Henry, CarlaSharma, ManoharLapenu, CecileZeller, Manfred2013-08-142013-08-142003-090-8213-5674-7https://hdl.handle.net/10986/15065Currently, no rigorous tool exists to measure the poverty level of microfinance institution (MFI) clients. In order to gain more transparency on the depth of poverty outreach, CGAP collaborated with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) to design and test a simple, low-cost operational tool to measure the poverty level of MFI clients relative to nonclients. This tool is a companion piece to the CGAP Appraisal Format; donors should not use the poverty assessment tool without also conducting a larger institutional appraisal. The concept of poverty is complex and strongly influenced by local cultural and socioeconomic conditions. The poverty assessment approach presented in this manual supports a flexible definition of poverty that can be adapted to fit local perceptions and conditions of poverty. The tool is intended neither as a means to target new clients nor to assess the impact of microfinance services on the lives of existing clients. It may provide a useful means to verify-both for the donor and the MFI-the extent to which an existing strategy results in poor clients joining the MFI. The tool assesses the poverty levels of MFI clients compared to nonclients within the operational area of an MFI. Using available data or expert opinion, the tool also relates local poverty levels to poverty measured at larger regional and national levels.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOMICROFINANCE APPRAISAL FORMATSMICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONSMETHODOLOGYPOVERTY ASSESSMENTINDICATOR ANALYSISPOVERTY INDICATORSRESEARCH & DEVELOPMENTPERFORMANCE CRITERIAHOUSEHOLD SURVEY DATASURVEY DATAFAMILY STRUCTUREFOOD CONSUMPTION PATTERNSDWELLINGQUESTIONNAIRE BASED MONITORING & EVALUATIONTRAINING ACTIVITIESIMPLEMENTATION PLANSDATA MANAGEMENTDATA PROCESSING DOCUMENTATIONHOUSEHOLD DATADATA ANALYSISPARTICIPATORY APPRAISALSHUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEXES ABSOLUTE POVERTYADAPTABILITYADAPTATIONAGEDASSESSING POVERTYAVERAGE POVERTYBASIC NEEDSBENEFICIARIESCASE STUDIESCASE STUDYCGAPCLIENT HOUSEHOLDSCOMPONENT ANALYSISDATA ANALYSISDATA COLLECTIONDESCRIPTIVE STATISTICSDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONECONOMIC COOPERATIONEXPENDITURE SURVEYFIELD TESTINGFINANCIAL SERVICESFINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITYFOOD POLICY RESEARCHHOUSEHOLD ASSETSHOUSEHOLD DATAHOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE SURVEYSHOUSEHOLD LEVELHOUSEHOLD SCORESHOUSEHOLD SURVEYSHUMAN DEVELOPMENTHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENTIMPLEMENTATION PLANINTERNATIONAL LABOURINTERVIEWERLOCAL CONDITIONSLOCAL LEVELMICROFINANCE CLIENTSMICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONSMICROFINANCE POVERTY ASSESSMENT TOOLNATIONAL LEVELNATIONAL LEVELSOPERATIONAL AREAOPERATIONAL AREASOPERATIONAL TOOLPARTICIPATORY METHODSPOOR CLIENTSPOVERTY ASSESSMENTPOVERTY ASSESSMENT APPROACHPOVERTY COMPARISONSPOVERTY FOCUSPOVERTY GROUPPOVERTY GROUPINGSPOVERTY GROUPSPOVERTY INDEXPOVERTY INDEX VARIABLEPOVERTY INDICATORPOVERTY INDICATORSPOVERTY LEVELPOVERTY LEVELSPROGRAMSRANDOM SAMPLINGRELATIVE IMPORTANCERELATIVE POVERTYRESEARCH INSTITUTERESEARCH INSTITUTESRURAL POORRURAL POVERTYSAMPLE SIZESAMPLING FRAMESCREENINGSECONDARY DATASTATISTICAL ANALYSISSTATISTICAL DATASURVEY QUESTIONNAIRETARGETINGTARGETING TOOLSTIME FRAMETRAINING SCHEDULETRANSPARENCYConsultative Group to Assist the PoorWorld Bank10.1596/0-8213-5674-7