Use of Poverty Tools by POWG members
Compilation of Responses
POWG Has your organization (or
Membe affiliates) used these tools
r (PAT and PPI) in the past? If
yes, for what purpose(s)?
FFH We recently applied the Mali PPI tool as
well as our food security survey tool with
our partner Kondo Jigima. We applied both
to assess Kondo’s outreach to poor and
food insecure people and we will apply
them both again in about 2-3 years to assess
changes in status of both tools with same
cohort of clients.
We have not applied the PPI tools for any
of our other partners directly, but Grameen
has worked with some directly to do so (for
example, CARD in the Philippines). Same
goes for the PAT tools, some of our
partners have used them directly, such as
the PAT with PRISMA in Peru.
Our purpose is to measure outreach and
monitor changes over time. PPI poverty
measurement tool fits our methodology
better and will likely be utilized more often
than the PAT tools (as long as PPI exists for
countries where we work). Unless, of
course, a particular partner prefers or needs
to utilize a PAT tool.
Pro We did the baseline PPI in all five countries
Mujer about a year ago, give or take a few months,
depending on the country. We are not sure
Have you used other poverty
tools in the past, and for what
purpose?
We have up to this point used our food security
survey more consistently and more often than the
poverty measurement tools, because of its simplicity
and relevance to our mission. As with description
above, we’ve used this tool to assess outreach to
food insecure populations and assessed same cohorts
over time with the same instrument. We’re also
using qualitative client life stories to add
dimensions to the quantitative data we have on
food security and poverty levels.
No
What would you like to do in future
with these or related poverty tools?
Our aim is to support use of PPI tools (or PAT tools if
some of our partners prefer) to assess poverty levels and
our food security Survey to assess food security levels
of our partners’ clients. Each year, our goal is to apply at
a minimum the food security survey with 5 new partners
—with aim of reaching all partners over time and
building in process to collect this data on a consistent
basis. Where PPI or PAT tools exist, we’ll incorporate
those into our data collection processes when we collect
the food security data. As mentioned above, purpose of
use of these tools is to measure outreach as well as
monitor changes over time for social performance
management purposes (for both Freedom from Hunger
and our implementing partners). To date, we’ve applied
the food security survey with 11-12 of our partners and
the PPI for Mali with 1 partner.
Segmentation, measure progress out of poverty over
time
 whether or not we’ll continue to apply the
PPI as is. Yes, PPI, to get a baseline of
poverty levels for incoming clients.
MCS
GF-USA I understand the PPI is being used by our
implementing partners so far for the
following (1) to understand the poverty
bands of the client portfolio (2) for targeting
of incoming clients based on poverty
likelihood (3) to measure movement out of
poverty over a period of time and (4) Client
segmentation- understanding poverty
likelihoods of clients based on indicators
such as age, rural-urban, number of
businesses etc.
Malini already pointed out the GF is
supporting organizations using the PPI to
assess the distribution of poverty levels
within a given cohort or portfolio, track the
changes in those levels and, sometimes,
target new clients. All of that information
can then be combine with existing data
about clients to give management teams
information useful for adjusting products
and services.
Targeting individual clients is certainly less
accurate than assessing large groups but the
The short answer is no, since GF is not a direct
practitioner. I can say that we work with many
organizations that have and are using other tools.
Some find that the PPI obviates the need for some
other existing tool (means test or housing index for
instance) others find that the PPI fills in gaps in
existing information.
Dev's comments regarding the various dimensions of
poverty are important. It is certainly true that the
directly measurable economic component of poverty
is but one aspect of poverty. Grameen Foundation
has taken the approach that the PPI helps assess the
economic component and each institution has to then
determine what other information needs it has, and
how best to fill those needs. In this sense the PPI (or
any other individual tool) is one piece of a larger
monitoring and management strategy. That strategy
is not one size fits all, but there are a few
commonalities. Our argument is (obviously) poverty
levels of clients (or other recipients of products/
services) is one of those commonalities.
We are strong advocates of the poverty scorecards.
We have helped design scorecards for a few countries
and have worked to help instruct MFIs in their use.
Our efforts at this point our to develop and use
scorecards for county-wide surveys that can help
MCS measure the number of MFI clients who have
risen above the dollar a day level. We are in the
middle of this survey process in Bangladesh and
looking to start the same process in India this year.
I am not sure this is really in the same realm as the 2nd
generation that Thierry and Jan referred to but we
continue to refine the process for using the PPI as well as
the tool itself. In more recent PPIs for instance, Mark
Schreiner (who we work with on the development of
PPIs) has increased the number of poverty lines available
to make the PPI useful for a wider range of target
populations. Recognizing that processing is a major
hurdle for any data intensive tool, we are creating
resources to help with that. While we have a fairly simple
excel database available for collecting data now, we are
working on a more robust database. We hope that new
DB will help organizations combine existing client data
more efficiently and effectively with existing systems. At
the same time GF's own open source MIS called Mifos
has some capability to capture and process PPI data.
Coming updates will improve upon that.
 information needs are different too.
Businesses make decisions all the time on
information that is less than 100% certain.
Sometimes much less! So, one way I
describe the use of PPO data is to say that
the information has to be reliable enough
that managers can use it to improve
decisions. Incidentally, accuracy is not the
only requirement of an effective targeting
tool, consistency is also vital.
Only with a consistent intake process can a
manager know if a change needs to be
made.

