Unitus, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation join hands to promote SPM in microfinance

Microfinance Focus, Sept. 4, 2009: Unitus Inc. and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation have decided to launch a Social Performance Management Implementation Project (SPMIP) to assess the impact made by microfinance institutions.

Social performance management (SPM) envisages setting clear social objectives (e.g., improved quality of housing, healthcare, etc.), monitoring and assessing progress toward achieving these goals, and using this information to improve the performance and impact of MFIs.

Since microfinance is proliferating with geographically and technically diverse programs, it can no longer be assumed without question that genuine poverty alleviation automatically results from microfinance. As greater impact of microfinance depends on measured outcomes and tailored services, Unitus and Michael & Susan Dell Foundation will jointly work with industry partners on pioneering SPM-related work, said a statement.

The SPMIP program has two phases. In the first phase, Unitus will work with 10 MFI partners to conduct analysis of existing social performance data, collect 6,000 client-level surveys per partner – 60,000 total – using the Grameen Foundation Progress out of Poverty Index™ (PPI™), and conduct an internal social audit using the CERISE Social Performance Indicator (SPI). Based on phase one findings, partners may choose to participate in the project’s second phase SPM Optimization, and will fully adopt and integrate SPM into their regular operations.

“With the funding committed by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, we have a great opportunity to gain not only a deeper understanding of the positive social change varied microfinance approaches produce, but a chance to identify implementation best practices that will serve as a model for MFIs worldwide,” said Richard Wardell, Unitus’s Vice President of Global Programs.

“The growth of microfinance has stemmed from the hypothesis that access to loan products gives low-income people an opportunity to improve their income levels and quality of life,” said Geeta Goel, Director of Microfinance at the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. “We believe Social Performance Management allows us to demonstrate this impact, and assess what methods and practices work, in an objective, comparable manner. Unitus’s strong focus on the social aspects of microfinance and their network of socially committed MFIs makes them an important collaborator in this work.”

With its launch, the SPMIP will be India’s most comprehensive multi-MFI SPM project, harnessing Unitus’s expertise in understanding the MFI strategies and operations to aid partners in integrating these tools into business practices, said the statement. The project will be expanded to MFIs in other countries later.

“We’re very excited to build on groundbreaking SPM work as a way of ensuring that microfinance has the best possible outcome for the largest number of people in need,” commented Wardell.

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