Research in progress
Portfolio Theory for Humanitarian Organizations
Allocation under uncertainty when mission constraints change the portfolio problem.
- Status
- Research in progress
- Version
- Working research
- Date
- 2026
- Authors
- Aryan Patel
Abstract
An investigation into whether portfolio reasoning can help humanitarian organizations allocate limited resources across programs and regions while accounting for uncertainty, concentration, and diminishing marginal benefit.
Research question
Where can portfolio methods clarify humanitarian allocation, and where do mission constraints make the analogy fail?
Methods
- Allocation across programs and regions
- Concentration analysis
- Diminishing marginal benefit
- Mission and donor constraints
- Robust allocation under uncertainty
Data
Public humanitarian and nonprofit sources; provenance is recorded as the work proceeds.
Results
Research in progress. No completed finding is claimed.
Limitations
Humanitarian objectives, donor restrictions, and uncertain impact may limit the transfer of financial portfolio methods.
- Code availability
- Internal during active research.
- Data availability
- Public sources; project-specific release not yet complete.
- AI disclosure
- AI-assisted software supported literature retrieval, code generation, analysis, critique, and drafting. Deterministic systems produced and checked estimates. A human researcher retained responsibility for the question, design, interpretation, and release.
- Reproduction status
- Internal validation during active research.