As I entered data into an Excel spreadsheet in the small office in Nizhin, Ukraine, the quiet laughter of a little girl caught my attention. The girl nibbled on a snack near the back of the room while her mother filled out a survey as part of HOPE’s Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) project. HOPE, with assistance from Metrix Research Group, began testing a new M&E client survey in Ukraine in October. Despite their busy schedules and the cold rain outside, 36 men and women flowed through HOPE’s small office in the village of Nizhin on that Friday afternoon to participate in the survey.
Seeing the mother with her toddler reminded me that we don’t just provide financial services, we partner with families. Mothers and fathers use loans and training from HOPE to invest in businesses, increase profits, and provide for their families. Children are often the indirect beneficiaries of our services—reaping benefits such as better housing, more nutritious food, and greater educational opportunities.
To ensure that we provide the best possible services to clients and their families, HOPE remains committed to gathering client feedback. The M&E survey provides a means for staff to track client transformation, monitor program impact, and listen to client opinions. Currently in the validation stages, data collection and analysis in Ukraine, the Republic of Congo, and the Dominican Republic will ensure that we accurately measure spiritual, social, and economic transformation. While measuring transformation can be much more difficult than simply tracking loans, HOPE recognizes the importance of evaluating the effectiveness of programs in order to better serve our clients and their families.
