Use of Poverty Tools by POWG Members

8/7/2019 Use of Poverty Tools by POWG Members

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Use of Poverty Tools by POWG members

Compilation of Responses

POWGMembe

r

Has your organization (oraffiliates) used these tools

(PAT and PPI) in the past? If

yes, for what purpose(s)?

Have you used other povertytools in the past, and for whatpurpose?

What would you like to do in futurewith these or related poverty tools?

FFH We recently applied the Mali PPI tool aswell as ourfood security survey tool withour partner Kondo Jigima. We applied bothto assess Kondos outreach to poor andfood insecure people and we will applythem both again in about 2-3 years to assess

changes in status of both tools with samecohort of clients.

We have not applied the PPI tools for anyof our other partners directly, but Grameenhas worked with some directly to do so (forexample, CARD in the Philippines). Samegoes for the PAT tools, some of ourpartners have used them directly, such asthe PAT with PRISMA in Peru.

Our purpose is to measure outreach and

monitor changes over time. PPI povertymeasurement tool fits our methodology

better and will likely be utilized more oftenthan the PAT tools (as long as PPI exists forcountries where we work). Unless, ofcourse, a particular partner prefers or needsto utilize a PAT tool.

We have up to this point used our food securitysurvey more consistently and more often than thepoverty measurement tools, because of its simplicityand relevance to our mission. As with descriptionabove, weve used this tool to assess outreach tofood insecure populations and assessed same cohorts

over time with the same instrument. Were alsousing qualitative client life stories to add

dimensions to the quantitative data we have on

food security and poverty levels.

Our aim is to support use of PPI tools (or PAT tools ifsome of our partners prefer) to assess poverty levels andour food security Survey to assess food security levelsof our partners clients. Each year, our goal is to apply ata minimum the food security survey with 5 new partnerswith aim of reaching all partners over time and

building in process to collect this data on a consistentbasis. Where PPI or PAT tools exist, well incorporatethose into our data collection processes when we collectthe food security data. As mentioned above, purpose ofuse of these tools is to measure outreach as well as

monitor changes over time for social performance

management purposes (for both Freedom from Hungerand our implementing partners). To date, weve appliedthe food security survey with 11-12 of our partners andthe PPI for Mali with 1 partner.

Pro

Mujer

We did the baseline PPI in all five countriesabout a year ago, give or take a few months,depending on the country. We are not sure

No Segmentation, measure progress out of poverty over

time


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information needs are different too.Businesses make decisions all the time oninformation that is less than 100% certain.Sometimes much less! So, one way Idescribe the use of PPO data is to say that

the information has to be reliable enoughthat managers can use it to improvedecisions. Incidentally, accuracy is not theonly requirement of an effective targetingtool, consistency is also vital.Only with a consistent intake process can amanager know if a change needs to bemade.

SAVE We have not used tools yet. A smallportion of our livelihoods funding comesfrom USAID, and where MF funds are

being used, we are not reaching the $100kthreshold, or there is no approved tool. Itwould be interesting to hear how otherorganizations that have varied sources offunding factor the costs involved in usingpoverty tools in their decisions to approachother sponsors that don't have suchreporting requirements.

We haven't. We expect to be involved in EMMApilots.

Until second- or third-generation tools are developed thatcan be used for individual targeting, we don't see muchjustification in investing scarce resources in training our

staff to use the tools.

Habitat HFHI has not yet used the PPI or PATTools though we have been trained to do so.

HFH National Programs have used contextualizedformulas for targeting home partners, such as apercentage of Area Median Income (AMI), or$1/day, $2/day per capita.

Target Low Income and Poor clients; Measure povertylevels of existing clients; Report on poverty outreachmeasures and we would like to design new products for poorer populations

CCF No poverty tools have been used at thispoint. As we don't yet have a USAID grantthat meets the $100k threshold, our interestat this point is not compliance, but ingaining a better understanding of the profileof those we serve. We do want to build anorganizational capacity to implement PAT,so this summer we will be doing a firstapplication in Ethiopia.

It is not anticipated that PAT would be used fortargeting, but rather to provide feedback on theeffectiveness of our targeting. Like Jo, I would beinterested in exploring minimum sample sizes that,beyond compliance, can provide reliable data formanagement decisions.

