Devex Newswire: Pathfinder searches for a path to localization

For this special Saturday edition, we bring you the tale of one NGO trying to navigate an ugly past, turbulent present, and uncertain future — a journey that many development organizations can relate to. Plus, a bonus scoop on the friction that’s overtaken an arm of UNESCO. A rocky, relatable path Localization is great in theory, but often messy in practice. After all, who doesn’t support the notion that people on the ground should have more of a say in their own development? But abdicating power, sharing resources, and possibly putting yourself out of a job can be antithetical to an organization’s instinct for self-preservation. “Everyone tries to put a happy face on this by saying that INGOs will still have an important role to play, but we’re kind of vague about what that role is and completely unrealistic or ignorant of the fact that changing the business model implies shrinking the INGOs in a way that would make most unsustainable,” a recently retired global health CEO tells my colleague Michael Igoe. That’s why Michael’s deep dive into the obstacles that tripped up one influential NGO as it tried to embrace a localized version of itself is so instructive — it resonates far and wide. In fact, Pathfinder International, a reproductive health organization that works primarily with USAID — itself trying to figure out what localization looks like — has been consumed with balancing these delicate power dynamics for the last five years. In the process, it has seen a stream of layoffs and resignations, with some alleging mismanagement by CEO Lois Quam and negligence from the board of directors. “Where Quam describes the necessary and difficult work of positioning Pathfinder for a new era, others see a personal branding exercise that has hollowed out the organization at a critical moment in the global fight for reproductive rights,” Michael writes. Michael’s takeaway: “What struck me in reporting this story — and the reason it was so interesting to me — was the incredibly complex issue of power as it operates within an international health NGO. Is it possible to pursue a "localization" strategy from the top down? Is that the only way it can happen? Is that even what was happening here, or was that a sort of retroactive branding exercise to make a messy situation look like part of a larger plan? These were the kinds of questions that kept floating around in my head while I was working on this — and for better or worse I think most people who read this piece are still going to have to find their own answers. But, hopefully, this story at least calls into question some aspects of the current moment in global health and development that I think are getting a little lost in the high-level rhetoric.” Read: The localization wars + Devex Pro members can watch How localization will change INGOs. Not a Pro member yet? start your 15-day free trial today. Finger-pointing at UNESCO While not nearly as large as Pathfinder, a statistical outfit within UNESCO has also been rocked by employment disputes as it, too, adapts to changing demands and circumstances. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics has seen three official complaints lodged since 2019 against its leader, Silvia Montoya, alleging a pattern of bullying and harassment. “The fact that Ms. Montoya was not only hired but has kept her post for many years despite her behavior and clear incompetence as a manager has left me extremely disillusioned with the U.N. system in general. It is just mind-blowing to think that she still had her job after what she has done to so many people,” one former UIS employee tells Devex contributor Sophie Edwards. On the flip side, some say the problem isn’t Montoya, but rather the demands placed on her. UIS is mainly responsible for tracking progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 4, which covers education, and collecting data on science and culture. The institute, based in Montreal, Canada, has fewer than 40 staffers and a budget of $14 million in 2022. Even though UIS is relatively small, reforming bureaucracies of any size is like steering a slow-moving tanker ship, and Montoya’s supporters claim the grievances stem from changes she was forced to make in a budget-constrained agency that’s part of a weakened UNESCO. In fact, they credit her with reviving what had been a traditional statistical agency on the brink of obscurity in the face of increasing competition and the challenges of monitoring SDG 4. “The fact that the UNESCO Institute for Statistics is seriously underfunded is an international scandal,” wrote Nicholas Burnett, former head of education at UNESCO, in a journal article he co-authored last year. Read: Tensions flare at underfunded UNESCO unit over bullying allegations Sizing up the summits We had correspondents on the ground this week at the big Ukraine Recovery Conference in London and French President Emmanuel Macron’s Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris, bringing you not only the latest development news but also cutting through the empty rhetoric and predictable punditry. Be sure to check out their coverage: • Billions in Ukraine aid not at expense of 'world’s hungry,’ UK insists • Global Fund chief warns innovative finance ‘a proxy’ for actual giving • Frustration and tentative progress at Macron finance summit Like getting our Saturday update? Let me know what you think at anna.gawel@devex.com.