When we launched our savings program in Uganda, we hoped to equip our groups to be completely independent of Seed Effect’s support after just one savings cycle (9-12 months). However, we noticed that our second-cycle groups needed more support than we had initially planned, but we were unsure why. After two and a half years of operations, a lot of data, and many discussions with organizations running similar programs in other areas, we learned that independence is a common issue.

During the summer of 2019, Seed Effect supporter and Stanford Business School graduate student Lexi Reiff worked with our staff to design and conduct an Independence Evaluation. The purpose was to evaluate how independent our second—and third-cycle groups are and explore how much additional support they need from Seed Effect staff and why. We also hoped to answer the question: “How might Seed Effect equip our savings groups to operate independently from the oversight and support of a Seed Effect trainer?”

 “Our team’s goal was to highlight barriers to independence, so we hosted staff interviews and observed many member savings meetings in the field. We discovered two main opportunities for improvement: providing record-keeping support and creating organizational alignment to incentivize and celebrate group independence.” – Lexi Reiff

The evaluation suggested that only 24% of second-cycle groups are independent, as defined by “groups that are requesting many visits early on in their second cycle but no longer request many visits as the cycle goes on.” Here are the reasons we found that additional support was needed and/or expected:

• • Lack of literacy and record-keeping skills.

  • Qualified record keepers leaving the group to pursue job opportunities in more established towns.

  • Groups wanting Seed Effect staff to visit them regardless of their need.

  • Expectations that independence is the goal were not made clear to staff/members.

Here’s what a member of our US staff said about the data collected:

“Upon speaking with Seed Effect Uganda Staff, we realized just how nuanced fostering sustainability by establishing complete independence is. Not only is record keeping difficult because of a lack of literacy and access to education, but we are also working with populations that are incredibly vulnerable and desire encouragement so as not to feel abandoned or neglected. In addition, Seed Effect is also helping to redefine the narrative around savings in this region. These variables appear to threaten independence, but the need, in actuality, is building structures to fulfill these holes, such as simplified record-keeping, translation into local languages, increased training, and ensuring cross-training within the groups. This inevitably increases the timeline in which true independence can be achieved.”

This invaluable information led us to temporarily delay launching new groups until we had addressed the issues uncovered in the evaluation, even though the delay would mean that we would not reach our 2019 growth goal. Instead, we focused on the efficacy of our program and the sustainability and resiliency of our members. To address these issues, we:

• • Added an assistant record keeper to each group’s leadership team.

  • Simplified the record-keeping format.

  • Finalized the Bari, Madi, and Lugbara highlight document and Bible Study translations with plans to also complete Sudanese Arabic and a few other local languages.

  • Trained our local staff to provide Chalmers Center’s “Plan for a Better Business” training for second-cycle groups.

  • Created a plan to better communicate a clear definition of independence as well as expectations with staff and members in upcoming trainings and group visits.

  • Lastly, we’re in the process of creating intensive training manuals for Field Officers and Village Volunteers.

Lexi and her husband, Stephen, have been invaluable supporters. This study has played a critical role in helping us devise key improvements that we know will better serve our members as we continue to grow. We are so grateful for their time, effort, commitment, and sacrifice, as we are now better positioned to grow more effectively.