Strategic Assessment for a Livelihoods and Economic Justice Program in Ghana
Updated: Sep 8
Client Profile
The client was the West Africa regional office of a global economic justice and humanitarian confederation, managing a diverse portfolio of development initiatives designed to improve livelihoods, advance gender equity, and strengthen economic opportunities for vulnerable communities.
Sector
International Development — Livelihoods, Gender Equity & Economic Justice
Geography
Ghana — Accra Headquarters, Northern Region and Upper East Region
Engagement Type
Strategic Portfolio Assessment
Duration
Approximately 5 months
Team Size
6 — Strategy Lead, 2 Sector Specialists, 2 Field Researchers and Data Analyst
The Challenge
The client's Ghana country program had developed a portfolio of 14 active livelihood projects across seven implementing partners. While individual projects were producing valuable activities and outputs, leadership was increasingly concerned about the overall coherence, efficiency and measurable impact of the portfolio.
Declining donor confidence created an additional strategic challenge. The country leadership team needed reliable evidence to determine which initiatives should be scaled, which should be redesigned, and which should be phased out.
The organization was also preparing its next five-year country strategy, making the assessment particularly important. Decisions made at this stage would influence future investments, partnerships and program priorities.
Internally, tensions between program teams and finance functions were affecting decision-making. Different teams were working from different perspectives on program value, costs and priorities, making it difficult to reach objective conclusions about resource allocation.
B.I.M. Corporation was engaged to provide an independent, evidence-based assessment that could turn a complex project portfolio into a clear strategic roadmap.
Our Approach
B.I.M. Corporation deployed a dual-track assessment methodology, combining portfolio performance analysis with an organizational diagnostic. This approach allowed the team to examine not only what each project was achieving, but also how the overall portfolio was positioned for future impact and sustainability.
Portfolio Mapping and Value-for-Money Analysis
All 14 active projects were mapped against a structured value-for-money framework covering four key dimensions:
Relevance
Effectiveness
Efficiency
Sustainability
This provided leadership with a consistent basis for comparing projects across different thematic areas and implementing partners.
Financial Deep-Dive Analysis
The assessment included detailed analysis of financial information, with particular attention to cost-per-beneficiary metrics.
Comparing project expenditure against beneficiary reach helped identify differences in operational efficiency and highlighted opportunities to improve resource allocation across the portfolio.
Stakeholder Interviews
B.I.M. Corporation conducted structured interviews with more than 35 stakeholders, including:
Program staff
Implementing partners
Donor representatives
Government counterparts
Country leadership
These conversations provided qualitative insight into implementation performance, partnership effectiveness, organizational dynamics and strategic priorities.
Field-Based Assessment
The team conducted field visits to eight project sites across Ghana's Northern and Upper East regions.
Direct engagement at project locations enabled the assessment team to validate portfolio-level findings against implementation realities and better understand the experiences of communities, partners and local stakeholders.
Leadership Strategy Workshop
The assessment culminated in a facilitated leadership workshop.
B.I.M. Corporation presented three portfolio strategy scenarios, each outlining its potential financial, operational and reputational implications. This gave leadership a structured basis for comparing different strategic directions rather than relying solely on internal opinions or competing departmental priorities.
The Results
The assessment enabled the client to make clear, evidence-based strategic decisions that had previously been difficult to reach internally.
Key outcomes included:
Portfolio Rationalization
B.I.M. Corporation recommended sunsetting four low-performing projects while scaling three high-performing initiatives.
The recommendations were adopted by the country leadership team within 60 days, providing a clear direction for portfolio restructuring.
20–25% Estimated Operational Savings
Portfolio consolidation was estimated to generate 20–25% savings in operational overhead.
Rather than simply reducing expenditure, the client planned to redirect these resources toward two priority thematic areas, strengthening the potential for greater strategic impact.
Standardized Value-for-Money Scorecard
A standardized value-for-money scorecard was introduced as a practical decision-making tool.
The scorecard is now used to assess new project proposals, helping the organization evaluate potential investments against consistent criteria before committing resources.
Five-Year Strategy Integration
The strategic assessment findings were integrated directly into the country office's five-year strategy document submitted to global headquarters.
This ensured that the new strategy was grounded in portfolio evidence, financial analysis, stakeholder perspectives and field-level realities.
The Impact
The engagement helped the client move from a fragmented portfolio of individual projects toward a more coherent, evidence-driven investment strategy.
Beyond identifying projects for scale-up or closure, the assessment established a repeatable framework for future decision-making. Leadership gained a clearer understanding of where resources were generating the greatest value and where portfolio changes could improve efficiency.
The introduction of a standardized value-for-money scorecard also extended the impact of the engagement beyond the assessment itself. Future project proposals can now be evaluated using a common framework, supporting greater consistency and accountability.
Most importantly, the assessment helped bridge organizational perspectives. By bringing financial analysis, program evidence, stakeholder feedback and field observations into a single decision-making process, B.I.M. Corporation helped create a stronger foundation for strategic alignment.
Why This Case Study Matters
International development organizations frequently manage complex portfolios involving multiple projects, partners, donors and geographic areas. As portfolios grow, individual project success does not necessarily translate into overall strategic coherence.
A strategic portfolio assessment provides leadership with the evidence needed to answer critical questions:
Which programs are delivering the greatest value?
Where are resources being used most efficiently?
Which initiatives should be scaled?
Which programs should be redesigned or sunset?
How can limited resources be aligned with strategic priorities?
How can future investments be assessed consistently?
The Ghana engagement demonstrates how structured analysis can convert portfolio complexity into clear strategic choices and actionable recommendations.
B.I.M. Corporation's Evidence-Based Approach
B.I.M. Corporation combines data analysis, strategic assessment and stakeholder insight to help organizations make better-informed decisions.
For complex development portfolios, this means looking beyond individual metrics and examining the relationship between program performance, financial efficiency, stakeholder perspectives, operational realities and long-term strategic objectives.
The Ghana assessment demonstrates this approach in practice: evidence was transformed into strategic options, strategic options into leadership decisions, and those decisions into a stronger five-year country strategy.
Case Study at a Glance
Area | Result |
Active projects assessed | 14 |
Implementing partners | 7 |
Stakeholders interviewed | 35+ |
Project sites visited | 8 |
Assessment duration | Approximately 5 months |
Projects recommended for sunset | 4 |
Projects recommended for scale | 3 |
Estimated operational savings | 20–25% |
New management tool | Value-for-money scorecard |
Strategic outcome | Findings integrated into five-year country strategy |
Conclusion
The Strategic Portfolio Assessment in Ghana gave the client the independent evidence required to make difficult investment decisions with greater confidence.
By combining portfolio mapping, financial analysis, stakeholder engagement, field research and strategic scenario planning, B.I.M. Corporation helped transform a complex 14-project portfolio into a more focused and sustainable strategic direction.
The result was not simply a report. It was a decision-making framework that supported portfolio consolidation, improved resource allocation and informed the organization's next five-year strategy.
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