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| Title | Choosing and using indicators for effective social performance management |
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| Author | Imp-Act Program |
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| Content Language | English (en) |
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| Document Type | Guideline |
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| Date Of Publication | 2005 |
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| Description | Indicators are criteria or measures against which changes can be assessed. Microfinance institutions (MFIs) need to use a variety of financial and social indicators, to track both their financial and social performance and the impacts they are having on their intended beneficiaries. There is a set of standardised financial indicators that allow financial performance measurement, but indicators of social performance are usually more complicated. This is because an almost infinite number of changes can be brought about by a programme, and each possible change can be measured by a number of different indicators. However, as this Practice Note shows, it is possible for MFIs to develop and apply a set of useful indicators, if they follow some simple steps and have a particular goal in mind.
There are no right or wrong indicators. Indicators for social performance assessment must be appropriate to the mission of each particular MFI and the types of products and services being offered. Indicators therefore cannot be picked “off the shelf”, but instead need to be adapted to each local situation. This Note, therefore, does not set out to give a “menu” of indicators. Instead, it aims to help organisations think about the steps they need to take to develop indicators that make sense for their programme. The Note is based on the experience of Imp-Act partner MFIs and gives examples of how different MFIs have developed their own indicators that respond to their information needs and the kinds of impacts they expect.
The recommended steps in choosing and using indicators are:
- Be clear about what you want to measure and why
- Identify sources of information
- Draw up a selection of possible indicators
- Narrow down your list of possible indicators
- Think about how and when you will ask the questions
- Pilot-test your indicators
- Validate your selected indicators
- Make the most of your indicators for social performance management
Step 4 is the key step in indicator selection, and getting it right is essential if you want to obtain valid answers to your questions. It is a learning process and you first need to understand the different types of indicators that can exist, e.g. indicators may be direct or indirect, numerical or categorical, reflecting impact or segmental change. The Note explains these and goes on to give examples of factors that make a good indicator, e.g. relevant, easy to use, reliable, sensitive, simple but of sufficient scope, practical and technically feasible, etc. |
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| Publisher | Programa Imp-Act |
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| Number of Pages | 6 |
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| Edition | Imp-Act Practice Notes |
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| ISSN | 1740-4711 |
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| Series ID | 2005 |
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| Keywords | EVALUACION DE IMPACTO, INDICADORES, INSTITUCIONES DE MICROFINANZAS, MISION, DESEMPE, O, PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, SOCIAL PERFORMANCE, IMPACT ANALYSIS |
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choosing and using indicators (EN)
