Portfolio and fund-level evaluation, learning & strategy support
At Itad, we help organisations see, and improve, the bigger picture of their impact.
Our portfolio assessments bring together insights from projects, grants, programmes and initiatives to show how they collectively contribute to higher-level goals.
Unlike project-level approaches, portfolio-level analysis looks across the entire set of activities to understand:
- What systemic outcomes and overall results are emerging
- How different components interact and influence broader change
- Where to adapt strategy for greater impact
Our approach helps portfolio managers make smarter, evidence-based decisions, ensuring every investment moves closer to your organisation’s long-term mission.
Portfolio assessment can be especially complex because it requires drawing on diverse data sources and contexts. We carefully parse through these data streams, synthesise them into a coherent picture, and support robust sensemaking. This enables real-time learning and informed decisions that strengthen portfolios and guide future strategy.
We’ve partnered with philanthropies, governments and global alliances in diverse settings to surface insights and enable adaptation. See examples of our work below.
Project
Supporting evidence generation and use across the UK Integrated Security Fund
We are supporting the Integrated Security Fund (ISF) Unit and the global ISF network to generate and use evidence and learning...
Project
Supporting Norad’s Department for Climate, Nature and the Private Sector
We are working in partnership with Norad (the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation) to support the development and...
Project
Evaluation of the Global Challenges Research Fund
We assessed the UK Government’s flagship Global Challenges Research Fund, providing vital insights throughout on its...
Project
Evaluating the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment
We are evaluating the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment, a multi-country initiative to address youth unemployment in Africa...
Publications
Report
Strengthening AMR surveillance: Stories of national progress in Africa and Asia
Stories of change from Malawi, Nepal, Timor-Leste and Kenya, illustrating some of the tangible differences taking place in...
Report
Evaluation of Norad’s use of knowledge in portfolio management
This report and learning brief draw on Itad's 2024 evaluation of ‘The Norwegian Aid Administration’s approach to knowledge...
Report
Private Capital Mobilisation: Concepts and Definitions
By establishing a common vocabulary this publication aims to support a more coordinated approach by Development Finance...
Report
Drivers of impact in research and innovation for development
Our Global Challenges Research (GCFR) evaluation survey highlights four important drivers of impact in research and innovation...
Blogs and news
Blog
Practical guidance for portfolio-level monitoring, evaluation and learning
Portfolio-level MEL requires a different approach to project-level MEL. Our recent work with the Norwegian Agency for...
Impact story
Helping the UK Government tackle the global antimicrobial emergency
Our long-term evaluation of the UK Government’s flagship Fleming Fund has informed strategic shifts relating to data use and...
Blog
How a ‘landscape approach’ can help mobilise climate finance towards vulnerable groups and ecosystems
Our evaluation of the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development found that their framework offers an innovative solution to the...
Blog
The missing middle: positioning philanthropic boards and staff to work together towards lasting systems change
As philanthropies increasingly shift to portfolio-level approaches a gap is emerging between boards and programme teams that...
