Practitioner-Led Impact Assessment: A Test in Mali (Part II)

Describes the process and results of field tests on tools designed to help practitioners track the impacts of microenterprise programmes. Tests were conducted on the Credit with Education program of Kafo Jiginew, a Malian credit union federation, in March 1998. The objectives were to:

• Test the process of training, data collection, and analysis conducted by and for practitioners;
• Assess whether the tools applied were simple, credible, useful, and cost-effective;
• Analyse data collected and document the impact of the program on its clients.

Findings showed positive program impact at the individual, household, and community levels. The field tests previously done in Honduras and these in Mali demonstrated that practitioners can conduct credible, useful, and relatively low-cost impact assessments. But both field tests clearly indicate that a certain infrastructure, level of commitment, skill and administrative support are required for the impact assessment to be successful. The results and lessons learned from the tools tests will lead to the development of a manual of practitioner tools and guidance for their application.

[Adapted from online abstract]