Assessment

Truelift assessments reflect not only the performance of an MFI’s pro-poor activities, but also the strength of evidence that validates it. There are five Milestones – Stating Commitment, Truelift Aspirant, Truelift Emerging Practitioner, Truelift Achiever and Truelift Leader (Leaders receive the Pro-Poor Seal of Excellence).

The following describes each Truelift Milestone. The Performance and Verification Requirements sub-page provides more detail on what is required at each stage. 

Stating Commitment

The starting point is stating commitment publicly. There are several ways to do this:

• by simply joining the Poverty-focused Microfinance Community of Practice, hosted by Truelift and the SPTF
• by reporting a poverty objective via MIX Market’s Social Performance Standards
• by reporting commitments through the Microcredit Summit Campaign

By Stating Commitment, the MFI confirms that its objectives include outreach to poor people, provision of products and services that meet the needs of poor people, and tracking progress of poor clients over time.

Truelift Aspirant

After joining the Community of Practice, an MFI can review and complete a Truelift Indicators Tool in order to diagnose its own strengths and weaknesses within the Pro-Poor Principles. The MFI may submit the tool to the Truelift Secretariat and become a Truelift Aspirant. Aspirants are expected to

• actively participate in the Poverty-focused Community of Practice.
• have objectives that include outreach to the poor and tracking outcomes for these clients over time
• commit to apply the Pro-Poor Principles

Truelift Emerging Practitioner

To reach the Truelift Emerging Practitioner milestone, practitioners will demonstrate transparency on:

• sustainability and responsible financial performance
• Client Protection Principles (CPP)
• the Universal Standards for Social Performance Management (USSPM).

and will demonstrate reasonable performance and a minimum appropriate score within the three Pro-Poor Principles:

• Purposeful Outreach to People Living in Poverty
• Products, Services and Delivery Channels that Meet the Needs of People Living in Poverty
• Tracking Progress of Poor Clients.

Demonstration of the above will be checked through the submission and verification of the Indicators Tool by an approved third party entity and by reporting to the MIX Market on financial and social performance.

Emerging Practitioners are expected to actively contribute to the Poverty-focused Microfinance Community of Practice.

Truelift Achiever

Truelift Achievers will–provide evidence that has been verified through a Social Rating with a Truelift add-on and a Smart Assessment or equivalent–demonstrate transparency and meet an appropriate level of compliance with the qualifying standards for:

• sustainability and responsible financial performance
• Client Protection Principles (CPP), and
• the Universal Standards for Social Performance Management (USSPM).

In addition, the Achievers will demonstrate good performance and an appropriate score across the three Pro-Poor Principles:

• Purposeful Outreach to People Living in Poverty
• Products, Services and Delivery Channels that Meet the Needs of People Living in Poverty
• Tracking Progress of Poor Clients.

Truelift Achievers take a prominent role in the Poverty-focused Microfinance Community of Practice in order to share their strengths with others vying for better practices.

Truelift Leader

Truelift Leaders are also recipients of the Pro-Poor Seal of Excellence. Truelift Leaders fully meet the qualifying standards, including sustainability, responsible financial performance, CPP and USSPM, and show strength in each of the three Pro-Poor Principles. Leaders show evidence validated by one of the participating specialist rating agencies, and have earned Smart Certification.

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Context:  The Truelift Assessment Methodology (including milestones, indicators, performance and verification requirements) is founded on the three Pro-Poor Principles.  The three core principles were derived based on two rounds of testing of the framework and indicators by the Microfinance Technical Review Committee (MTRC) over two years. The MTRC refined and finalized the  indicators and the Principles after testing was completed. The final methodology was approved by the Steering Committee in March 2013.