From Projects to Portfolios: How FCDO is Shaping Collective Learning and Coherence (Part 2)

Systems Practice in International Development

We hope you enjoyed the first part of our deep dive into portfolio practices in the British Embassy Kathmandu in Nepal and the British High Commission in Nigeria. If you haven’t listened to it already, it is available here:

This episode is a continuation of our conversation with Federica and Craig, this time exploring how to work at the portfolio level beyond ODA, how to support a learning culture and the role of external facilitators in systems practice.

This podcast is produced and hosted by the Portfolio Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (PMEL) programme in Nepal, funded by the British Embassy Kathmandu and implemented by Abt Global. Please note, the views expressed through this podcast reflect those of the hosts and guests only.

Bios Guests

Dr Craig Irwin

Data, Evidence and Learning Lead for the British High Commission, Nigeria

Dr. Craig Irwin has dedicated over 15 years to advancing the use of statistics, data and evidence for the UK government with experience ranging from Defra, UK department of health, Department for International Development (DFID) Bangladesh and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development office Nepal. He was pivotal in shaping the innovative Portfolio Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (PMEL) programme in Nepal its initial years and now serves as the lead for the British High Commission in Nigeria.

Dr. Federica Di Battista

Evidence and Knowledge Team Leader, BEK, FCDO

And as our second guest, we have Federica Di Battista.

After obtaining her PhD in economics from the University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’, Federica worked on research projects at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and poverty estimation at the World Bank. She joined Innovations for Poverty Action as research manager for a portfolio of impact evaluation projects focusing on rural and agricultural development in Ghana. And from 2018 she joined the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the UK as evaluation expert for the evaluation unit first and then for the Middle East and North Africa regional department. She is currently the evidence and Knowledge team leader at the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office Nepal also known as the British Embassy Kathmandu.

Your hosts are:

Alexandra Nastase is the Lead Technical Director for Abt Global Britain, and the Programme Director for the FCDO-funded Portfolio MEL (PMEL) programme in Nepal.

Ankeeta Shreshta

Ankeeta Shrestha is the Deputy Team Lead for FCDO Portfolio Monitoring Evaluation

This podcast is produced and hosted by the Portfolio Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (PMEL) programme in Nepal, funded by the British Embassy Kathmandu and implemented by Abt Global. The views expressed in this podcast reflect those of the hosts and guests only.
For more information on USAID’s Local systems approach, please check the links below:

· Theory of Change Workbook: A Step-by-Step Process for Developing or Strengthening Theories of Change·
What is collective impact forum?
· Collective Action in USAID Programming
· Context-Driven Adaptation (Overview)
· Localization and Locally Led Development
· USAID/Vietnam Localization Learning Review – Final Report