When resources are scarce and social safety nets are weak, households' ability to manage income and assets wisely may be an important determinant of economic security. However, many open questions remain about how households in low and middle-income countries gain and exercise financial capability, and the best ways for governments and the private and nonprofit sector to help increase this capability. With the exception of a small but important number of studies that have recently been completed or are currently under way, robust evidence regarding the efficacy of financial capability interventions is relatively sparse compared to the level of interest and programmatic activity. One reason for this is a lack of systematic evaluation. The toolkit draws from past experience and the experience of the Russia Financial Literacy and Education Trust Fund pilot projects to provide concrete and tangible examples for the reader that illustrate the specific circumstances and challenges in this field. This toolkit is designed for researchers who are interested in conducting an evaluation of a financial capability program and for policy makers and practitioners interested in commissioning an evaluation. It will also be useful to evaluation researchers who want to brush up on a research technique they are less familiar with or who are new to the area of financial capability and financial education, particularly in Low, and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC). This toolkit is intended to be a practical, hands-on guide to designing, conducting, and analyzing financial capability evaluations, with a focus on doing so in LMICs. The toolkit covers a wide range of material on how to design, conduct and analyze evaluations, material that is spread out over the 13 chapters that follow. The chapters are contained within four overarching parts: setting the stage for monitoring and evaluation (M&E): understanding the M&E process and concepts (chapters 2-3)
conducting M&E for financial capability programs (chapters 4-7)
collecting and analyzing M&E Data for Financial Capability Programs (chapters 8-10)
and other Issues in conducting M&E for financial capability programs (chapters 11-14).