As a starting point, CCF would like to use PAT to helpdemonstrate the effectiveness of program interventionsby measuring change in poverty status. Ideally, wewould want to be able to use PAT to say that from thetime of the baseline to a resurvey point (say 12-24months after entering the program) the % of participantsfalling below the extreme poverty line has decreased.(comments really welcome on this point - am I correctthat this is an appropriate use of the tool?)


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Going beyond this poverty assessment use - CCF hasfound that poverty is a deeply relational, relative, andmulti-dimensional experience. Poor children experiencepoverty as being DEPRIVED of essential material

conditions and services; being EXCLUDED on the basisof their age, gender, class, caste, etc.; and beingVULNERABLE to an array of threats in theirenvironments. PAT gives insight into the deprivationdimension, but not a holistic view of poverty. So, I aminterested in seeing how others supplement PAT to get abroader sense of wellbeing.

CCF has developed a Youth Employment & Well-beingScorecard to measure the effectiveness of its youthemployment and livelihood enhancement interventions.In its current version, the scorecard clusters questions

around three domains that reflect our key youth (ages 14-24) interventions, e.g. transition to the workforce,parenthood preparation, and leadership & socialengagement. My experience with PAT is new andlimited (just took the IRIS ToT training in DC in March).However, I am encouraged by potential applications, andthere are gaps in our Scorecard that I would like toexplore PAT's capacity to fill. For example, thescorecard does not have an adequate indicator/measure ofimproved income of the respondent. I am now inclinedto use a PAT score for a program area as a proxy foreconomic deprivation. I feel that an assessment of

poverty by PAT is an important element of "well-being"that is not currently captured.

I am not certain how CCF will ultimately use PATbeyond compliance, so I am very attracted to the firstsuggestion that Thierry made, "share what is know aboutthe uses of the tool that are most reliable, and those thatare not."

FINCA NOT RESPONDED


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WR NOT RESPONDED

Mercy

Corps

NOT RESPONDED

PA NOT RESPONDED

WORLD

VISION

NOT RESPONDED

UNITUS NOT RESPONDED

Comme

nts by

Jan M

- why does PPI fit FFH methodology better

than PAT

- Any feedback on correlation and

comparison between PPI/PAT and food

security tool results?

- Is FFH involved with use of Mali PPI for

Saving for Change program in partnership

with Oxfam America?

- What is underlying reason for FFH to use PPI/PAT

if food security tool measures an outcome more

relevant to FFHs mission?

- Would be interesting to learn more about

qualitative client stories and triangulation of results

with poverty/food insecurity tools


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March survey question: Does your organization have an explicit intention to work with poor

or very poor people? If yes, how do you define poverty of your intended clients or

participants?

Everyone of the member organizations below, except Shorebank, said YES to first question.

Practical Action

"Ultra Poor Options research in Bangladesh" - female headed households, no own house and living in others place,

may have own house but work as maidservant or agriculture laborer which basically do not ensure regular income,

family members may be 1 to 7 but only one earning member, disable husband, widow, divorcee adolescent women,

indigenous agriculture labor, total asset value below Taka 2500, child labor in family, having loan and do not have

access to government non- government facilities.

They suffer from extreme and multiple deprivation of food, income and employment, are at risk to disasters and

face social and political exclusion.

World Relief

Well we look to work with the Vulnerable, and we are developing a framework for understanding that.

The MFIs as independent entities decide locally their definition of poverty.

Freedom From Hunger

Chronically hungry poor as defined by a food security scale. People so poor they are chronically hungry (food

insecure), more or less the same as those living on a "dollar a day" or less, which is more or less the bottom billion

of the global wealth pyramid.

Grameen Foundation

Our mission is to enable the poor, especially the poorest, to create a world without poverty.

At this point as the bottom billion; people living below $1.25 per day. Exploring better ways of defining based on

common characteristics.

Shorebank Exchange

Not right now. current focus is on small businesses and MF, but future interests may move in that direction

Christian Childrens Fund


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CCF defines poverty in a broad sense, as experienced through the eyes of children, and for us poverty includes the

dimensions of deprivation (economic), exclusion and vulnerability.

FINCA

We work with clientele across four distinct regions so we keep local conditions in mind along with standard

purchasing power measures.

Habitat for Humanity

work with the poor and very poor -- must have some income and means to repay loans; can't access funds from

traditional sources.

Microcredit Summit Campaign

Those living on less than a dollar a day.

USAID

very poor = living on

Use of Poverty Tools by POWG Members

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