Working together with the Center for Financial Services Innovation & the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion, Dalberg Design sought to understand whether a global version of their financial health framework could advance our collective understanding of consumer behavior and deepen our appreciation of the impact of finance on personal well-being among the poor.

We did not focus this inquiry on the ways in which people use payment, savings, credit, and insurance services, but rather tried to build a holistic understanding of how financial aspirations shape the lives and behavior of the poor on a day-to-day basis.

OUR QUESTIONS: 

• Are there common features that suggest that a common framework can apply across diverse communities and markets around the world?
• How can we get past usage and access as the core value proposition for financial inclusion, and what might we measure instead?
• How might we describe the variety of ways that people experience financial health without relying on our pre-conceived notions of balance sheets and product offerings?
• How might we factor in the both the practical and emotional impacts of financial health on people’s lives?
• How can we account for both individual and social behavior related to financial health?