Synthesising the evidence on successful learning and adaptation in the philanthropic sector
The challenge
Porticus, a global philanthropic organisation, funded a cluster of grants from 2019 to 2022 that focused on systems change to strengthen rights and protection for displaced people in Asia. Learning and adaptation are critical when working on complex social issues and systems change, yet these terms are often used without a shared understanding of what they mean in practice.
As part of our evaluation of this portfolio of grants (the “Refugee Cluster”), a key focus was assessing how well the Refugee Cluster had engaged in learning and adaptation. But first, we needed a clear, evidence-informed understanding of what successful learning and adaptation look like.
How we helped
We conducted a rapid review of published academic and grey literature about good practice in learning and adaptation in the not-for-profit and philanthropic sectors. We synthesised the evidence into six key principles of effective learning and adaptation, which then formed the basis of our evaluation criteria and standards used in this part of the evaluation.
We also drew on the lived experience and reflections on partners to deepen our understanding of these principles. Through interviews and workshops, NGO partners helped us explore how the ideas from the literature related to their experiences. We brought these on-the-ground insights together with our evidence synthesis and published the findings in a learning brief.
Looking forward
Our work helped bring greater conceptual clarity to often vague or over-used terms like “learning” and “adaptation”. By combining evidence with the experiences of practitioners and funders, we created a practical resource that we hope others can use to support more intentional and effective learning and adaptation practices across the sector.
Download our publication
Client: Porticus
2022-2023
