Thanks to the generous support of the Templeton Foundation, FINCA has continued to play an active role in the development of industry best practice for social performance and cost-effective client assessment.  FINCA's summer 2007 client assessment has been the most rigorous and far reaching to date, with 36 research fellows conducting client assessments in 11 FINCA programs and 5 replicator MFIs.

FINCA's Client Assessment Tool (FCAT) for 2007 is primarily focused on using detailed question sets to improve the accuracy of client poverty measurement. In addition to capturing a detailed picture of client living standards, the FCAT allows FINCA to more accurately tailor financial products to client needs.  Moreover, these questions have been designed to agree with those used in international surveys - the Living Standards Measurement Surveys and Demographic and Health Surveys, among others - so that FINCA can directly compare standard of living along a variety of dimensions to measures from outside surveys. In updating the FCAT, FINCA International reviewed questions used by leading international surveys in these areas.  We also took into account the ability of our student interviewers to ask difficult to measure and sensitive questions on health (including maternal health).  In addition, the FCAT was tailored to local contexts and, in cases where appropriate, questions were added or modified to provide greater insight into client socio-economic conditions within a particular country. 

This year, randomized sampling plans were developed according to stringent best practice requirements and evaluated for validity by a prominent member of the academic community. This new sampling approach ensured that, within practical limits, each client had an equal likelihood of being surveyed. The approach made each sample more representative of FINCA's clients, as well as produced more reliable data. 

FINCA and a team of assessment specialists and consultants conducted a rigorous, five-day training in Washington, DC to prepare fellows for the 2007 client assessments.  Fellows were trained on assessment best practices and received the technical training and preparation necessary to conduct the 2007 client assessments according to these principles.

The first round of five-week research assessments took place in 11 countries, of which 6 were FINCA affiliate programs: Ecuador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Uganda, Zambia, and Kosovo.  The FCAT was also implemented with five partner or "replicator" microfinance institutions in Brazil (CrediAMIGO), Egypt (Dakahlya Businessmen's Association for Community Development or DBACD), Guatemala (Friendship Bridge), Mali (Savings for Change), and Cambodia (Thaneakea Phum or TPC). Fellows collected data on more than 3,000 microfinance clients in these country locations with an average of just over 335 client interview per assessment location.  Each five-week team reported data to FINCA on a weekly basis and, at the end of the assessment period, provided both FINCA headquarters and the country or program with a preliminary report on data collected.   Currently FINCA is reviewing data and reports to ensure quality of reporting and to add greater depth of analysis on client poverty levels and other socio-economic indicators.  Once finalized, FINCA will distribute these reports to each program and the data gathered in FINCA affiliate locations will be analyzed at regional- and network-wide levels.  FINCA will share its research outcomes with the Templeton Foundation once they have been finalized.

Second-round assessments began in July in FINCA affiliate programs in Mexico, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Russia, and Malawi.  FINCA fellows also continued for an additional five weeks of assessment in Cambodia with our partner MFI, TPC.  Data from each program is currently being reported to and verified by FINCA.

In addition to the FCAT format used elsewhere, FINCA Mexico's assessment incorporated a modified version of the tool as part of a multi-year study that will track changes in client poverty levels over time.  Three additional research fellows were selected to the Mexico Assessment Team in order to maximize the implementation of the baseline study.