The Partner featured here is Umoja in Action.
Liliane*, 13, was on the way home from school when armed men came to her neighbourhood. She heard people yelling, then ran to her mother. The family fled to a displacement camp, but without Liliane’s father who had been at work.
Liliane helps her mother with her 12 siblings, as well as doing chores. She then attends a child friendly space in the camp, as there is no formal school. She enjoys spending time at the space and loves to dance with the other children.
Liliane wants to return to education as soon as possible so she can become a doctor when she’s older.
Children walk to the Child Friendly Space in a displacement camp with partner staff member Bweya. Umoja in Action is a Save the Children partner organization in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo Credit: Hugh Kinsella Cunningham / Save the Children
The Future of International Non-Governmental Organizations: Adapting to Localization
By: Will von Schrader, Senior Director, Localization, August 8, 2024
The Shift Towards Localization
Localization isn’t a new concept – from the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness to the Grand Bargain of 2016, localization has been a part of international dialogues on development and humanitarian assistance for decades. And yet, little changed. More recently, however, growing commitments among international donors and actors to advance the localization agenda – signaled most visibly by USAID’s renewed focus on advancing locally-led solutions – may point to a true paradigm shift taking hold. Central to this shift is a recognition that local and national actors are – and always have been – at the forefront of sustainable development and humanitarian action. Shifting more resources, influence and leadership to them will result in better and more sustainable results. Beyond that, this shift is (or should be) grounded in social justice, recognizing and responding to historical power imbalances that have left many local and national actors sidelined in decisions on how development and humanitarian assistance are resourced and delivered in their own communities. In this context, International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) like Save the Children are reassessing their role within this system and exploring how they can better complement and support the leadership of local and national actors to drive transformational change.
Save the Children's Vision: Local to Global for Impact
Since its inception, Save the Children has been committed to working alongside local and national actors – including children themselves. But we knew more needed to be done, and in 2020, Save the Children approved its first Localization Policy outlining seven driving principles, ensuring our work is complementary to and supportive of what local and national actors already do to advance children’s rights.
Building on this, in 2022, our global leadership endorsed a bold new vision – entitled Local to Global for Impact – of an organization that follows the lead of local and national actors, steps away from direct service delivery and transitions into more demand-driven and supportive roles that better complement the capacity, expertise and leadership that already exists in the contexts where we work. To that end, Save the Children is investing heavily to unlock internal barriers related to funding, compliance, operating models and organizational behavior. These changes will help us shift into roles centered on influencing and advocacy, technical and organizational support for local actors, and using our convening power to facilitate collective action.
Practical Applications and Examples
While this long-term transformation gains momentum, Save the Children is already engaged with local and national actors across the globe to apply this ambition and integrate it into how we do business. In 2023, Save the Children obligated more than $200 million USD to the local and national partners we work alongside. In South Sudan, we have supported a local actor in assuming the co-leadership role of the national Education Cluster while also working with the Local Response Pooled Fund to advance local leadership in decisions on how humanitarian programs are funded. In Niger and Malawi, we are piloting the extension of highly flexible grants to youth-led organizations, supporting their ability to invest in self-identified priorities that advance their missions and mandates. Moreover, through initiatives like the Humanitarian Leadership Academy, we are working with local and national actors to cultivate a new generation of humanitarian leaders all over the world.
The Role of Donors and the Broader Community
Organizational change of this scale isn’t easy. INGOs, like ours, are increasingly exploring how they can fill new and more complementary roles in a changing sector – and investing heavily in that change, as they should. But this can’t be done in isolation. For this transformation to be truly impactful, it requires a collaborative approach involving donors, INGOs and local leaders at all levels. Donors play a particularly crucial role in this process and can heavily influence the pace and scale of this transformation by utilizing funding mechanisms that better incentivize it.
The future of INGOs lies in their ability to adapt to a changing sector and adopt new roles that better complement the leadership of local actors in ways that produce better and more sustainable results. This transition is not only about improving outcomes but also about doing what is ethically right – shifting power to local communities and recognizing their leadership in driving sustainable development.
As INGOs like Save the Children continue to embrace these changes, the sector moves towards a more equitable and effective approach to humanitarian and development work. This shift heralds a future where local actors are at the forefront, with INGOs playing a supportive and complementary role in achieving lasting change.