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E-news Main Page In This Issue Beggars, Savers and Borrowers: the ‘Good Families’ of Jamii Bora A Guardian for those at the Bottom: Bandhan’s Work to Reach the Poorest Measuring Client Progress out of Poverty: Successful Workshop in Hyderabad, India Archived Issues Vol 6 Iss 1 Dec '08 E-News Information |
Measuring Client Progress out of Poverty: Successful Workshop in Hyderabad, IndiaAt the Global Microcredit Summit 2006 in Halifax, Canada, fifteen of the largest microfinance institutions and networks1 committed publicly to working with the Microcredit Summit Campaign to find credible methodologies to measure their clients’ movement above the US$1 a day threshold. The Campaign established the Movement above the $US1/Day Threshold Project (MDP) as part of its work to remove the barriers that have made it difficult for practitioners to measure movement out of poverty. In 2007, the MDP formed an Advisory Committee consisting of leading microfinance experts and practitioners, analyzed sets of baseline data, and has begun updating poverty scorecards, also called Progress out of Poverty Indices (PPI), for India and Bangladesh. Dr. Mark Schreiner developed the poverty scorecard method while working with the Grameen Foundation and with the CGAP/Ford Foundation Social Indicators Project.
The correct application of the poverty scorecard method is instrumental for measuring movement out of poverty. In November of 2007, twenty-seven participants from twelve institutions gathered in Hyderabad, India for a Campaign workshop on using the poverty scorecard for India. Dr. Schreiner, Director of Microfinance Risk Management and Campaign consultant, served as lead trainer for the workshop, which provided participants with the tools to return to their institutions and conduct a pilot of the poverty scorecard. Dr. S.V. Rangacharyulu, Research Team Leader of Poverty Learning Foundation (PLF), led a field test in which workshop participants applied the poverty scorecard to eighty households from the villages of Gowally and Bachran. In addition, Mr. L.B. Prakash of Safe Save, India presented on lessons from his experience of a poverty scorecard pilot in India. The following institutions and networks participated in the workshop: Friends of Women’s World Banking; Activists for Social Alternatives (ASA), India; Shree Kshethra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP); Agricultural Finance Corporation; Palli Daridra Bimochon Foundation (PDBF); Bandhan; Spandana; Swayam Krishi Sangam Microfinance Pvt. Ltd. (SKS); Share; Sidbi Foundation for MicrocreditSmall Industries Development (SIDBI); National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD); Sharada. Stay tuned for updates from these partners on their poverty scorecard pilots and their work to measure client movement out of poverty. Read more about the poverty measurement project. 1 Association of the Asian Confederation of Credit Unions (ACCU), Thailand; Association for Social Advancement (ASA), Bangladesh; BRAC, Bangladesh; FINCA International, USA; National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, (NABARD), India; Opportunity International, USA; SHARE Microfin Ltd., India; Spandana, India; Samurdhi Authority, Sri Lanka; Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, Vietnam; Central People's Credit Fund, Vietnam; Palli Daridra Bimochon Foundation (PDBF), Bangladesh; Tamil Nadu Corporation for the Development of Women, India; SIDBI, India; and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), Pakistan |
