Between aid cuts and localization, what is the role of the INGO today?

Back in 2017, the international nonprofit Results for Development pivoted its mission to put local changemakers at the heart of its work, strengthening health, education, and nutrition systems. Today, R4D, like so many INGOs, is not only trying to figure out its place amid the long-standing push toward localization, but also its role in a world shorn of massive amounts of aid money. Gina Lagomarsino, president and CEO of R4D, said there is still a critical role to play, albeit a more supportive, specialized one. “We spent a lot of time back then going out and talking to, especially the government leaders that we were working with around the world, to ask them: What is it that you want? What is it that you need from us?” Lagomarsino said at Devex Impact House on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly. “And what they said was: We want to develop our own plans. We want to design our own priorities, and we do need some support. We want to learn from our peers around the world who have grappled with similar challenges. We do care about evidence and expertise from around the world, but we really want to own the systems change for ourselves.” So R4D created models where global peers could learn from one another. “For example, we work with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and help them manage their network of middle-income countries who really want to learn from each other — how to introduce new vaccines, how to prevent backsliding on vaccines — and that's the best form of assistance that they can get, it’s actually talking to each other and learning from each other,” she said. That’s especially true in this post-USAID world, where INGOs can support local leaders and governments in figuring out ways to fund themselves, whether that’s through more domestic resource mobilization or better governance. On-demand expertise and collaborative learning are the new forms of technical assistance, Lagomarsino said, noting that R4D has created a “help desk” which governments can tap for instant, on-demand expertise on questions such as how to navigate the procurement of a new artificial intelligence-driven education technology. “So that's another model of just new ways to create support for governments who are really going to be in the lead, building their own systems, and delivering for their people.”