MicroTest: Publications

	Findings from the Field: Results from the 2007 Client Outcomes Data Collection (May 2008) This powerpoint, based upon a presentation given at the AEO Conference in Anaheim, CA in 2008, provides an overview of the outcomes experienced by nearly 1,800 clients of microenterprise development programs across the United States.

	MicroTest FY06 Performance Data Reports A set of PowerPoints illustrating key findings from the FY06 data collection effort, with graphics accompanied by text in the notes section. Reaching Target Groups (pdf) Program Scale (pdf) Performance Benchmarking (pdf) Analysis of Training Program Data (pdf) Analysis of Lending Program Data (pdf) Funding and Sustainability (pdf)

	Providing Capital, Building Communities, Creating Impact: FY2006 Data, Sixth Edition Download complete report This publication, a product of the CDFI Data Project, documents the work of 505 community development finance institutions (CDFIs) investing $4.7 billion in new financing activity in Fiscal Year 2006, an investment linked to 35,609 jobs and 69,893 units of affordable housing. The report, based upon the most recent data set of CDFI activity, combines text, numerous charts and tables, and case studies profiling the successes of borrowers. A supplemental section, authored by FIELD, presents data on 122 CDFIs that engage in microenterprise lending. Download supplemental insert

	MicroTest FY05 Performance Data Reports A set of PowerPoints illustrating key findings from the FY05 data collection effort, with graphics accompanied by text in the notes section. Reaching Target Groups (pdf) Program Scale (pdf) Performance Benchmarking (pdf) Analysis of Training Program Data (pdf) Analysis of Lending Program Data (pdf) Funding and Sustainability (pdf)

	Providing Capital, Building Communities, Creating Impact: FY2005 Data, Fifth Edition Download complete report This publication, a product of the CDFI Data Project, documents the work of 496 community development finance institutions (CDFIs) investing $4.3 billion in Fiscal Year 2005, an investment linked to 39,151 jobs and 55,242 units of affordable housing. The report, based upon the most recent data set of CDFI activity, combines text, numerous charts and tables, and case studies profiling the successes of borrowers. A supplemental section, authored by FIELD, presents data on 106 CDFIs that engage in microenterprise lending. Download supplemental insert

	Providing Capital, Building Communities, Creating Impact Download complete report This publication, a product of the CDFI Data Project, documents the work of 517 community development finance institutions (CDFIs) investing $3.5 billion in Fiscal Year 2004, an investment linked to 28,000 jobs and 43,000 units of affordable housing. The report, based upon the largest data set of CDFI activity, combines text, numerous charts and tables, and case studies profiling the successes of borrowers. A supplemental section, authored by FIELD, presents data on 113 CDFIs that engage in microenterprise lending. Download supplemental insert

	Monitoring Client Outcomes: A Report from MicroTest's 2004 Data Collection (November 2005) This publication describes a variety of business and household outcomes for 813 clients who received a significant level of services from a microenterprise development program. Staff of the 17 programs involved in the project surveyed clients, at least one year after services were provided, in person or by phone using established protocols and a MicroTest Outcomes survey tool. Results were then analyzed and aggregated by MicroTest staff for this publication.

	Providing Capital, Building Communities, Creating Impact (June 2004) This report, a product of the CDFI Data Project (CDP), presents fiscal year 2002 data collected from 442 CDFIs. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the entire CDFI industry; an in-depth discussion of its four institutional types—community development banks, community development credit unions, community development loan funds and community development venture capital funds; a section on microenterprise financing, and a discussion of some of the opportunities and challenges the industry faces.

	MicroTest FY2002 Program Performance PowerPoint (April 2004) This PowerPoint clearly describes the fundamentals of MicroTest and provides a graphic overview of the latest MicroTest program performance data. The PowerPoint draws on extensive analysis of the FY2002 final performance data, as well as three years of trend data. Using graphics, key findings from the data are highlighted.

	MicroTest FY2002 Program Performance Data Highlights (April 2004) This succinct two-page report provides a helpful overview to the final FY2002 MicroTest data on microenterprise program performance. Find out who MicroTest programs serve, how large and effective MicroTest programs are, as well as how programs fare over time. Key findings are accompanied by illustrations.

	CDFI paper (July 2003) This report, a product of the CDFI Data Project (CDP), presents fiscal year 2001 data collected from 512 CDFIs. Intended as a snapshot of a diverse, dynamic sector, the report presents an overview of the CDFI industry; outlines the specific services CDFIs offer; explains the impact they can have on a community; and touches on the key trends, opportunities and challenges facing CDFIs on the road ahead. The goal of the CDP is to provide data that will help build the CDFI field.

	A Measure of the Microenterprise Industry (Published: March 2003) This second annual report from MicroTest draws on three years of microenterprise performance data to describe trends in the industry. Based on a larger and more diverse group of programs than the sample used in the earlier For Good Measure, this publication provides an in-depth analysis of top performance in the microenterprise development field.

	Microenterprise Support within Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) (Published: January 2003) This free report describes the scale and significance of microenterprise lending within the CDFI industry. Key findings include that microenterprise lending is a small portion of CDFI industry activity; that only 20% of the participating CDFIs have more than 10% of their loans to the microenterprise sector; and that microenterprise lending tends to be done predominatantly by specialist organizations structured as non-profit loan funds. This report is the first from FIELD to systematically document microenterprise support in the CDFI industry, based on data collected under the national CDFI Data Project.

	MIS for Microenterprise: A Practical Approach to Managing Information Successfully by Charles Waterfield (Published: September 2002) Written for microenterprise program staff and management, this 190-page manual is an accessible, thorough and practical guide containing the steps and processes that can be used to build an effective Management Information Systems (MIS). This publication is the culmination of a two-year project by FIELD designed to increase the capacity of program managers to improve their MIS. This manual describes the essential parts of an effective MIS and their relationship to each other, the organizational factors that influence how an MIS should be designed and managed, how to define information needs and assess the appropriateness of available software to meet them, and how to implement and use an effective MIS.

	2002 FIELD MIS Software Review (Published: September 2002) This Software Review is a companion document to the MIS for Microenterprise manual and an outgrowth of the Findings Report first published by FIELD in 2001. It contains detailed reviews of 11 major commercial software products designed for use in the microenterprise field, applying the evaluative approach described in the MIS for Microenterprise manual. It was written to both clarify information needs and serve as a "consumers report," analyzing currently available systems so that practitioners can make more informed decisions about which MIS products to consider purchasing, including how to assess them in relation to particular information needs. The software review is expected to be updated periodically to reflect changes in the software available for the field.

	For Good Measure (Published: August 2002) This publication was the first of what is expected to be annual reports analyzing performance data on MicroTest member programs. The report examines what best performance looks like, follows trends contained in the MicroTest data and provides the data in a format that allows microenterprise programs to compare their performance to their peers and the MicroTest group as a whole.

	"Performance Measures for Microenterprise in the United States" Journal of Microfinance, Vol. 3, No. 1; Spring 2001 Read the abstract or order a back issue of "Performance Measures for Microenterprise in the United States" by Jerry Black and Karen Doyle. The article advocates for the adoption of the MicroTest performance measurement framework by U.S. microenterprise development programs.