Advocating a complete management information system to track the achievement of financial, institutional and social objectives, this paper discusses tracking systems to monitor progress made by the institution towards achieving program objectives.

It describes the efforts by Freedom from Hunger to develop this tracking system, including cause-and-effect impact research; building a progress tracking system; and developing tools and methods to fill the gaps in the existing system. The paper reviews the following three tools to fill gaps: observational checklists, pre and post mini-surveys, and participatory learning for action. The paper concludes with a focus on the process adopted to develop a food security scale to measure client welfare.