Measuring the impact of its work has been an important goal both for CEI and the community development field.  CEI began measuring and monitoring its program outcomes in the early 1990s in order to provide funders, policymakers and staff with a better understanding of the difference it was making in achieving its mission “to help create economically and environmentally healthy communities in which all people, especially those with low incomes, can reach their full potential.” 

CEI’s most in-depth measurement work has been it its small business financing, workforce development and affordable housing programs.  CEI’s recent paper, Measuring Impact in Practice: Reflections and Recommendations from Coastal Enterprises, Inc.’s Experience, reflects CEI’s experience and learning about measurement from its own experimentation and from the community development industry. 

The paper highlights the trends and challenges that CEI and the industry face in developing and implementing quality measurement systems, both for internal strategic planning and for external advocacy, marketing and policy development.

Download Measurement Impact in Practice (PDF)

CEI's Work in Measurement and Program Assessment
CEI assesses the social outcomes of its programs and investments on an ongoing basis. The R&D Department does an annual survey of portfolio companies to determine job retention and creation, job quality, financial leverage, and location of markets. We also undertake special research projects that help us better understand our impact. These have included:

Evaluating Social and Economic Effects of Small Business Development Assistance
By Josephine LaPlante, Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine, 1996 funded by the Ford Foundation. This study attempted to assess job quality and CEI's technical assistance roles, as well as model a return on social and charitable investment (ROTCHI) in CEI's loan portfolio at one point in time, 1993. It put CEI in the forefront of our field in attempting to measure the impact of our work.

The Low-Income Longitudinal Study
With funding from the Ford Foundation and the CDFI Fund, CEI studied what happened to low-income individuals who were employed in CEI-financed firms over an 18-month period. The study used mainly phone surveys to track a person's job history and mobility, quality of job, and asset development, as well as reasons why they left or stayed in their jobs. In addition, we were able to access administrative data on wages and employment location from Maine Department of Labor's Unemployment Insurance records. The study pointed out the enormous challenge of job retention. Low-income individuals reported that their jobs in CEI-financed companies were of better quality than previous or later jobs, but many were not able to hold on to the job for multiple reasons, including barriers in their personal lives. CEI has used the results of the study to inform our internal planning and look at ways we can provide greater support to workers to overcome these barriers.

A Study of CEI's Lease-Purchase Program
CEI launched its Lease-Purchase (L-P) Program in 1996 to help modest-income families and individuals purchase a home of their choice by allowing home buyers to lease properties while they saved for a down payment to purchase the property within three years. The internal study of the program assessed satisfaction of homebuyers, affordability of the properties, tenure prospects, and program operations. The study showed that most participants were meeting their top priorities in the program and were paying affordable prices. However, the study also identified some difficulties in moving individuals from leasing to home ownership, which the Housing Department has worked to overcome.