In June 2012, the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) launched the “Universal Standards for Social Performance Management” (USSPM), consisting of 99 Essential Practices (EPs) in six areas. These Universal Standards are considered applicable to any MFI pursuing a double bottom line. Over the past year, the Microfinance CEO Working Group worked with 21 MFIs to “beta test” the Universal Standards. The term “beta test” refers to an analysis of an MFI’s practices related to all of the EPs, intending to understand the process of an assessment and the status of an MFI’s current social performance management, and also elicit any concerns or issues with the Universal Standards as they now stand. Beta tests were conducted with a variety of partner and affiliate MFIs of the Microfinance CEO Working Group, reflecting a wide range of institution sizes and geographic locations. In using the term “beta test,” we refer to an analysis of an MFI’s practices against all of the Essential Practices of the Universal Standards. This effort intends to understand the process of an assessment and the status of an MFI’s current social performance management practices, and also elicit any concerns or questions about the USSPM. We hope that our efforts will help inform any future revisions to the Universal Standards, identify Essential Practices or Standards for which MFIs may appreciate additional education or training, and shed some light onto what it would take for an institution to understand its practices – and then go about making them better. Note that after our efforts began, the SPTF launched an Indicators Working Group intended to develop precise indicators for each of the 99 Essential Practices. We recognize that the addition of such indicators may impact the process of assessment for future MFIs and may address some of our current concerns with the Universal Standards; however, we encourage the SPTF to view refining the USSPM as an iterative process that will necessarily take some time.