Practitioner-Led Impact Assessment: A Test in Honduras

Describes the process and results of the first of two field tests on tools for practitioners to track the impacts of their microenterprise programs. It was conducted in September 1997 by the Organizacion Desarrollo Empresarial Femenino (ODEF) in Honduras in collaboration with several development agencies, and implemented over a three-week period. Objectives of the assessment were to:

• Test a process of training, data collection and analysis conducted by and for practitioners;
• Assess whether the tools applied were simple, credible, useful and cost-effective.

Findings showed that ODEF's clients experienced positive program impact, particularly at the enterprise level. The assessment contained a strong focus on client satisfaction issues, with data gathered from current and former clients. The field test in Honduras demonstrated that practitioners can conduct credible, useful and relatively low-cost impact assessments. But practitioner-led impact assessments require substantial skill, interest and time commitment on the part of the practitioner organization for the assessment to be successful. The results and lessons learned from this tools test and a second one in Mali will lead to the development of a manual containing practitioner tools and guidance for their application.

[Adapted from online abstract]