The Microfinance Programme Impact Assessment (PIA) is a component of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) Independent Insitutional Assessment (IIA) which seeks to assess whether the UNCDF has effectively implemented its new policies and whether its projects and programmes, under the main programming areas (local governance and microfinance), have had the desired impact on the individuals, households, communities and institutions that were targeted. The independently conducted impact assessments also provide the UNCDF with an opportunity to evaluate the relevance and effectiveness of the organization's operational policies in supporting its overall goal of poverty reduction.