Social Performance Indicators

Since 2005, the global, industry-wide Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) has focused on developing ways to measure social performance in microfinance. One of the achievements of this initiative has been the creation of 22 social performance indicators to assess how an MFI aligns its systems to its mission and how it uses social performance information to reach its social goals. The established criteria for the indicators are that they must be:

• Relevant - the indicators selected have to be meaningful to microfinance specifically.
• Easy for an MFI to collect data on.
• Easy for MIX or another third party to verify.
• Information that the MFI is willing to have publicized on MIX Market or other sites

 

Reporting to MIX on social performance is not a difficult process. Most of the indicators, in fact, collect information that MFIs regularly track or refer to policies and systems in place within the organization. Other indicators are about outputs and outcomes, which the MFI might be tracking only partially or not tracking at all. The MFI should fill out only the parts of the report where information is available.  

MIX started to collect information on social performance in 2009 and in the first year 212 MFIs have reported. This year’s report has been updated by the Social Performance Indicators Working Group of the SPTF with the aim to make the indicators more comprehensive and easier to report on.

For any questions, please e-mail MIX’s Social Performance Manager, Micol Pistelli @ mpistelli@themix.org.

In a ceremony held on September 29th at the IDB Foromic in Arequipa, Peru, MFIs affiliated with the ACCION Latin America Network were honored with the Social Performance Reporting Award for achieving a 100% report rate on social performance! All MFIs from Accion Network –Latin America reported on the SPTF/MIX indicators. Congratulations to Accion Network- Latin America for the efforts in promoting social performance reporting!

Read Reporting Social Performance to MIX: Benefits for Microfinance Institutions

Social Performance Indicators Report:

• English-- 2009 SP Report_English.xls
• Spanish--2009 SP Report_Espanol.xls
• French--2009 SP Report_Francais.xls
• Bahasa--2009 SP Report_Bahasa.xls
• Arabic--_____ ______ ______ _________.xls

The Double Bottom Line: Evaluating Social Performance in Microfinance--MBB 17 Autumn 2008.pdf


Social Performance Reporting Award
The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and CGAP, launched the first Social Performance Reporting Award on June 2nd at the annual Social Performance Task Force meeting. The award, powered by the MIX is designed to promote greater transparency in MFIs’ social performance. The Award recognizes transparency in social performance reporting, not social performance achievements. Click here to read more.