Social Performance Task Force

TO PROMOTE AND SUPPORT EFFECTIVE SOCIAL PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT STANDARDS (UNIVERSAL STANDARDS FOR SOCIAL PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT) THROUGHOUT THE GLOBAL MICROFINANCE INDUSTRY IN ORDER TO CREATE RESPONSIBLE AND ETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICES AMONG FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS.

SETTING AND PROMOTING STANDARDS:THE UNIVERSAL STANDARDS FOR FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS WERE FIRST LAUNCHED IN 2012 AND UPDATED IN 2016. SPTF MANAGES A TECHNICAL REVIEW COMMITTEE (TRC) TO FOLLOW A TRANSPARENT AND USER-DRIVEN STANDARD REVISION PROCESS BASED ON THE ISEAL CODE OF GOOD PRACTICE FOR SETTING SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS. THE REVISED STANDARDS HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO KEEP PACE WITH THE FINANCIAL SECTOR INDUSTRY'S NEEDS AND PROVIDE NEW GUIDELINES ON RESPONSIBLE SAVINGS AND INSURANCE PRODUCTS, AS WELL AS DELIVERY CHANNELS USING DIGITAL SERVICES AND AGENT MODELS, ALL WITH AN EYE TOWARD MITIGATING RISK AND CREATING BENEFITS FOR CLIENTS. THE UNIVERSAL STANDARDS ALSO INCLUDE NEW CONTENT ON RESPONSIBILITY TO THE ENVIRONMENT. THE TRC REVIEWS THE UNIVERSAL STANDARDS EVERY 3 YEARS. SPTF IS IN CHARGE OF GATHERING AND PROCESSING ALL FEEDBACK RECEIVED FROM THE INCLUSIVE FINANCE INDUSTRY, AS WELL AS WITH THE BROADER IMPACT INVESTMENT COMMUNITY. MANAGE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS - AFTER RELEASING THE UNIVERSAL STANDARDS IN 2012, SPTF DEVELOPED SEVERAL RESOURCES TO HELP WITH THEIR AWARENESS AND IMPLEMENTATION, SUCH AS BRIEF HANDOUTS, MESSAGE MANUALS, THE UNIVERSAL STANDARDS IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE, CASE STUDIES, GUIDANCE NOTES, AND VIDEOS OF EARLY ADOPTERS. SPTF ALSO COMMUNICATES VIA SOCIAL MEDIA.CONDUCT TRAININGS AND WORKSHOPS - SPTF ATTENDS SELECT CONFERENCES AROUND THE WORLD TO OFFER TRAININGS ON THE UNIVERSAL STANDARDS AND SUPPORTING TOOLS AND RESOURCES. SPTF ALSO CONDUCTS MONTHLY ONLINE WEBINAR TRAININGS AND WORKING GROUP MEETINGS TO HIGHLIGHT CASE STUDIES OF GOOD PRACTICE, TO PROVIDE OVERVIEWS OF ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING TOOLS, AND TO SUPPORT PEER TO PEER LEARNING. MANAGE THE SOCIAL INVESTOR WORKING GROUP (SIWG) - THE SIWG HAS +300 INVESTORS FROM +120 ORGANIZATIONS. IT IS A MEMBER-LED GROUP THAT THE SPTF SECRETARIAT BACKSTOPS, COORDINATING LOGISTICS OF ALL MEETINGS, WEBINARS, AND UPDATES OF INITIATIVES. SPTF ANNUAL MEETING - SINCE 2005, THE SPTF HAS BEEN CONDUCTING AN ANNUAL MEETING WHERE INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD COME TOGETHER FOR SEVERAL DAYS OF THOUGHT-PROVOKING DISCUSSIONS ON CORE AND EMERGING TOPICS IN THE FIELD. MEMBERS HAVE DESCRIBED THE MEETING AS "THE STATE OF PRACTICE IN SOCIAL PERFORMANCE AND RESPONSIBLE FINANCE". THIS MEETING IS KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNIVERSAL STANDARDS. THE MEETING IS CONDUCTED IN A DIFFERENT REGION OF THE WORLD EACH YEAR TO ENSURE ALL SPTF MEMBERS CAN ATTEND THROUGHOUT THE YEARS. IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, MEETINGS HAVE ALSO ALLOWED THE SPTF TO ENGAGE WITH REGULATORS AND ALSO INCLUDED FIELD TRIPS TO LOCAL FSPS. SECRETARIAT STAFF COORDINATE ALL MEETING LOGISTICS AND DEVELOP AGENDA AND CONTENT OF DISCUSSIONS.

ASSESSING, IMPROVING, DEMONSTRATING:SPTF HAS WORKED WITH ONE OF ITS MEMBERS, CERISE, TO DEVELOP A FREE ASSESSMENT TOOL (CALLED THE SPI4) THAT ENABLES FSPS TO ASSESS THEIR SOCIAL PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AGAINST THE UNIVERSAL STANDARDS. THIS TOOL ALLOWS FSPS TO UNDERSTAND THEIR SPM STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES AND CREATE AN ACTION PLAN FOR IMPROVEMENT. SPTF DOES NOT DIRECTLY PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO FSPS BECAUSE THAT WOULD COMPETE WITH ITS MEMBERS. RATHER, SPTF WORKS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE MOST UPDATED TRAININGS, RESOURCES, AND TOOLS ARE AVAILABLE TO FSPS AND TA PROVIDERS, AND THAT THEY KNOW HOW TO USE THEM. SPTF ALSO CONDUCTS ONLINE TRAININGS AND PROVIDES FREE RESOURCES IN SEVERAL LANGUAGES TO HELP IMPROVE PRACTICES RELATED TO THE UNIVERSAL STANDARDS.TO ADVANCE WORK ON DEMONSTRATING OUTCOMES, THE SPTF RUNS THE OUTCOMES WORKING GROUP TO DEVELOP GUIDELINES BOTH FOR INVESTORS AND FOR FSPS FOR MEASURING AND MANAGING OUTCOMES AS WELL AS TO CREATE A LIST OF COMMON OUTCOME INDICATORS IN THE AREAS OF POVERTY/HOUSING/ASSETS, BUSINESS, AND RESILIENCE.

REPORTING & DEMONSTRATING:REPORTING ON SPM DATA HELPS THE RESPONSIBLE INCLUSIVE FINANCE SECTOR BE TRANSPARENT, ENSURES THE DATA IS AVAILABLE TO INVESTORS, AND ALLOWS THE INDUSTRY TO BENCHMARK AND ANALYZE TRENDS. SPTF PLAYS A COORDINATING ROLE IN THIS ACTIVITY AS MIX, CERISE AND THE RATING AGENCIES CONDUCT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE DIRECT WORK IN COLLECTION OF DATA. SPTF IS MANAGING DISCUSSION AMONGST THESE ACTORS TO CONSOLIDATE THIS SPM INFORMATION ONTO A COMMON DATA PLATFORM SO THAT IT IS MORE ACCESSIBLE TO USERS.