Over the past decade, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) has been on a journey to improve its use of evidence and other forms of knowledge in development cooperation.
During this time, Norad became responsible for an increasing proportion of the aid budget, but without a proportionate increase in staffing. Both MFA and Norad have therefore prioritised the integration of knowledge into portfolio management, leveraging knowledge to support best use of funds and facilitate more strategic approach to management.
Throughout this process, Norad’s Department for Evaluation has commissioned several evaluations and studies to take stock of progress and suggest ways of moving forward. This evaluation is part of this series. Its primary purpose is to provide early insights on the introduction of knowledge-based portfolio management, offer insights on what is working well and less well, and provide recommendations for adaptation and course correction.
The evaluation: describes the current guidelines, set-up and practices in relation to knowledge-based portfolio management; identifies strengths and weaknesses in the existing set-up for and practice of knowledge-based portfolio management; and provides actionable recommendations that support further improvements in Norad’s approach to and use of knowledge in portfolio management.
The evaluation was commissioned by the Department for Evaluation Norad. It evaluation was conducted by teams from Itad and the Christian Michelsen Institute.
