Resources

Explains the process ASKI used to select indicators for its social dashboard.

This report creates a new benchmark that consists of the data from 72 microfinance institutions from this year’s cohort. For each indicator included in our Index, we calculated the average performance of the participating microfinance institutions, weighing each MFI’s performance equally. The benchmark figure itself is the mean
or average. These benchmarks are at the heart of this report and they give the clearest picture of what social outcomes are, and are not, being achieved by MFIs.

Summary of an Oct 2016 Outcomes Working Group session in which FINCA shared its approach to generating credible data that is useful for decision-making on a limited budget. FINCA includes outcomes data in its quarterly MFI mission monitoring dashboard, which includes
targets and achievements for depth of outreach (including female managed enterprises) as well as
predicted outcomes on key business indicators. FINCA uses a predictive model based on a small number
of selected indicators and enterprise segmentation and a small sample of clients quarterly to track quarterly in between larger data collection efforts every 3-5 years.

This case details IDEPRO Desarrollo Empresarial (Bolivia)'s journey to develop an outcomes and impact evaluation system. IDEPRO’s experience demonstrates two critical and related points. First, actually measuring outcomes is essential to determine whether an organization is achieving its social mission. Second, strategic use of outcomes data can help an organization advance that mission, by yielding valuable insights into areas such as risk management, client retention, and product design. Ultimately, good data does not just measure outcomes—it helps shape them. Implementing an outcomes monitoring system is an investment whose benefits, both to the clients and the institution, significantly outweigh the costs.