SAVE We have not used tools yet. A small We haven't. We expect to be involved in EMMA Until second- or third-generation tools are developed that
portion of our livelihoods funding comes pilots. can be used for individual targeting, we don't see much
from USAID, and where MF funds are justification in investing scarce resources in training our
being used, we are not reaching the $100k staff to use the tools.
threshold, or there is no approved tool. It
would be interesting to hear how other
organizations that have varied sources of
funding factor the costs involved in using
poverty tools in their decisions to approach
other sponsors that don't have such
reporting requirements.
Habitat HFHI has not yet used the PPI or PAT HFH National Programs have used contextualized Target Low Income and Poor clients; Measure poverty
Tools though we have been trained to do so. formulas for targeting home partners, such as a levels of existing clients; Report on poverty outreach
percentage of Area Median Income (AMI), or measures and we would like to design new products for
$1/day, $2/day per capita. poorer populations

CCF No poverty tools have been used at this
point. As we don't yet have a USAID grant
that meets the $100k threshold, our interest
at this point is not compliance, but in
gaining a better understanding of the profile
of those we serve. We do want to build an
organizational capacity to implement PAT,
so this summer we will be doing a first
application in Ethiopia.
It is not anticipated that PAT would be used for
targeting, but rather to provide feedback on the
effectiveness of our targeting. Like Jo, I would be
interested in exploring minimum sample sizes that,
beyond compliance, can provide reliable data for
management decisions.
As a starting point, CCF would like to use PAT to help
demonstrate the effectiveness of program interventions
by measuring change in poverty status. Ideally, we
would want to be able to use PAT to say that from the
time of the baseline to a resurvey point (say 12-24
months after entering the program) the % of participants
falling below the extreme poverty line has decreased.
(comments really welcome on this point - am I correct
that this is an appropriate use of the tool?)
 Going beyond this poverty assessment use - CCF has
found that poverty is a deeply relational, relative, and
multi-dimensional experience. Poor children experience
poverty as being DEPRIVED of essential material
conditions and services; being EXCLUDED on the basis
of their age, gender, class, caste, etc.; and being
VULNERABLE to an array of threats in their
environments. PAT gives insight into the deprivation
dimension, but not a holistic view of poverty. So, I am
interested in seeing how others supplement PAT to get a
broader sense of wellbeing.

CCF has developed a Youth Employment & Well-being

Scorecard to measure the effectiveness of its youth
employment 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 & social
engagement. My experience with PAT is new and
limited (just took the IRIS ToT training in DC in March).
However, I am encouraged by potential applications, and
there are gaps in our Scorecard that I would like to
explore PAT's capacity to fill. For example, the
scorecard does not have an adequate indicator/measure of
improved income of the respondent. I am now inclined
to use a PAT score for a program area as a proxy for
economic 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 PAT

beyond compliance, so I am very attracted to the first
suggestion that Thierry made, "share what is know about
the uses of the tool that are most reliable, and those that
are not."

FINCA NOT RESPONDED

WR NOT RESPONDED

Mercy NOT RESPONDED

Corps

PA NOT RESPONDED

WORLD NOT RESPONDED

VISION

UNITUS NOT RESPONDED

Comme - why does PPI fit FFH methodology better - What is underlying reason for FFH to use PPI/PAT
nts by than PAT if food security tool measures an outcome more
Jan M relevant to FFH’s mission?
- Any feedback on correlation and
comparison between PPI/PAT and food - Would be interesting to learn more about
security tool results? qualitative client stories and triangulation of results
with poverty/food insecurity tools
- Is FFH involved with use of Mali PPI for
Saving for Change program in partnership
with Oxfam America?
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 Children’s Fund

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 <$1/day PPP or in the bottom 50% below their country's poverty line

poor = no fixed definition but a clear emphasis on serving low-income people in developing countries

Practical Action Bangladesh:

1. Total asset value is less than Tk. 2500

2. Monthly income range Tk. 500-1200
3. Widow/ adolescent women
4. Does not have own house; or own house but no other assets
5. Family size 1-5
6. Only one income earning member in the family
7. Disable husband/male in the family
8. No reliable/permanent income source
9. Mostly female or female headed households
10. Involved in agricultural labor oriented work or work as maidservant which are intermittent and do not ensure
any fixed income