PPI Blog

Friendship Bridge's picture
Friendship Bridge
• 12/13/13
• Posted in decision-making, strategy
• 1 Comment

By Tori Barnett & Caitlin Scott, Friendship Bridge

Friendship Bridge is a nonprofit organization that provides microcredit and education to Guatemalan women so they can create their own solutions to poverty.  We work primarily with indigenous populations in rural areas where the rate of poverty and malnutrition in Guatemala is the highest. For many years, Friendship Bridge has been utilizing both qualitative and quantitative evaluation tools to monitor the impact of the mission.  In 2011, Friendship Bridge committed to a more consistent evaluation process to better monitor balanced financial and social performance, which included conducting a baseline study using the Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI). The following year, Friendship Bridge institutionalized the PPI as part of its regular processes.  The data collected from these efforts are now used to shape the strategic plans and priorities for the organization.

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Frank Ballard's picture
Frank Ballard
• 10/09/13
• 4 Comments

When using the PPI and reporting its results, it’s helpful to understand the difference between the terms poverty likelihood and poverty rate—sometimes referred to as estimated poverty. These terms are not interchangeable and express different concepts, so it is important to use them correctly.

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mwalsh's picture
mwalsh
• 09/12/13
• Posted in Data Collection
• 0 Comments

The PPI survey is designed to be administered in the client’s home by a trained enumerator for two primary reasons: the enumerator is there to help explain certain key terms and concepts, and the enumerator can visually verify the answers to some questions, such as the materials used in the construction of the roof or walls of the house.

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Frank Ballard's picture
Frank Ballard
• 07/24/13
• Posted in Updates, poverty lines
• 1 Comment

By Frank Ballard

So you’ve just found out the PPI your organization uses has been updated. Great! Your poverty data will be more accurate because it is based on the most recent national household income survey available in your country. Your organization will be better able to target and understand the poor households it serves.

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Lindsey Longendyke's picture
Lindsey Longendyke
• 05/20/13
• Posted in social performance
• 1 Comment

By Lindsey Alexander

In late March, the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) hosted an event in Washington DC to explore the challenges and opportunities surrounding measurement of social performance indicators. This event was in response to the recent release of WBCSD’s publication Measuring Socio-economic Impact, which provides practical information on social indicator measurement tools, including their application. The event attracted professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds, including public health, consumer products, and financial services. All attendees shared the same question: How do I know if my organization is improving the human condition?

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Frank Ballard's picture
Frank Ballard
• 04/10/13
• Posted in poverty rates, best practices
• 2 Comments

By Frank Ballard

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emily.hanak's picture
emily.hanak
• 03/28/13
• 0 Comments

By Emily Hanak

Published last summer, Poverty Outreach of Selected Microfinance Institutions in the Philippines analyzes client-level poverty data from selected MFIs in the Philippines that use the Progress out of Poverty Index®, or PPI, to measure client poverty. The report examines three aspects of poverty outreach that are integral to evaluating an organization’s social performance: concentration, scale, and penetration. 

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sergio.correa's picture
sergio.correa
• 12/19/12
• Posted in Latin America
• 0 Comments

It is always exciting to attend an event where organizations that target entrepreneurs come together to resolve common problems and plan for the future, especially when those organizations have the altruistic mission to target poor entrepreneurs.

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mkochendorfer's picture
mkochendorfer
• 10/27/12
• Posted in social performance, SPTF
• 0 Comments

By Mary Jo Kochendorfer

This past summer, the microfinance industry recently celebrated a milestone when the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) released the Universal Standards of Social Performance Management (USSPM) after a worldwide consensus-building effort. After much work and collaboration, the microfinance industry, by way of the SPTF, came together and put forth standards which outline the best practices for monitoring and managing social performance. The SPTF defines social performance as "the effective translation of an institution's social mission into practice in line with accepted social values." Following the SPTF annual meeting back in June, regional microfinance networks have also prioritized social performance in their agendas.

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cris lomboy's picture
cris lomboy
• 09/27/12
• 0 Comments

By Cris Lomboy

I recently sat down with management at a leading microfinance institution (MFI) in the Philippines to talk about targeting. Like many MFIs, this one is deeply committed to helping the poor through the provision of transformative financial and non-financial services, and it uses the PPI to determine how many new clients are poor. They are however unsatisfied with their current poverty outreach and would like to further deepen outreach to the poor or increase the participation of poor in their program. They wonder how they can further use the PPI to deepen their outreach and they came to a conclusion that they can use it for client targeting. They ponder how to use the PPI for effective targeting and we supported them to understand it better.

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