Grameen Foundation

Summary This project involves assessing the impact of Belghoria Janakalyan Samity (BJS)’s microloans project to determine if the socio-economic condition of the clients improved as a result of the program. While some of the work can be conducted remotely, phase 2 and part of phase 1 of the work requires that the volunteers assigned to that phase of the project visit BJS’s head office and branches located at North 24 Parganas and Jalpaiguri in India. Institutional Background Belghoria Janakalyan Samity (BJS) is a microfinance institution (MFI) that aims to empower poor women and improve their economic condition by providing them with small loans for income generating activities. BJS is now in the fifth year of its operation and works in two districts of West Bengal through ten branches covering more than 23,000 clients. Its present loan portfolio stands at an estimated INR 46 million and the client base is almost 10,000. Challenge At present, BJS has limited tools to assess the social impact of its microfinance program. Client satisfaction surveys provide limited input about how client friendly BJS’s processes are. Evaluating the social and economic empowerment has proved to be a challenge. In the absence of accurate social impact assessment, BJS cannot ascertain the extent to which its vision has been achieved. There is also a chance that the unserved or underserved population may remain untouched under this program. Project Description and Objectives The project aims to evaluate the social impact BJS microloans program has on its client’s lives and offer recommendations on how the program can be improved in keeping with BJS’s mission. Recommendations could include operational improvements, suggestions on targeting unserved/under-served population etc. Volunteer Deliverables and timeline: The project will be divided into three distinct phases. BJS seeks one volunteer to perform phases 1 and 3, and a team of 3 volunteers to perform phase 2. Phase 1: BJS seeks a volunteer with experience in social impact assessment to develop an evaluation framework for the social impact assessment project and a survey questionnaire for clients. Specific activities to be performed include: ? Developing a hypothesis to be tested post discussion with MFI; ? Reviewing literature on poverty indicators in India and existing social impact assessment tools; and assessing available information at the MFI to determine the most suitable indicators to be used to measure the social impact of the microfinance program. The indicators could include demographic characteristics, quality of housing, wealth, education level etc. ? Developing an evaluation framework. Pertinent considerations include: o Should the comparison be made against existing benchmarks set by the MFI, or should social indicators exhibited by the client group be evaluated against parameters exhibited by comparison group (non-clients), to make a decision on the program’s social impact? o Does the MFI want an assessment of the program to date or a tool/ survey which can be used on an on-going basis? ? Using an existing social impact assessment tool and associated questionnaire to develop a new tool and questionnaire for testing. The questionnaire needs to be designed such that it can be asked openly, is practical, reliable, direct, easy to answer and time-efficient. ? Developing the sampling methodology and determining the most suitable geographic locations for testing. Deliverable: The volunteer deliverable from Phase 1 is a presentation on the social impact assessment evaluation framework and methodology which will be followed, along with a survey questionnaire which will be used in phase 2.Proposed timeline: July 2011 Phase 2: BJS seeks a team of 3 volunteers to administer the survey prepared by the volunteer in phase 1. Five BJS branches will be considered, located at North 24 Parganas, a distance of 60-90 kilometers from Kolkata and another five that are located in Jalpaiguri around 700 kilometers from Kolkata. Specific activities to be conducted in phase 2 include: ? Liaising with the MFI to identify clients (or non-clients, depending upon the evaluation framework drawn out) who need to be interviewed; ? Communicating with MFIs prior to arrival to ensure all information and data is available during visit; ? Traveling to the MFI and visiting clients along with designated MFI staff to conduct client interviews; ? Conducting surveys (approximately 10 per day) and recording client responses accurately; ? Taking detailed notes of the experience to document lessons learned and sharing best practices; and ? Sending survey results in the format in which it has been requested. Phase 3: Phase 1 volunteer or another volunteer will receive information provided by volunteers in phase 2 and provide an assessment of the social impact program along with recommendations on how the social impact of the program can be improved in future. Recommendations could include operational improvements, suggestions on targeting unserved/under-served population etc. Volunteer Requirements For phases 1 and 3, BJS seeks a volunteer with experience in conducting social impact assessments. The volunteer would need to visit the MFI location for at least 2 weeks in phase 1. Part of the work can be conducted purely remotely, but will require extensive coordination over email and phone with the MFI. Desired skill sets are below: ? Prior experience in conducting social impact assessment work, preferably in microfinance; ? English fluency is required, fluency in Hindi is preferred; ? Good interpersonal skills and an ability to interact with people at various levels; and ? Good communication skills, and proficiency in Microsoft word, excel and PowerPoint. Phase 2 will require volunteers to make field visits to client locations. Desired skill sets are below: ? Strong observation skills; ? Ability and resources to travel internationally for the duration of the assessment (two weeks); ? English and Hindi fluency is required. Knowledge of Bengali will be preferred; ? Strong communication skills (experience in interviewing and delivering complex messages in a simple direct manner); ? Experience with research preferred; ? Attention to detail; ? Analytical ability; ? Experience with data collection and processing; ? Proficiency in Microsoft word, excel and PowerPoint. Project Duration and Location Phase 3 can be conducted remotely if required. For phase 2 and part of phase 1, the volunteers would need to visit BJS’s head office and branches located at North 24 Parganas and Jalpaiguri. Expected project duration for the various phases is below but could be flexible depending upon the availability of the right volunteer: Phase 1: July 2011 Phase 2: August 2011 Phase 3: September 2011 Expected Results / Impact The results of the study will be used to understand the social impact of BJS’s program, which is useful for both management and external partners; and would help develop a set of recommendations for enhancing the institution’s operations and impact.