Client Households: Low Income (PI7318)

This metric is intended to capture the number of unique low-income households that received the organization’s products or services during the reporting period. Examples of organizations that might report against this metric include those that provide products such as clean cookstoves or water purification systems and those that provide services such as home weatherization. Organizations that provide goods and services at the individual level, such as vaccines or school lunches, may find it more appropriate to report against Client Individuals: Total (PI4060) and related submetrics.

The population classified as low income includes all those who fall below a fixed threshold, which includes those classified as poor or very poor. Because assessing the poverty level of clients is complex, organizations will likely use specific assessment tools to accurately report on this metric. See the glossary definition for additional information on commonly used tools to help determine the absolute poverty level of individuals and households.

Many organizations may not be able to report on the number of client households using direct data. For example, organizations that sell water purification systems through a series of local network distributors might estimate the number of client households reached based on the number of units sold. Organizations should footnote details on how and why these assumptions were made.

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.