Strengths, Weaknesses and Evolution of the Peace Corps' 11-Year ...

epresentative sample framework for this study. In general, participating groups and individuals were
selected based on community contacts, although participants in the household survey were randomly
selected within those groups. Thus, it is not possible to use this data to accurately determine the
frequency of characteristics observed among all of the banks in Ecuador, or all of the banks in the
two regions selected. Although the data in this report describes only the characteristics of the
banks observed, the amount of variation captured provides the confidence that the
characteristics described likely represent a fair percentage of characteristics present in most
banks.
The focus-group discussion guide included questions about the disadvantages of being a member
and about the weaknesses of the bank, but no specific “exit interviews” were conducted with
members who had left a community bank or with members of a bank that dissolved. The report is
unable to identify the most common reasons for individual members to leave banks, or the most
common reasons for community banks to dissolve altogether, as well as the frequency of these
issues. While some groups mentioned that individual members leave for personal reasons such as
illness or a change of residence, it is unclear whether this occurs more often than reasons of poor
bank administration. However, the information gathered about disadvantages and weaknesses, such
as a lack of transparency and structure, as well as a lack of collaboration of all members on incomegenerating
activities, can point to reasons for a member to leave or a bank to dissolve.
For a majority of the research team members, it was the first contact with the participants, which
seemed to be a limitation in gaining some financial data. The researchers found that some banks
were reluctant to share detailed financial information about their bank or about personal use of
financial instruments. Some banks also have large amounts of money not protected in formal
financial institutions and, most likely, information is not given to anyone outside of the community
bank so as to protect its assets. Therefore, some questions were left unanswered or data is limited.
Additionally, most of the data was collected in a focus-group discussion format in which
respondents provide answers during an open discussion with other group members. Therefore,
information was not provided if a participant did not feel comfortable disclosing it in the presence
of others. The presentation of the results takes these limitations into consideration.
Page | 8 Strengths, Weaknesses and Evolution of the Peace Corps’ 11-Yearl-Old Savings Group Program in Ecuador