Reinforcing the Role of the Board in Social Performance Management

• by Lalaine Joyas and Amina S Mendez
• Jul 21, 2015
• 2 min
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This second Briefing Note from this project describes the work done with the Board at ASKI. (BN 1- http://bit.ly/1IQKCcE). This BN speaks of how ASKI brought their Board on board!

Alalay sa Kaunlaran, Inc. (ASKI), a Philippine microfinance institution (MFI) and staunch advocate of Social Performance Management, embarked on a project ‘Towards SPM Excellence’ with Opportunity International Australia and MicroSave to strengthen its capacity to use social performance information in decision making and thereby intensify its accountability to the mission. In 2014, ASKI received technical assistance and embarked on translating its mission and social goals into social objectives with a set of SP indicators and targets.

This second Briefing Note from this project describes the work done with the Board at ASKI. (please read the first BN here – http://bit.ly/1IQKCcE)

Having a Board that is committed to the social mission facilitates the implementation of SPM at all levels of the organization. While few MFIs have benefited from a Board-driven social agenda, it is extremely important to convince the Board members of the value of SPM in order to yield its full potential. Even if we agree with the fact that Board members come with a diverse rich background in their respective fields, Social Performance Management (SPM) can be new to many. Hence it is imperative on the part of the MFI to introduce their Board members to the concepts and importance of SPM.

The Board needs have a clear idea of key things such as:

• Its mandate and role in the SPM process?
• How to read social data and use it in decision making?
• How can the MFI’s leadership coordinate the SPM process?

This BN speaks of how ASKI brought their Board on board!