Practice notes
Practice notes address key technical areas in SPM in a clear and concise format. They are written for MFIs, but are also useful for donors and support organisations.
No 1: The Feedback Loop: Responding to client needs
The feedback loop describes the stages that information moves through in an institution from its initial generation to the implementation of changes in products and services. This Practice note is designed to help you review and improve your institution’s own systems of information flow and feedback, or to review these processes as an external assessor. The note outlines the steps of the feedback loop, and give advice on how to use it. (Spanish)
No 2: QUIP: Understanding clients through in-depth interviews
This Practice note provides a step-by-step guide to developing and conducting in-depth qualitative interviews of individuals in order to uncover useful information about the impact of products and services provided by the MFI. This Practice note guides the reader through the process in ten steps, including planning, data collection, analysis, presentation of findings and decision-making, emphasising the need to plan and implement the qualitative process in a way that is appropriate for each MFI and its clients. (Spanish)
No. 3: Learning from Client Exit
This Practice note helps your MFI track and understand client exit, in a simple, low-cost way. It looks closely at what client exit can mean for your programme, and shows how you can define and measure your MFI’s exit rate. It overviews tools you can use for finding out who is leaving your programme, and how these tools can help you profile the different types of leavers. The note also provides guidance on finding out why clients are exiting, and explains how to use exit information in the most effective way. (Spanish)
No. 4: Using surveys effectively
This Note will help you understand what an impact survey involves, to decide whether you have sufficient resources to conduct one, and to consider how best to manage external support if you need to. It outlines the key issues in planning, designing and implementing a survey, drawing upon practical examples from the field. (Spanish)
No. 5: Choosing and using indicators for effective social performance management
Because of the need to contextualise and adapt indicators, this Note does not set out to give a "menu" of indicators. Instead, it aims to help you think about the steps you need to take to develop indicators that make sense for your programme. The Note also highlights issues that may influence your choice of indicators, as well as difficulties you may encounter. (Spanish)
No. 6: Planning research to assess social performance: guidance for managers
This Practice note guides MFI managers through nine steps in this planning process. In starting to undertake such work, the key to success is careful planning. Before investing time and money in a research project, an MFI chief executive officer and her/his managers need to think about what they want to know and what resources they have. They also need to start on a small scale and take time to develop the skills of their staff to manage and implement the research. (Spanish)
No. 7: Tracking client performance: monitoring systems for social performance management
Information systems are an important part of SPM. However, only careful planning produces a system appropriate for your needs, capacity and resources. This Practice note guides you through choices that need to be made in designing a system that suits your needs, laying out the key principals and things to avoid - stressing that how you use the information to make better management decisions determines how effective your information system really is. (Spanish)
No. 8: Reviewing the social performance of microfinance institutions
This Practice note provides information on how to conduct reviews to improve the quality of an SPM system. A social performance review can help you: to consider how data collection, analysis and reporting can be improved; to ensure findings are being utilised; and to compare performance against your own objectives and the performance of other organisations. If you do this well, then it should also be easier to respond to requests for information from other agencies, as well as to convince them of the validity of your social mission and your success in achieving it. (Spanish)
No. 9: Managing social performance in microfinance: building successful clients and successful institutions
This Practice note helps MFIs improve the benefits they bring to poor people’s lives by managing their social performance as part of their everyday work. The note provides a series of steps and checklists to assist managers in designing and using an effective SPM system. It is meant to be used in conjunction with the other Imp-Act Practice Notes that address more specific and technical aspects of this broad subject. (Spanish)
