The IFMR Centre for Micro Finance (CMF) in India has quickly grown since its inception in 2005 to become one of the largest organizations in the world dedicated to research on access to financial services for the poor. Through rigorous empirical research, knowledge dissemination and outreach to policy makers and practitioners, CMF’s aims to:

• Inform practice: The microfinance sector is evolving rapidly, and practitioners experiment with new products and new programs. Through research, CMF provides evidence on what works and what does not.
• Inform policy: The policy environment for microfinance has important implications for its expansion and its impact. CMF documents and informs policy debates with empirical data and analysis, and provides further insight to policymakers from its field experience. Towards these goals, CMF facilitates a process where research questions emerge from the local policy context, and policy and programmatic decisions are guided by research outcomes.