Number of unique individuals who were clients of the organization during the reporting period.
Organizations should footnote all assumptions used, including source of data. See usage guidance for further information.
This metric is intended to capture the number of unique clients who received the organization's products or services during the reporting period. It is not a measure of foot traffic, nor is it intended to capture the number of consumer transactions. For example, a customer who makes two purchases during a period should be counted only once. Organizations wishing to report on total client transactions should refer to Client Transactions (PI5184).
This metric is intended to capture the unique number of specific individuals served. Organizations should not use any household multipliers when reporting against this metric. If organizations consider entire households to be the customer/client, they can report against Client Households: Total (PI7954) and its associated submetrics.
Many organizations may not be able to report on the number of clients using direct data. For example, organizations that sell solar lanterns through a series of local network distributors might estimate the number of client individuals reached based on the number of units sold. Organizations should footnote details on how and why these assumptions were made.
For healthcare providers, “client individuals” refers to patients. For housing providers, “client individuals” refers to residents or tenants.
This metric is multi-dimensional with regard to the five dimensions of impact. It may help describe the WHO dimension when the stakeholder group represented by the metric is the stakeholder group targeted by the investment or organization. It may also help measure the HOW MUCH Scale dimension, which helps estimate the number of the targeted stakeholders experiencing the outcome. For more on the alignment of IRIS metrics to the five dimensions of impact, see IRIS+ and the Five Dimensions of Impact (https://iris.thegiin.org/document/iris-and-the-five-dimensions/). No single metric is sufficient to understand an impact; rather, metrics are selected as a set across all dimensions of impact. When possible, the selection of metrics to measure and describe the five dimensions should be based on best practice and evidence.
This metric has 18 related submetrics.
Metrics identified as "cross-category" are those that are relevant to any IRIS+ Impact Category or Impact Theme (i.e., these metrics are not specific to any particular industry/category or theme).
June 2022 - IRIS v5.3 Released (current version)
Immaterial change. Minor revision to usage guidance for clarity.
January 2020 - IRIS v5.1 Released
No change.
May 2019 - IRIS v5.0 Released
No change.
March 2016 - IRIS v4.0 Released
No change.
March 2014 - IRIS v3.0 Released
Material change. metric name and definition language modified to provide clarity based on best practices and standard guidance.
November 2011 - IRIS v2.2 Released
Material change. Client Individuals (PI4060) and Client Organizations (PI9652) replaced Clients (PI7094). Metric bifurcated in order to increase specificity by accounting for client individuals and organizations separately.
February 2011 - IRIS v2.1 Released
No change.
September 2010 - IRIS v2.0 Released
Material change. Clients (PI7094) replaced Individuals Served (DES12.1). Metric modified to increase generalization.
September 2009 - IRIS v1.0 Released
New metric. Individuals Served (DES12.1) was developed via the Original IRIS Working Group.
IRIS Metrics Work Better in Sets
To use IRIS metrics—and the resulting data—to understand impact performance, IRIS metrics should be used and analyzed in generally accepted sets and according to well-defined objectives. IRIS+ gives you access to generally accepted Core Metrics Sets aligned to common Impact Themes and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).