Multinational NGOs “aren’t going away,” and the focus of localization efforts should instead be on “the relationship between international and local organizations,” according to the CEO of InterAction, the membership body for aid NGOs in the United States.
Growing calls for more money to be channeled directly to organizations in program countries, and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s recent commitment to do so, have led to much reflection on the role of international NGOs going forward.
Late last year, two U.S.-based organizations announced that they would shutter their foreign operations and step aside in favor of locally led groups, while others are also considering their future.