C. Field Goals

1. The Preliminary Field Schedule
2. Sample Field Schedule and Goals

The purpose of this section is to help Field Agents plan the first six months of activities and develop a preliminary field schedule.

Before proceeding, review the general plan developed in Chapter One: Planning. The plan identified goals and objectives for several years, which can serve as a guideline to take you through your first six months.

1. The Preliminary Field Schedule

Review your Market Plan in your written proposal. In it, you developed yearly targets. As you envision the first six months, take into account local geography and other factors which may influence how many communities your programme can reach. Next, determine how many sites a Field Agent might service in a single day.

In semi-urban areas, a Field Agent might reach as many as four communities a day. In very rural areas, a Field Agent might reach only one community a day. Your field schedule must allow time for hiring and training staff.

The following examples illustrate a Field Schedule and a Volume Estimate for an area where clients are closely clustered. The assumptions are:

Four days per week of one Field Agent are spent in the field

• reaching new communities and certifying groups within those communities
• making routine service calls to communities already introduced to the project
• spending one day per week in the office

Total of at least 40 clients per community

• groups are formed and certified over the course of a single month

Group certification activities occur in only one new community per month

Routine service

• collecting payments, disbursing loans, completing paperwork
• visiting at least two communities per day

Start-up period

• Hiring and training of two Field Agents at the start of the project.

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2. Sample Field Schedule and Goals