Executive Summary

At the Lives and Livelihoods Fund (LLF), our mission is to break down the barriers that prevent individuals, organizations, and governments in the lowest-income countries from obtaining the resources that empower them to lift themselves out of poverty.

From our inception through the end of 2020, the LLF has contributed US$ 207M to 37 active projects in 22 countries. We invest in health, agriculture, and sanitation—three critical levers for saving lives, improving livelihoods, and helping create pathways out of poverty. However, our investments are only as effective as our implementation.To achieve our mission at scale, we must achieve and maintain organizational excellence: exceptional project management, rigorous monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and a culture of learning and adaptation.

Impact begins within. Two years ago, the LLF embarked on a transformative 3-year journey to embed adaptive results-based management (aRBM) throughout the organization. The aRBM program seeks to design, test, refine, and integrate adaptive project management tools and practices. Taken together, these tools and practices will catalyze a culture of learning underpinned by results-focused, data-driven feedback loops, which will strengthen our ability to deliver real and measurable improvements for LLF beneficiaries.

In the first year, our focus was design. Following deep learning with project management units (PMUs) and regional hubs, we developed and piloted aRBM tools and practices with four Early Adopter projects. We focused on 5 high-value interventions we knew were critical to improving project management: data collection, routines, learning, communications, and leadership.

In the second year, we refined the program based on what we learned.The success of this program depends on the same culture of continuous learning and improvement that we seek to instill in the organization. Therefore we co-develop and rigorously test aRBM tools with users in diverse contexts, strengthening our approach through iteration while driving ecosystem ownership and momentum for the aRBM system.

Here's what we are learning:

• The “a” in aRBM is key. The aRBM approach has been positively received due to its balance of rigor and responsiveness—giving projects the ability to adapt to what they learn and shift course as needed, while still being accountable to beneficiaries.
• In-person support drives uptake. aRBM embeds—mission-driven team members who are fully immersed in the day-to-day work of projects and Regional Hubs —have been central to this approach. Their deep, tailored support has facilitated uptake of and adherence to aRBM tools and practices, supporting projects through the challenges of change management and towards sustained behavior change.
• Documentation supports scale. So far, the program has delivered 6 functional aRBM systems across two IsDB Regional Hubs, a flexible and intuitive aRBM toolkit, enabling platforms and resources such as the IsDB-LLF Hub, dashboards for Fund-level management, and the aRBM Handbook. As with any documentation effort, the process of creating these materials has helped codify our approach, and the products themselves help create shared language across multiple projects, countries, regions, and levels of management.

Early outcomes from the aRBM Program include:

• Progress towards key impact objectives of the LLF, by empowering projects to deliver stronger outcomes for beneficiaries. For example, creative problem-solving led to a breakthrough in The Gambia Regional Rice Value Chain Development Project, and adaptive M&E informed a strategic turnaround in Child Nutrition Interventions in Burkina Faso.
• Notable internal improvements across PMUs, such as improved data quality, enhanced data-driven decision making through strengthened routines, and better communication. Projects have developed a learning culture built on knowledge exchange and collective reflection; they are motivated to share stories and lessons, and increased visibility is in turn a strong driver for project performance.
• Positive shifts in institutional dynamics within the IsDB ecosystem, fostering more efficient, effective, and innovative project management practices. These early outcomes illustrate the broader potential of aRBM for transformative system change, making a compelling case for program expansion in Year 3.

In its final year, the aRBM program will continue to build on the lessons of the past two years, with an eye towards scale and sustainability. We will focus on building system-wide data proficiency, expanding aRBM to 15 projects, fostering system ownership and internal champions, and ensuring clear linkages with LLF 2.0.

The Impact Report is a testament to this journey, providing a comprehensive overview of achievements and lessons learned since the Program’s inception. It embodies the program’s commitment to a culture of learning as we hold ourselves to high standards for delivery. As we look inward to improve the way we work, we also look outward to remember why: We are committed to real and measurable results for the people we serve.

Arqam Lodhi

aRBM Program Director