Social Performance Indicators Initiative (SPI) - Phase 1: Summary Report
This paper describes the Social Performance Initiative (SPI). The project aimed to develop a conceptual framework for defining and measuring social performance of MFIs.
The social performance of an organization comprises the organization's relationships with its clients and other stakeholder groups. The measurement of social performance involves investigating the structure of an organization and its conduct in the market and local community. The four major dimensions of social performance include:
- Outreach to the poor and excluded;
- Adaptation of services and products to target clients;
- Improvement of social and political capital of clients and communities;
- MFI social responsibility.
The SPI project also suggested a set of operational indicators that measure different dimensions and elements of MFI social performance. The different steps in the research led to the definition of a reporting format that MFIs could apply. This has potential to form part of an audit for donors and ethical investors measuring the achievement of the MFI in different social dimensions. It can also form part of a learning process for the MFI.
