Savings for Transformation Field Guide
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S4T Savings for Transformation Field Guide First Edition | October 2017 S4T Field Guide World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Inspired by our Christian values, we are dedicated to working with the world’s most vulnerable people. We serve all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. © World Vision International 2017 All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form, except for brief excerpts in reviews, without prior permission of the publisher. This publication was written by Deborah Ingersoll, Kath Copley and Virgina Gough with generous contributions from Beatrice Mwangi, Bekuretsion Assassahegn, Bonifacio Calapan, Colin Dyer, Dan Norell, Daudet Nsongi, Dominique Kamara, Enkhtsetseg Tudev, Ernie Macabenta, Ethel Mulenga, Geoffrey Ocen Kotchwer, Georgina Jordan, Johnny Ramos, Joseph Toindepi, Karen Lewin, Lerina Sinaga, Nwe Ni Soe, Pieter van der Meer, Phira Hoy, Richard Mulandi, Rubylyn Gonzaga, Thuli Chapa, and Walter Chengo. The Village Savings and Loans Associates, Inc. Programme Guide Version 1.05 written by Hugh Allen and Mark Staehle was used as foundational material for Savings for Transformation (S4T) design. Published by Global Centre Livelihoods on behalf of World Vision International. For further information about this publication or World Vision International publications, or for additional copies of this publication, please contact wvi_ [email protected]. World Vision International would appreciate receiving details of any use made of this material in training, research or programme design, implementation or evaluation. Illustrations: Shane McGrath 1 S4T Field Guide Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge the foundational work of Hugh Allen and the Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) whose materials heavily influence our work. The VSL Associates’ VSLA Programme Guide continues to be our guiding light for consistent, high quality programming across all countries and contexts. We have also been inspired by the thorough, consistent and systematic Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) materials from Catholic Relief Services. Our thanks to all those who contributed to the development of this Technical Guidance for World Vision S4T programming. Particular thanks goes to World Vision staff and participants of the World Vision S4T Technical Guidance and Learning Resources Write-Shop in Manila, Philippines in August 2017: Beatrice Mwangi, Bekuretsion Assassahegn, Bonifacio Calapan, Colin Dyer, Daudet Nsongi, Deb Ingersoll, Dominique Kamara, Enkhtsetseg Tudev, Ernie Macabenta, Ethel Mulenga, Geoffrey Ocen Kotchwer, Georgina Jordan, Johnny Ramos, Joseph Toindepi, Karen Lewin, Kath Copley, Lerina Sinaga, Nwe Ni Soe, Phira Hoy, Richard Mulandi, Rubylyn Gonzaga, Thuli Chapa, and Walter Chengo. Dan Norell, Pieter van der Meer and Virginia Gough provided tremendous input from a distance. The extraordinary commitment made by these individuals to past, present and future work in creating tools to empower people in the communities we serve has made the tools in this Field Guide possible. 2 S4T Field Guide Table of Contents Acknowledgements 2 Introduction 5 Acronyms 7 Section 1: Key considerations 8 Pathway of Change 9 Step-by-Step Guide 10 World Vision S4T minimum standards 11 Section 2: Planning for S4T 12 Assessments 13 Gender: engaging men and women 13 Disability: intentional inclusion 14 Targeting S4T: including the most vulnerable 14 Budgeting for S4T 16 Provision of S4T start-up kits 16 Section 3: Monitoring, MIS reporting, evaluating and learning 17 4Ws/Gap Assessment 18 Targeting 18 Detailed Implementation Plan (DIP) 18 M&E Plan (including indicators) 18 LEAP 3 18 SAVIX 19 S4T Assessment Form 19 S4T Group Readiness/Quailty Check 19 Progress out of Poverty (PPI) 19 S4T Community Feedback and Response System (CFRS) 20 Annual learning events 20 Section 4: Staffing S4T 21 Staffing structure 22 Roles, competencies and functions 23 Section 5: Staff development for S4T 25 The S4T staff learning pathway 26 Staff S4T orientation and initial skills training 27 Ongoing S4T competency strengthening 30 Professional development for experienced S4T implementers 31 Section 6: Certifying and working with Community Agents (CAs) 32 Section 7: Implementing S4T 34 S4T schedule of operations 35 Promoting and mobilising S4T: preparation guide 37 Meeting A: Orientation of S4T with local leaders and government officials 39 Meeting A facilitation steps 40 Meeting B: Introducing S4T methodology to the community 44 Meeting B facilitation steps 45 3 S4T Field Guide Meeting C: Meeting with potential S4T groups 51 Meeting C facilitation steps 52 Training and