Welcome to Episode 04 of Systems Practice in International Development. We are delighted to introduce this limited series produced by the Portfolio MEL (PMEL) programme in Nepal, funded by the British Embassy Kathmandu and implemented by Abt Global. We hope you enjoyed the first part of our conversation with USAID colleagues on their recently launched Local Systems Position paper. If you haven’t listened to it already, it is available on Apple and Spotify.

In part two of this series, we’ll dive deeper into the practical side of systems thinking—exploring how USAID missions bring the Local Systems Position Paper to life, tackle practical implementation challenges, and rethink the role of donors to truly embrace systems practice.

This Episode's Guests

David Jacobstein has been with USAID for 12 years. He serves as a Political Economy and Localization Specialist in the Policy Learning and Integration Office of the Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance Bureau, where he focuses on issues of capacity strengthening, systems thinking, political economy, locally-led development, and cross-sectoral integration. He leads work that has promulgated measurement and programming recommendations through the Local Capacity Strengthening Policy, and served as a co-author of the Local Systems Framework.

Monalisa Salib is the Chief of Party of the USAID/Vietnam Learns Activity implemented by Social Impact. Her nearly 20 years of experience in international development includes long-term, field-based senior management and technical positions in Washington, D.C., Palestine, Yemen, and Vietnam. Monalisa was a co-creator of USAID’s Collaborating, Learning & Adapting (CLA) Framework and Maturity Tool and several other CLA resources on behalf of USAID.

Rachel Leeds is a Strategy Analyst in USAID's Bureau for Planning, Learning, and Resource Management and a member of USAID's Local Systems Community of Practice. She led the consultation and drafting process for the Agency's new Local Systems Position Paper. She received her Bachelor's in Anthropology and Global Development Studies from the University of Virginia and her Master's of International Development Policy from Georgetown University.

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

System work is not about solutions; it’s about discovering and steering local pathways for change at a pace appropriate for our ability to learn and for what local communities can enact and absorb.” - Stanford Social Innovation Review

This quote perfectly sets the tone for part one of our two-part series on USAID's Local Systems Position Paper. This paper isn’t just another framework—it’s a bold vision for reimagining development by prioritizing local actors within the system and locally-led solutions.

In this episode, we’ll delve into the thinking behind the paper, explore its key ideas, and discuss how it fosters local ownership, trust, and sustainable systems. What inspired this shift, and what could it mean for the future of development? Let’s dive in!

This Episode's Guests

David Jacobstein has been with USAID for 12 years. He serves as a Political Economy and Localization Specialist in the Policy Learning and Integration Office of the Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance Bureau, where he focuses on issues of capacity strengthening, systems thinking, political economy, locally-led development, and cross-sectoral integration. He leads work that has promulgated measurement and programming recommendations through the Local Capacity Strengthening Policy, and served as a co-author of the Local Systems Framework.

Monalisa Salib is the Chief of Party of the USAID/Vietnam Learns Activity implemented by Social Impact. Her nearly 20 years of experience in international development includes long-term, field-based senior management and technical positions in Washington, D.C., Palestine, Yemen, and Vietnam. Monalisa was a co-creator of USAID’s Collaborating, Learning & Adapting (CLA) Framework and Maturity Tool and several other CLA resources on behalf of USAID.

Rachel Leeds is a Strategy Analyst in USAID's Bureau for Planning, Learning, and Resource Management and a member of USAID's Local Systems Community of Practice. She led the consultation and drafting process for the Agency's new Local Systems Position Paper. She received her Bachelor's in Anthropology and Global Development Studies from the University of Virginia and her Master's of International Development Policy from Georgetown University.

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

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

We all know development challenges are complex and interconnected, and that’s where the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has taken a refreshingly practical approach to systems thinking by first getting its house in order. They’ve embraced a portfolio approach -At the heart of it is to learn from portfolio evidence, leverage synergies through coherence to maximize impact in a complex and fast-changing world.

FCDO's Portfolio Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (PMEL) programme was established to do just that. While several countries have adopted the concept, today we’re spotlighting two in particular—Nepal and Nigeria.

In this episode, we’ll dive into the merits and challenges of a portfolio approach, explore the pre-requisites for becoming a learning organization and, at the end, we’ll bust a few myths around evidence-informed learning and decision-making.

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

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

Systems Practice in International Development

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