About the Catalytic Fund

Impact-oriented funders are looking for the best investments to do the most good. But gathering the information to make smart decisions takes time and additional resources. Often, funders miss opportunities to support urgent and valuable projects.

Through the newly established Catalytic Fund, funders can leverage IDinsight’s multi-country network and rigorous vetting process to identify opportunities for data and evidence to make a major contribution to improved lives and livelihoods.

For donors, this provides a simple pathway to do the most good, with a strong feedback loop including information about return on investment.

For IDinsight and our partners, we can make the most of time-sensitive opportunities poised for impact. We can also spend more time doing the work, rather than searching for donors to support each project.

What the Fund supports

This fund directly supports projects that are:

• Primed for high-impact results
• Urgently needed
• Thoroughly vetted by IDinsight experts
• Likely to directly improve people’s lives
• Focused on programs that affect lives and livelihoods (e.g. education, health, agriculture, etc.)

How does the Catalytic Fund work?

Donors give. Get in touch to make a donation and your funds will be earmarked for the “Catalytic Fund.” To date, the Catalytic Fund has received generous philanthropic support from both institutional funders and generous individuals. Contact Meg Battle or Jake Taesang Cho.

We vet impact opportunities. Our Steering Committee, made up of technical and sectoral experts, considers factors that include 1) urgency due to a pivotal policy moment or promising momentum that requires resources faster than traditional fundraising processes allow and 2) a significant anticipated impact on human lives.

We allocate funds. On a monthly basis, our steering committee of experts vets the highest-value opportunities – proposed by IDinsight leaders – based on a rigorous protocol that establishes financial need, urgency, and high-impact potential.

We execute the project. An IDinsight team executes the project, sharing updates and receiving guidance from the Catalytic Fund Steering Committee.

We analyze and share results. Deploying our internal measurement system, we conduct rigorous assessments of our projects, incorporating client feedback, analytical quality, and milestones reached. We provide Catalytic Fund donors with semi-annual updates on the portfolio’s impact.

Download the brief 

From our project partners

“The DOH will need all the help it can get to ensure the integrity and actionability of household data, especially in making sure it captures critical information to inform decisions on UHC implementation.

 

IDinsight has already demonstrated this ability to support the Department through a National Health Literacy Survey, with positive feedback in terms of rigor and efficiency.

 

IDinsight’s participation in the UHC M&E consultation in November, made possible by the Catalytic Fund, will ensure comprehensiveness in our approach to the overall UHC measurement strategy, based on rigorous theory of change work.”

–  Lindsley Jeremiah Villarante, Division Chief, Department of Health (Philippines)