Performance Measurement Framework (PMF) for Business Development Services: Progress Report on Impact Indicators Survey

This report analyzes the progress of a global initiative to identify valid and practical performance indicators for business development services (BDS) programs. It studies the working of six organizations that provide BDS services.The paper discusses:

1. The characteristics and purpose of the performance measurement framework (PMF) and delves into:
   • Limitations of the research;
   • The question of identifying BDS programs that should use the PMF;
   • PMF resources and documents.
2. The research process and presents:
   • Impact indicators and methodologies that the field research team tested;
   • The process the team underwent to reach its conclusions;
3. The data resulting from the individual field-research organizations' studies and states that:
   • The organizations were able to collect and report data for all indicators, except the financial data;
   • The demographic data was very helpful;
   • The data on customer acquisition contributed to program assessment;
4. The results of the research and argues that:
   • All six organizations were able to gather and present the required information;
   • The validity, usefulness and practicality of the different indicators varied significantly;
   • Demographic information was valid, useful and practical;
   • The customer satisfaction and repeat use questions provided useful data for improving services;
   • The employment data was weak and unreliable.

The paper recommends two key areas for conducting further research on BDS impact:

• In-depth impact studies;
• Tracking the application of the recommended indicators.