Learning Evaluation

Component 1: Performance Monitoring

This component was designed to track key activities and such variables as the numbers of clients served, businesses assisted and other output measures. In addition, this component was designed to track how well the grantees target low-income clients per FIELD's definitions. This was to be achieved via:

• Annual narrative and financial reports using FIELD formats.
  
  
• MICROTEST: This performance measurement system is managed by FIELD and designed to develop and test performance measures for the practice of microenterprise development. It is also designed to document the range of performance achieved by representative microenterprise organizations across the United States.
  
  Performance measurement categories include target groups, scale, program services, costs, efficiency and sustainability. A final category focuses on outcome measures.
  

Component 2: Qualitative Research

This component was designed to be shared by both FIELD and the grantees. FIELD staff undertook site visits, structured phone conversations and a review of documents to capture both key learning and useful tools/techniques in the quest to achieve scale.

Grantees were expected to produce one short document (five to 10 pages long) sometime during the two-year period on a topic that would capture one significant and interesting aspect of their organizational experience that could be practically described for a practitioner audience. Tools, examples of techniques, or other material that other programs would find helpful in their own scale-up work were to be included.