support for S4T groups 57 Overview of Modules 1-9 57 Facilitating S4T: preparation guide 58 Module 1: Groups, leadership and elections 60 Module 1 facilitation steps 61 Module 2: Developing rules for the Social Fund, share-purchase and loans 69 Module 2 facilitations steps 70 Module 3: Developing a constitution 79 Module 3 facilitation steps 80 Module 4: Managing the S4T share-purchase/savings meetings 83 Module 4 facilitation steps 85 Module 5: Purchasing shares 97 Moduel 5 facilitation steps 98 Module 6: Daily slot savings 103 Module 6 facilitation steps 104 Module 7: Taking out loans 108 Module 7 facilitation steps 109 Module 8: Making load repayments 116 Module 8 facilitation steps 117 Module 9: Share out and graduation 120 Module 9 facilitation steps 121 Section 8: Transition, scale up and linkages 125 WV transition and CA continuity plan 126 Linkage and integration opportunities and complementary activities 127 Integration with other livelihoods sector project models and approaches 128 Integration with other sectors 131 Integration into Muslim contexts 132 Integration into fragile contexts 132 Integration with emergency programming 133 Linkage to financial services: VisionFund, other MFIs and formal banks 134 Section 9: Use of technology – digital cash box/mobile money 138 Case Studies: digital cash box/mobile money 143 Section 10: Frequently asked questions (FAQs) 144 Key considerations/general questions 145 Context options and considerations 148 Monitoring, evaluating, MIS reporting and learning 150 Implementation 151 Use of technology - digital cash box/mobile money 157 Linkage to financial services: VisionFund, other MFIs and formal banks 158 Maturation and transition 160 Supporting documents 161 Using the S4T posters 162 4 S4T Field Guide Introduction We are living in a world in which many children who are born poor will die poor. The World Bank estimates that 767 million people, one in 10 people in the world, live in extreme poverty on less than US$1.90 per day. Children under age 13 make up half of all the extreme poor (about 385 million children and young people)1. The manifestations of poverty on children include hunger and malnutrition, limited access to education and other basic services, social discrimination and exclusion as well as the lack of participation in decision-making. Children living in poverty are also the most exposed to forms of violence such as early and forced marriages, child labour and trafficking. Given the multidimensional causes of poverty, it follows that solutions are equally complex and interlinked and must ensure that growth is inclusive to provide sustainable jobs and promote equality. Ultimately we aim to work towards World Vision’s (WV) commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere. Ending intergenerational cycles of poverty is therefore at the heart of WV’s approach to lifting the most vulnerable families out of poverty for good. Our work addresses the underlying drivers of child poverty, food and nutrition insecurity, unjust market systems, lack of access to financial services and vulnerability to climate change and disaster risk. WV’s integrated and tailored pathway out of extreme poverty focuses on equipping families with the knowledge, skills, and resources to ensure: • Children are well nourished and free from hunger • Families with children have adequate and resilient livelihoods, income & assets • Families & children have reasons and resources to be in school • Adolescents develop hope and skills for a productive future Savings for Transformation (S4T) plays an important role in this pathway. By introducing S4T groups into communities, World Vision facilitates a sustainable platform for families to access savings and small loans. S4T builds resilience by enabling community members to develop skills and access to funds to cope with household emergencies, learn long-term coping strategies, focus on the health, nutrition and education of their children and invest in their own livelihoods. These groups become important social safety nets to their members, creating a greater sense of empowerment and trust within communities. The World Vision S4T model tries to connect the most vulnerable and marginalised individuals and households in the community to groups, providing accessibility and inclusion to women, people with disabilities and others often left behind. 1. World Bank. 2016. Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2016: Taking on Inequality. Washington, DC: World Bank. doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-0958-3. 5 S4T Field Guide To date, WV has established 22,822 S4T groups in 20 countries, with 418,921 active members with almost US$13 million in current savings2. Notes to the user The S4T Field Guide has been developed