The Internal Learning System for participatory impact assessment of microfinance
In spite of the rhetoric of participation, most PRAs are one-off events used in the initial design of programmes, and community participants are less involved in the running of programmes. The InternalLearning System described in this article is a monitoring system dealing with five levels of an organization, starting at the level of microfinance clients. Clients record aspects of their lives in their
ILS diaries, from the construction of their houses to the incidence of domestic abuse, and are then encouraged to set priorities for goals they wish to achieve. Impact indicators relate to work and material
assets, consumption, empowerment, finances and group functioning. The diaries are designed to be used by illiterate people, and this article describes how they have been enthusiastically adopted by poor
women handloom operators in South India, for whom they are a symbol of their growing confidence. The diaries have been used to confirm the women's low-income status with government officials and reveal
to programme managers changes in income status and in empowerment. Recording is also carried out at the group level, the cluster level, management level and funding level, and the data recorded at all levels
are regularly analysed and fed into planning at the level concerned.
Learning System described in this article is a monitoring system dealing with five levels of an organization, starting at the level of microfinance clients. Clients record aspects of their lives in their
ILS diaries, from the construction of their houses to the incidence of domestic abuse, and are then encouraged to set priorities for goals they wish to achieve. Impact indicators relate to work and material
assets, consumption, empowerment, finances and group functioning. The diaries are designed to be used by illiterate people, and this article describes how they have been enthusiastically adopted by poor
women handloom operators in South India, for whom they are a symbol of their growing confidence. The diaries have been used to confirm the women's low-income status with government officials and reveal
to programme managers changes in income status and in empowerment. Recording is also carried out at the group level, the cluster level, management level and funding level, and the data recorded at all levels
are regularly analysed and fed into planning at the level concerned.
Springs of Participation
5. It’s not just about the pictures! It’s also about principles, process and power: tensions in the development of the Internal Learning System
Noponen, Helzi
2007
https://doi.org/10.3362/9781780446004.005 [Citations: 2]Springs of Participation
9. Keeping the art of participation bubbling: some reflections on what stimulates creativity in using participatory methods
Jupp, Dee
2007
https://doi.org/10.3362/9781780446004.009 [Citations: 5]Springs of Participation
13. Navigating the trade-offs in the use of participatory approaches for research
Barahona, Carlos
Jupp, Dee
Noponen, Helzi
Welbourn, Alice
2007
https://doi.org/10.3362/9781780446004.013 [Citations: 0]Springs of Participation
7.Evolution of the Internal Learning System: a case study of the New Entity for Social Action
Nagasundari, Sundaram
2007
https://doi.org/10.3362/9781780446004.007 [Citations: 2]Springs of Participation
2. Seeds of success are seeds for potential failure: learning from the evolution of Reflect
Archer, David
2007
https://doi.org/10.3362/9781780446004.002 [Citations: 16]Springs of Participation
4. Can an international NGO practise what it preaches in participation? The case of ActionAid International
Newman, Kate
2007
https://doi.org/10.3362/9781780446004.004 [Citations: 0]Springs of Participation
12. Participatory village poverty reduction planning and index-based poverty mapping in China
Remenyi, Joe
2007
https://doi.org/10.3362/9781780446004.012 [Citations: 0]Microfinance challenges: empowerment or disempowerment of the poor?
References Part 3
2005
https://doi.org/10.4000/books.ifp.5760 [Citations: 0]Gender Relations, Empowerment and Microcredit: Moving on from a Lost Decade
Johnson, Susan
The European Journal of Development Research, Vol. 17 (2005), Iss. 2 P.224
https://doi.org/10.1080/09578810500130831 [Citations: 75]Springs of Participation
6. Steering the boat of life with the Internal Learning System: the oar of learning
Narendranath, D.
2007
https://doi.org/10.3362/9781780446004.006 [Citations: 3]Springs of Participation
10. HIV and AIDS, the global tsunami: the role of Stepping Stones as one participatory approach to diminish its onslaught
Welbourn, Alice
2007
https://doi.org/10.3362/9781780446004.010 [Citations: 0]The internal learning system?assessing impact while addressing participant learning needs
Noponen, Helzi
Journal of International Development, Vol. 17 (2005), Iss. 2 P.195
https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.1210 [Citations: 5]Springs of Participation
8. Road to the foot of the mountain, but reaching for the sun: PALS adventures and challenges
Mayoux, Linda
2007
https://doi.org/10.3362/9781780446004.008 [Citations: 3]Springs of Participation
11. Using numerical data from participatory research to support the Millennium Development Goals: the case for locally owned information systems
Levy, Sarah
2007
https://doi.org/10.3362/9781780446004.011 [Citations: 4]Springs of Participation
Back matter - Springs of Participation
Brock, Karen
Pettit, Jethro
2007
https://doi.org/10.3362/9781780446004.015 [Citations: 1]6. Assessing the Impact of PRADAN's Microfinance and Livelihoods Interventions:The Role of the Internal Learning System
Noponen, Helzi
IDS Bulletin, Vol. 34 (2003), Iss. 4 P.66
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1759-5436.2003.tb00091.x [Citations: 3]Springs of Participation
Prelims - Springs of Participation
Brock, Karen
Pettit, Jethro
2007
https://doi.org/10.3362/9781780446004.000 [Citations: 1]Springs of Participation
3. Training and facilitation: the propellers of participatory methodologies
Nandago, Maria
2007
https://doi.org/10.3362/9781780446004.003 [Citations: 12]Springs of Participation
14. Creating, evolving and supporting participatory methodologies: lessons for funders and innovators
Chambers, Robert
2007
https://doi.org/10.3362/9781780446004.014 [Citations: 3]Springs of Participation
1. Introduction
Brock, Karen
Pettit, Jethro
2007
https://doi.org/10.3362/9781780446004.001 [Citations: 1]- Value chain financing: evidence from Zambia on smallholder access to finance for mechanization
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- Building frontline market facilitators' capacity: the case of the ‘Integrating Very Poor Producers into Value Chains Field Guide’
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