Tracking social objectives
Tracking social objectives
An MFI with clear and reliable information about its social objectives is able to make crucial decisions about services and systems to better achieve its mission.
MFIs should strengthen their MIS by integrating SPM data into existing databases, ensuring that there is enough clarity on why information is collected in order to improve the quality of data collected.
This section uses a broad definition of management information system (MIS). It includes the processes of data collection, reporting and dissemination of information, as well as the tracking, analysis and decision-making involved once the information is reported. We don’t make specific recommendations on the technology you need to address SPM, as these will be specific to your MFI and are therefore beyond the scope of this guide.
Use this section to:
- Review your information needs
- Integrate changes into your MIS
- Add new indicators to track social performance
TIP: Don’t skip the mission review exercise
If you have limited resources and time, we recommend that you at least ensure that the mission is in line with organisational and business plan objectives. This will help you define the kinds of information needed to track performance against social objectives.
It can be risky to jump straight in to adapting the MIS for SPM without confirming the organisation’s overall direction. Resist pressure from donors or third parties to skip this step – it would be unwise for them to make a significant investment in SPM without first clarifying your mission.