Liz McGuinness

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT LIZ MCGUINNESS

As senior director of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) at the Center for Financial Inclusion, I am developing sound monitoring and evaluation approaches for CFI, leading evaluations, and conducting research on women\'s financial inclusion. I am a financial inclusion professional with over twenty-five years of experience in inclusive finance, financial capabilities, women’s economic empowerment, agricultural development, and SME development. I have designed, led, and managed research to support strategy development, product development, learning, results measurement, and program, outcomes, and impact evaluation. My work has included leading program evaluations of financial inclusion programs, such as agricultural finance and women’s financial inclusion projects; qualitative field research to assess the risk management strategies of low-income people, to support financial product development; and desk research on the economic resilience of poor people, particularly women. It also includes designing M&E systems and provided capacity building and technical assistance in M&E, including in complexity-aware methods. For example, as a consultant I led a participatory process at CFI to develop a theory of change for the new strategy, and she has advised the World Bank on indicators to track and assess the impact of an SME lending program on women in Nigeria. With strong skills in program and project management, I have trained and led research teams in countries across Central Asia, Latin America/Caribbean, the Middle East/North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and South and Southeast Asia. Prior to joining CFI, I was as an independent consultant. Earlier, I worked for Microfinance Opportunities, Save the Children, and ACDI/VOCA. My education includes a B.A. from McGill University and an M.A. in economics from New York University. I have lived and worked in Zimbabwe and Tajikistan.