A Review of Impact Information Systems of NGO Microenterprise Programs

Reviews the impact information systems of NGOs that provide services to microentrepreneurs in less developed countries. Systems and indicators of 19 organizations are described, including specific indicators used by 13 of these organizations. Use of the information, and strengths and weaknesses of different types of the systems are discussed. Findings include:

• Types of economic impacts considered are changes in quantity of goods and services sold, employment, assets and profits;
• Social impacts are less commonly addressed, only in more comprehensive systems;
• Program records and client surveys are the common sources of data for comprehensive information systems, though some organisations use focus groups, loan applications and key informant interviews;
• More reliable information is obtained by collecting twice and comparing "before assistance" levels with "after assistance" levels rather than asking directly about changes;
• Comprehensive impact assessment systems run the risk of becoming too complicated or costly.

Concludes with recommendations for loan tracking systems and questions for more comprehensive systems. Balancing costs of assessments with requirements is discussed as are data collection processes, data analysis and reporting, staff and training issues.