Social Performance Task Force

The Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) consists of over 1,500 members from all over the world and every microfinance stakeholder group: practitioners, donors and investors (multilateral, bilateral, and private), global, regional, and national associations, technical assistance providers, rating agencies, academics and researchers, regulators, and others who have come together voluntarily to promote a common social performance framework and to develop an action plan to move social performance forward. Day-to-day operations of the Task Force are run by the SPTF Secretariat, while a 15-member Board of Directors with representatives from all major stakeholder groups provides strategic leadership and oversight.

The SPTF defines social performance as the effective translation of a microfinance organization's mission into practice in line with commonly accepted social values such as:

• Serving increasing numbers of poorer and more excluded people sustainably.
• Improving the quality and appropriateness of financial services available to target clients through systematic assessment of their specific needs.
• Creating benefits for clients of microfinance, their families and communities in terms of: increasing social capital, assets, income, and access to services; reducing vulnerability; and fulfilling basic needs.
• Improving the social responsibility of the MFI towards its clients, its employees and the community it serves.

Vision: Social performance management is standard business practice and considered fundamental to achieving the social promise of microfinance.

Mission: To engage with microfinance stakeholders to develop, disseminate and promote standards and good practices for social performance management and reporting. The SPTF will achieve this by:

• Providing a platform for dialogue, learning and collaboration
• Facilitating engagement and advocacy across the industry at all levels – practitioners, networks, support agencies, donors, investors, regulatory authorities
• Working toward setting industry standards for social performance management, measurement, monitoring, reporting and training
• Promoting good practices and demonstrated success of MFIs engaged in social performance management
• Gathering quality evidence and research to demonstrate the business case for social performance management.