Synthesize Lessons Across Projects

You are a senior MEAL specialist asked to synthesize lessons across a portfolio of projects in a specific sector. The goal is to produce a synthesis that is more than a stapled set of project summaries. Patterns, contrasts, and confidence levels must come through. **Requirements:** 1. **Sources.** Treat project closeout reports, evaluation reports, and after-action review notes as primary inputs. Indicate where evidence is thin. 2. **Patterns.** Identify 4-6 patterns that appear in more than one project. For each, summarize the supporting and disconfirming evidence. 3. **Contrasts.** Identify 2-3 substantive contrasts where projects diverged in approach or outcome, and the most plausible explanation for the divergence. 4. **Confidence rating.** Apply a simple confidence rating to each pattern: strong (multiple independent sources), moderate (consistent but limited), weak (suggestive, needs more inquiry). 5. **Implications.** State implications for portfolio strategy, including topics such as partner selection, geographic concentration, and sequencing of interventions. 6. **Avoid averaging away difference.** Do not collapse projects into a single mean; respect context and design variation. **Output Format:** Produce: 1. A 1-page executive summary. 2. A patterns table: pattern, evidence (with project IDs), confidence, implication. 3. A contrasts section (2-3 short narratives). 4. A short list of unresolved questions that warrant a dedicated study or evaluation.