Facing accusations in the media of profiteering, for-profit contractors working with the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development made the case in Parliament Monday that with the aid agency’s help, they are the best-placed actors to catalyze a shift toward localization.
“I think DfID should and could compel any organizations, whether U.N., NGO or contractor, to build capacity on the ground,” said Sarah Maguire, director of technical services in governance at DAI Europe said during the hearing, on DfID’s use of contractors and their effectiveness. Many Western contractors subcontract local and national NGOs in project implementation, but donors are under pressure to increase direct and indirect engagement with local firms to encourage local ownership.
The U.K. has promised to implement 25 percent of its funding through local organizations by 2020. DfID was unable to provide figures about how much aid is currently implemented through local and national organizations — through priming or subcontracting — but figures range from 3 percent to close to half, based on individual organizations’ reporting the breakdown of their subcontractor pool.
About the author
Molly Andersmollyanders_dev
Molly Anders is a former U.K. correspondent for Devex. Based in London, she reports on development finance trends with a focus on British and European institutions. She is especially interested in evidence-based development and women’s economic empowerment, as well as innovative financing for the protection of migrants and refugees. Molly is a former Fulbright Scholar and studied Arabic in Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco.
