Institutionalizing Client Assessment: The Activists for Social Alternatives - India

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.