Institutionalizing Impact Assessment: Case Study on the Philippines

This paper discusses the program, Imp-Act, initiated by the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) in the Philippines, to bring about a greater understanding of the value of impact assessment (IA).

The paper offers the following details of the program:

• The project's immediate objective was to meet the microfinance institution's (MFIs) client information needs for IA and market research (MR);
• The Microfinance of the Philippines (MCPI) was taken as the project implementer;
• The project aims to institutionalize the conduct of IA and MR in MFIs.

The paper lists the following specific activities involved in the project:

• Development and pilot implementation of a core model of an IA/MR information system;
• Promotion and advocacy;
• Building of in-house capacities of MFIs to conduct IA and MR through training workshops.

The paper then discusses the operations of CARD and CARD's experience under Imp-Act, which include:

• Review of IA and MR initiatives;
• Defining priorities;
• Role of the MCPI;
• Issues and challenges for both CARD and MCPI.

The paper concludes with lessons learned by CARD and MCPI under the Imp-Act project about institutionalizing the IA process within MFIs:

• Beyond internal capacities, MFIs should be seriously committed to institutionalize impact and client monitoring;
• MFIs must believe that learning from clients is critical in providing effective microfinance services, improving organizational performance and ensuring institutional growth and sustainability.