iMPACT direct believes that development cooperation creates more impact by distributing funds more fairly and thus expanding the decision-making table to include locally-led NGOs and the community members they work with.
Our Theory of Change from problem analysis to envisioned impact looks as follows:
Below we elaborate specifically on the Pathway of Change for locally-led NGOs.
We believe that locally-led NGOs and the communities involved have the expertise and knowledge to tackle the social injustices in their local setting.
However, locally-led NGOs are often excluded from decision-making in the development aid sector. This shows from the fact that they directly receive around 2% of total global aid budget.[i] In the Netherlands, only 1% of Dutch development funding reaches local NGOs directly.[ii] It results in:
In addition, locally-led organisations have little space to build a strong independent organisation.
Altogether, it negatively affects effective and cost-effective projects in Africa. And even worse, it impedes a strong local civil society. Yet, a strong civil society is a prerequisite for a solid foundation for socio-economic development and an equal distribution of wealth.
To be able to work towards sustainable and impactful social change, this needs to change.
Professional locally-led NGOs – that are the first to respond, last to leave – are responsible for 70% of all impact in development cooperation.[vii] Imagine how much impact can be made, if locally-led NGOs would receive more than this marginal 2%!
To be able to increase the 2% that locally-led NGOs can decide over, iMPACT direct supports local NGOs to become self-sustaining, by providing a platform that showcases local solutions by local experts, facilitating access to unconditional grants and actual capacity strengthening between experts from around the globe.
Concretely, iMPACT direct provides locally-led NGOs:
In this way development cooperation can become more effective, more cost-efficient and more sustainable. In Europe, we haven’t seen organisations alike.[viii]
We plan for supporting 65 locally-led NGOs by the end of 2023 with a total income of €1,000,000.
There is growing evidence that unrestricted donations to local solutions are more effective, more cost-effective, and more sustainable.[ix] For instance because:
Ultimately, we want to contribute the decision-making power of locally-led NGOs on a larger scale and inspire on an actual shift of power within the development sector, and simultaneously contribute to a stronger civil society in the countries we work. That is:
Note: Our Theory of Change is work in progress. From February to June 2022 we work on more scientific and evidence-based proof with students from the Radboud University of Nijmegen that will lead to an improved Theory of Change and insight what assumptions there are left to measure.
In addition, we we also add the pathways for donors and communities soon.
[i] “In 2020, the budget for development cooperation was $156 billion; local NGOs received 2.1% directly” (The New Humanitarian, 2021); “More than 99% of humanitarian and philanthropic […] to predominately white-led international NGOs. Despite Africa’s growing and dynamic social sector […]’ (Guardian, 2021); 0.4% of total global development funding is going to local NGOs (Disrupt Development, 2020)
[ii] Evelijne Bruning in ViceVersa; Zware kritiek op besteding ontwikkelingsgeld (Trouw, 2016).
[iii] 21% of all funds are unconditional (of the 2%?) – Center Disaster … (mentioned in online webinar of Judge Business School on Shift the Power / East African Phlantropy Network)
[iv] The criteria of several smaller northern grants require a reference or partner in Europe, UK or the USA. Or the budgets are simply too small and too much work for bigger grants. Moreover, selection is almost always done through a paperwork selection procedure behind desks. Great local solutions with not so great proposal writers will fail to access these types of applications. (from experience and feedback from partnering NGO COSDEP for instance); ‘Because of their small size […] organisations cannot meet the bureaucratic requirements set by major international funds, donors and financial institutions, or these groups are simply invisible. Moreover, some of them cannot operate openly for security reasons.’ (Both Ends, 2017).
[v] “Traditional donors (e.g. World Bank, USAID) in Ghana approach capacity strengthening (CS) as part and parcel of donor compliance activities. With this narrow aim and donor-focused approach, technical assistance in the form of trainings and accompaniment (of local project staff) has been mostly related to ensuring that local NGOs is able to meet donor planning and reporting requirements.” Lori Cajegas in an interview with Ato Kwamina Addo. The interview was a part of a training with INTRAC on Partner Capacity Strengthening
[vi] CIVICUS and Partos, 2017
[vii] The New Humanitarian, 2021
[viii] One of our supporters mentions that they don’t see similar organisations in the Netherlands.
[ix] Small Grants, Big Impacts, Both Ends, 2017; Global Grant for Community Foundations; and the Bridging the Gap Conference on Localisation, March 2021.
m.me/impactdirect.eu
Weurt, The Netherlands
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