Case Study

Institutionalizing Client Assessment: The Activists for Social Alternatives - India

What are the main components of ASA's Client Assessment Tool?
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This progress note is based on the experience of the Activists for Social Alternatives (ASA) in institutionalizing a client assessment and monitoring system in southern India.

The paper highlights the main components of the assessment system which include:

  • Member Database: Excel-based database of all members' entry-level information; to be used as a baseline for future client assessments;
  • Satisfaction Express: A feedback platform for clients and staff using a suggestion box and tape recorders at the centers;
  • Empowerment Interviews: To assess whether ASA is achieving its mission and to learn about the members' empowerment through their participation in the program;
  • Internal Learning System (ILS): A participatory methodology to assess program impact using simple pictorial diaries.

The paper suggests that organizations designing cost-effective client assessment systems must account for the following:

  • Institutional Considerations:
    • Conducting a sensitization and planning session with all levels of the organization to embrace and institutionalize the client assessment and monitoring system;
    • Clearing the division of labor and assignment of responsibility for overall coordination and oversight of the system.
  • Methodological Considerations:
    • Identifying the types of information needed for addressing specific questions of critical importance to the organization;
    • Considering opportunities to triangulate various sources of data, thus increasing the validity of the findings;
    • Assessing the availability of resources, such as time, human resources, and funding, and designing the client assessment system within those resources.

About this Publication

By Hishigsuren, G.
Published