Intermediary, the newest product from MicroTest, is designed for intermediary organizations, including State Microenterprise Associations and State Microenterprise Intermediaries, that need to collect and analyze data for advocacy and capacity-building purposes.  

Intermediary is especially designed to collect data from a variety of microenterprise programs, including those with more limited internal data-gathering capacity, and offers users:

• Key data from each program on the characteristics of clients served, the scale of programs, credit and training program effectiveness, overall costs and revenues, and
• Outcomes data on a sample of clients featuring measures on business status and type, sales, contribution to household income, savings, and customer satisfaction.

The product also includes reports specifically designed to support an intermediary’s advocacy and capacity building work.

All data collected is consistent with MicroTest’s tools for individual programs – Performance and Outcomes. Intermediary uses a streamlined approach that eliminates some complex steps, yet provides the most critical data required to describe the collective results from a group of programs and offers a simple introduction to MicroTest’s approach to data collection and performance monitoring.

Intermediary organizations and programs receive training on MicroTest tools and measures, and have access to othermember services.  In addition, individual programs can upgrade to MicroTest’s Performance and Outcomes products at additional cost and, with their permission, their data continue to be aggregated into statewide or other groupings.

MicroTest Intermediary can also be customized to meet a user’s specific needs.

For more information, please contact Tamra Thetford at microtest@aspeninstitute.org.