Entries tagged with social performance

William Neuheisel's picture
William Neuheisel
• 06/08/15
• 0 Comments

Operating in Bangladesh since 2003, Katalyst is one of the oldest and largest pro-poor market development projects in the world. In its first five years, Katalyst proved itself as a high-impact program, generating widespread job growth and increased income for farmers. In 2008 however, an organizational strategy review identified a major area for improvement: Katalyst wasn’t sure how accurately it was targeting its interventions toward people living in poverty.

...Read More >
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?

...Read More >
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.

...Read More >
stevewright's picture
stevewright
• 03/01/12
• 0 Comments

In the recent New York Times article, "How Companies Learn your Secrets," Charles Duhigg discusses how companies can use demographics and data on personal consumption behavior to manipulate shopping habits and attract new customers. Target, for example, can predict if a customer is pregnant, what trimester she is in, and, with this information, target baby-related advertisements to her.

...Read More >
stevewright's picture
stevewright
• 02/27/12
• 0 Comments

In 2010 SKS Microfinance went public with great excitement from the financial markets and a hail of criticism from some in the industry. The criticism centered around the idea that profit is NOT a proxy for success and an aggressive focus on growth is bad for the poor.

...Read More >
PreetiWali's picture
PreetiWali
• 03/14/11
• Comments

This blog is also available in Spanish below the English copy.

For three years, PRISMA Microfinance has been using the Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI) to help us reach and serve our poorest clients: rural women.

We began to implement the PPI as a pilot in 2008 in two of our branches, and thanks to that good experience, in 2009 we expanded its use to all of our offices. Our goal was to reach the poorest people, and to monitor if and how their poverty levels changed. To do this, in 2010 we surveyed a sample of customers who were new in 2009, and found that--in one year--2.6 percent of these clients had moved above the national poverty line.

The use of PPI has allowed us to focus our efforts on reaching our target clients (the poor and vulnerable), and explore strategies to improve our services and deepen our efforts to reduce poverty. For us, as a microfinance organization with a social heart, the implementation of the PPI confirms that as a tool it is standardized, valid, comprehensive and flexible.

...Read More >
PreetiWali's picture
PreetiWali
• 02/28/11
• 0 Comments

The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has acted as a real champion for social performance in past years as a data warehouse for microfinance institutions. They have helped lead the industry effort to create a set of social indicators through the Social Performance Task Force and have just recently revised the list.

...Read More >
bsambe's picture
bsambe
• 02/15/11
• 0 Comments

Lift Above Poverty Association (LAPO), Microfinance Bank Limited in Nigeria—the largest microfinance institution (MFI) in the country—ended 2010 with a Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop on the use of the Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI).

...Read More >
Awais's picture
Awais
• 01/24/11
• Comments

As the Regional Microfinance Programme Specialist for Plan International in Asia, I have learned first-hand the top challenges faced by microfinance institutions in accepting—and implementing—the PPI as their poverty assessment tool. My observations led me to create the ten challenges I outline here.

...Read More >
absa's picture
absa
• 11/11/10
• 0 Comments

APSFD Senegal, in collaboration with Grameen Foundation, successfully completed a four‐day PPI Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop for 16 participants in Nairobi, and received positive evaluations with strong “pasha moto”, as Sharlene describes in her blog above.

...Read More >

Pages