.
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You should use this tool if markets are a key place where people purchase food within the community. It is important to note that some populations have shifted away from relying on markets. In these cases, it may not be appropriate to use this tool. The Participatory Mapping tool can help to provide insight into whether or not this tool would be important for the population of interest.
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The Market Mapping tool can be used to inform which markets should be included in the study sample. Only key markets that consumers purchase food at should be included. Within each market, a full census of the vendors is recommended. However, in cases where markets are very large (>500 vendors), a sub-sample of the vendors may be more appropriate than a full census of the market’s vendors.
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The market mapping tool captures the external and built food environments.
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The market mapping tool assesses the dimensions of food availability, promotion, and quality.
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An enumerator completes the observational checklist at both the market and vendor level.
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- Observational checklist for the market and census of vendors
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The data obtained from this tool can be used to describe the types and diversity of food groups sold in the market (e.g., market food diversity index), the proportion of vendors selling “healthy” and “unhealthy” food groups, and indicators related to market food and beverage promotions.
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The strengths of this tool include that it is easy to use, it provides information about market infrastructure, and it can provide insight into the types of food groups that consumers have access to in the markets.
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In large markets, it will likely be necessary to capture data from a sub-sample of vendors (based on vendor type), which may reduce the generalizability. In some populations, people are relying less on markets, making the tool less relevant in some contexts.
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Chow, C.K. et al. 2010. Environmental Profile of a Community’s Health (EPOCH): an instrument to measure environmental determinants of cardiovascular health in five countries. PloS one, 5(12), p.e14294.
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). 2020. The Multisectoral Food and Nutrition Security (MUSEFO) project Cambodia.