The UK Integrated Security Fund (ISF) is a cross-government mechanism designed to address the highest priority threats to UK national security and tackle global sources of volatility and insecurity. It has operated since 2024, succeeding the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF).
Our Role
As Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning Partner to the ISF Africa portfolio, in partnership with Tetra Tech, Altai Consulting and First Call Partners, our purpose is to improve the ability of the ISF and its implementing partners to make policy and programme decisions informed by timely, robust evidence and useful insights.
We have been supporting ISF Africa teams in this role for over ten years, working in some of the most insecure regions in the world, such as the Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin, and Somalia.
Working in fragile and conflict-affected settings can be incredibly challenging and highly sensitive; we work collaboratively and innovatively with ISF Africa programme teams and their implementing partners to ensure their work is as valuable, impactful and relevant as possible.
Our Methods and Approaches
We offer ISF programme teams and their implementing partners monitoring, evaluation, research and learning (MERL) support across all phases of the programme cycle. This includes:
- MEL systems support
- Monitoring and outcome verification
- Evaluation and research
- Learning
We provide MEL support and technical assistance through a partnership approach, mentoring and coaching ISF programme teams to strengthen programme and project MERL systems so that they generate good enough insights to inform design and adaptation at the right times.
We start by supporting design and delivery of MEL systems, for example facilitating theories of change processes. and supporting implementation of MEL activities such as conducting third party monitoring to collect evidence from locations that HMG personnel cannot access.
Across Africa, we support ISF teams with user-focused, innovative tools to monitor and track their value for money (VfM), their political access and influence (PAI), as well as understand how their programmes are contributing to cross-cutting UK government priorities such as gender equality and social inclusion.
Outcomes and impact
We have supported ISF teams in Africa for over 10 years during a period of shifting national security priorities and changes in the international landscape.
We have helped the UK government to establish a robust evidence base and better learning on what works and why in priority areas of UK investment across Africa on thematic areas such conflict prevention, women peace and security, stabilisation, state threats and countering violent extremism,
We have pioneered MERL tools and approaches, frameworks and toolkits, implementing them in ways that support teams to make evidenced policy and programme decisions. For example, we have:
- Piloted and rolled out an approach and tools for integrating political access and influence (PAI) into programme design, monitoring, evaluation and learning;
- Developed practical, interactive toolkits for ISF Africa teams on managing and measuring value for money (VfM), getting the most from theories of change and results frameworks, conflict sensitivity, exit and sustainability, and PAI;
- Developed practical VfM frameworks for programmes across the portfolio;
- Designed and delivered a learning series to build ISF teams’ capability on Value for Money (VfM), Women, Peace and Security (WPS), Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) mainstreaming, exit planning and sustainability;
- Facilitated participatory approaches to developing theories of change and adaptive results frameworks for programmes across the portfolio;
- Conducted a portfolio-level evaluation on the contribution of ISF Africa programming to UK strategic objectives, including developing case studies and practical guidance on the application of the ISF principles of agility, catalytic effect, high risk and integrated delivery.
