| Property | Value |
| Name | How can impact assessment for development finance be more participatory? |
| Description | Simanowitz, A. with S. Johnson and J. Gaventa. 2000. How can impact assessment for development finance be more participatory? Development Finance Impact Assessment Planning Workshop. IDS, University of Sussex. June 2000Increasingly impact assessment is recognised as a core part of the work of development finance organisations (DFOs), both to demonstrate the achievement of their social objectives, and to assist management with strategic decisions and methodology development. Participatory approaches have not featured prominently within “minimalist” microfinance, nor have they been widely used by DFOs for impact assessment. Partly this results from the lack of background that most microfinance practitioners have in participatory methods, and partly due to a minimalist approach that does not give space for debate with clients about what services are provided and in what way. Financial services are typically delivered by organisations striving for financial self-sufficiency and client control of services or lengthy research may damage this goal. Instead, market research provides the client information that is needed to provide attractive financial services in a commercially viable way. Other DFOs take a more integrative approach, and provide financial services as part of broader social empowerment and development. Their central concern is to work with marginalised groups, and facilitate transformation at individual, community and societal levels. For these organisations participatory approaches have been used for many years, and are seen as an important tool for empowerment. When developing impact assessment systems it is natural for them to work with a participatory approach that is empowering for the organisation’s members or clients, and allows for a strong client voice in the impact assessment process. These two descriptions represent two ends of the spectrum. Participatory impact assessment (PIA) similarly may be viewed from two extremes, dependent on the organisational type. For ‘participation purists’, “… conventional baseline surveys are virtually useless for impact assessments… The question now is how widely local people can be enabled to identify their own indicators, establish their own participatory baselines, monitor change, and evaluate causality… ” (Chambers, 1997, p123). Alternatively, for organisations striving for sustainability, the use of participatory tools may be seen as an effective way of passing the costs of gathering information to clients, and increasing the cost-efficiency of market research. PIA is thus very dependent on the context in which it is used and the objectives behind its use. However, some basic principals can be outlined. There are convincing arguments for making impact assessment more participatory from both the empowerment and instrumentalist perspectives, as well as in terms of the quality and usefulness of information produced. |
| Filename | Link to microfinanceimpact.pdf |
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| Creator | admin |
| Created On: | 11/18/2008 12:13 |
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| Last updated on | 11/18/2008 12:14 |
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