A series of billion dollar cuts to Dutch aid has been a blow to the status quo for the Netherlands’ NGO community — and resulted in a major shift in who is employed in what kinds of positions at major organizations like Cordaid, Hivos, Oxfam Novib and SNV.
In just under five years, one of Europe’s largest donors has undergone a complete transformation, dropping its commitment to spend 0.7 percent of its gross national income on aid and cutting its number of bilateral partners in half. By 2017, the coalition government’s decision to cut a total of 1 billion euros from its development cooperation budget is expected to be realized, alongside its plans to refocus its core budget for civil society actors to lobbying and advocacy efforts.
To stay afloat and maintain influence amid the expected losses in income, organizations are cutting staff, severing ties with local partners, closing offices and letting go of several focus areas.