OUR METHODOLOGY

Wise Responder brings the internationally recognized, scientific “multidimensional poverty index” (MPI) methodology developed by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) to financial institutions, investors, and corporates. This objective, robust framework aligns social metrics at the investment, operational, and reporting levels, creating a way to trace the impact of investments on “human wellbeing” with expanded analysis of financial, business, and societal risks.

Our Relationship with Oxford University

Wise Responder was launched by Sophia Oxford, an incubator formed by Oxford University and OPHI, its economic research and policy centre within the Oxford Department of International Development. Over the past decade, OPHI developed the field of multidimensional measurement, focused primarily on poverty and wellbeing, expanding its research and social policy uses. The OPHI multidimensional poverty approach has been adopted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and as an official measure of poverty by more than 30 countries. Wise Responder is delivering this powerful, world-class methodology to private-sector companies with operations in developed and emerging markets.

Multidimensional
Poverty Index (MPI)

OPHI developed an index methodology for measuring multidimensional poverty, commonly known as the MPI methodology. Traditionally, countries have defined poverty as a lack of money. Yet poor people themselves consider their experience of poverty much more broadly. A person who is poor can suffer from multiple deprivations at the same time. Focusing on one factor alone, such as income, is not enough to capture the true reality of poverty and its effects on those impacted by it. Multidimensional poverty measures can be used to create a more comprehensive picture; notably, they reveal who is poor and how they are poor. 

 

The MPI methodology is used to construct the global MPI and has been adapted by several countries to create national MPIs. The global MPI is an international measure of acute multidimensional poverty covering over 100 developing countries. This measure was developed by OPHI with the UNDP in 2010, and it has been published annually by OPHI and in the Human Development Reports ever since. National MPIs are developed and calculated locally by each country and, thus, can be tailored to the country’s specific context and needs. National governments have complete ownership over these proprietary measures, which are embedded into governance systems.

Business Multidimensional
Poverty Index (BMPI)

The Business Multidimensional Poverty Index (BMPI) is a robust methodology from Oxford University that is regarded as the best way in the world to measure and analyze the challenges and wellbeing of your employees and their families. This methodology includes a questionnaire and a measurement method that enables a company to identify which employees live in a situation of poverty The methodology identifies the specific deprivations that affect each employee and their families (e.g., quality of housing, health, education, etc.), providing insight into where action should be specifically focused to improve their lives. Based on the existing national MPIs in Latin America and its initial private sector experience, Sophia Oxford has created a unified regional business MPI that both allows corporations to standardize practices in their different countries as well as facilitate public private partnerships in the fight against poverty. Sophia Oxford is the sole licensee of the BMPI from Oxford University.

“This methodology, in addition to fighting poverty, generates loyalty (decrease in turnover), improves the work environment (people come to work happier), better customer evaluations and increases productivity (decreases absenteeism). These and other effects demonstrate that the BMPI, in addition to assisting in Corporate Social Responsibility issues, improves the economic results of the company.”

Luis Reinaldo Mastroenic Camacho,
Former Sustainability Manager of the bank BAC Credomatic, Costa Rica

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