Social Impact Assessment of Microfinance Programmes - weman

the purpose of the organization and the mutual obligations which CO formation entails.
These dialogues:
• Help to establish rapport and build trust between the NRSP Social Organizers and the
villagers;
• Enable potential CO members to identify the socio-economic and infrastructural
opportunities available in their communities. Every effort is made to include both men's
and women's perspectives as the dialogues proceed.
• Help identify potential areas of effective intervention, as defined by the men and
women of the community. Once identified, the opportunities are grouped into sectorspecific
categories.
7.1.5.1.2. Situation analysis: As part of the entry process, the Social Organizer
completes a 'Situation Analysis', which covers demographic trends, economic data
(household income, agricultural and other earnings), employment data, the institutions
(schools, hospitals etc.) found in the area, the amount and condition of land, health and
education facilities and physical infrastructure and the state of the agricultural economy.
The situation analysis utilizes primary and secondary sources (interviews, Census data,
etc.) and is valuable as a benchmark, as a tool for entry level planning and for eventual
programme expansion.
7.1.5.1.3. CO Formation: The NRSP staff asks people to form Community
Organizations (COs), which will function as a platform for development. Each CO then
elects a President and a Manager. The NRSP staff and the CO members identify an
Activist from amongst the CO members.
7.1.5.1.4. Poverty Profile: It is the process in which villagers are identified
according to their own definitions of economic wellbeing. This gives NRSP a good idea
of the scale of poverty in the area and enables NRSP to match its intended interventions
with local needs. The categories are:
Khushal: Well to do Guzara accha ho jata hai: Better off
Guzara bhot mushkil se hota hai: Very poor Guzara mushkil se hota hai: Poor
Dusroon ke sahare zinda rehte hain: Destitute.
7.1.5.1.5. Micro investment plans: Once a CO has been formed, the Social Organizers
help the members to draw up micro-investment plans (MIPs). Established at three levels,
household, group and the village, these help the CO members to identify their economic
needs in concrete terms and to plan ways to improve their economic standing.
7.1.6 Microfinance Enterprise Development Programme
7.1.6.1
NRSP manages one of Pakistan's biggest microcredit portfolios, with 109,614 active
loans as of July 2005. As part of its holistic approach, NRSP provides various financial
services to the members of COs in rural areas to help them implement their Micro
Investment Plans (MIPs). Major programme donors are PPAF, IFAD and a substantive
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