Devex Pro Insider: Fifth marriages, half-built planes, and cat on toast

For a long time, we’ve been hearing that the nonprofit sector is supposed to work itself out of business. The irony is that if we look at the world’s biggest INGOs, most of them are the same as they were 20 years ago. Meanwhile, the biggest companies from that period — that were supposed to stay in business — have largely vanished or been superseded. But in the United Kingdom at least, the sector seems to be growing simultaneously more serious about the idea of working itself out of business — and more gloomy about its ability to survive, even if it did want to. At least, that’s the tone of a “solidarity statement” issued earlier this week by Bond, the network for U.K. organizations working in international development, and signed by the leaders of 43 U.K. INGOs, including high-profile names such as Oxfam, Christian Aid, and Islamic Relief. First, some background: A year ago, the U.K. saw a series of race riots prompted by false claims that a Muslim asylum-seeker was behind the stabbing of three children. The riots prompted plenty of soul-searching across the whole country about attitudes to race, including in the aid sector. The most recent letter is a one-year follow-up to a statement produced at the time. “As leaders, we must recognise our role in either perpetuating or challenging the unequal systems our organisations are part of,” the letter says. “Tackling racism means confronting how power operates within our governance structures, funding relationships, and leadership cultures. It means confronting how we engage with partners and communities, how we think about expertise, and whose voices count. It means indeed questioning our very existence.” And the letter seems to feel that that existence is somewhat precarious. “The UK international development sector is undergoing a dramatic contraction and change,” it says. “We are living through a well-documented crisis, driven by shrinking funding and fundamental questions about our sector’s legitimacy. ... In the coming weeks and months, it seems inevitable that more international charities will close, shrink or merge.” Having said that, the letter ends with a bit more of an upbeat tone, calling on INGOs to “embrace the opportunities to create new, just and connected futures for global solidarity and shared humanity.” Also in today’s edition: The impossible challenge facing the U.S. Department of State, and some advice about how to talk about foreign aid. This is the last edition of Pro Insider before Devex takes a well-earned weeklong August break this week, and so there won’t be a newsletter next Sunday. We’re also skipping our regular section on upcoming events because this week in the calendar is empty both for us and for the organizations we write about. Bits and pieces Defying gravity. It increasingly appears as if the Trump administration has created something in foreign assistance that looks a lot like a slice of toast tied to the back of a cat. We all know that toast always lands jelly side down, and that cats always land on their feet. So if you tie them together, you create something that has to hit the ground, but can’t. In the same way, the U.S. government is legally required to spend somewhere in the region of $38 billion on foreign assistance by Sept. 30, but has largely stripped itself of the personnel, skills, and mechanisms to do so. USAID has been entirely shut down, and the Department of State appears to be months away from issuing any sort of development-related request for proposals. My colleague Michael Igoe produced a detailed summary of the potential causes and consequences of this situation in his newsletter yesterday, but one potential next step is that we see something called a “pocket rescission” to get the commitment to spend the money off the books. But that could face challenges from both the U.S. Congress and the courts, not least because it raises serious questions about the separation of powers. Another option is that the Trump administration simply doesn’t do what is required of it and is brazening out the consequences. One way or another, the toast has to come down, and it’ll make a mess when it does. Not defying gravity. The other day, a Devex reporter was forwarded an email sent during the chaos of the fall of USAID, which contained this memorable description of some stop-work order guidance: “Please note, this is a work in progress—we’re building the plane as we fly it!” It’s not the first time the phrase has cropped up in descriptions of development. Notably, it also appeared in a recent critique of World Central Kitchen, one of the more explosive and gung-ho INGOs. It seems worth pointing out that generally speaking, planes that take off while not fully built tend not to work very well, which can be problematic, and the place to build a plane is therefore very much on the ground. What not to say. Aid comms has been a consistent theme in this newsletter over the past few weeks. Recently, Devex contributing reporter Lauren Evans put together an interesting summary of how and why Americans don’t understand aid, and what we might do about it. Following up on that, here’s some research from British company Focaldata, which really highlights what the problems are and where we might go from here. The research, carried out across the U.K., France, Germany, and the United States, highlights that donor countries see a wider split between the political left and right. It sorted respondents into six groups, from what it terms “authoritarian populists” to “civic centrists” to “progressive internationalists.” Among these groups, views on aid have diverged a lot in the last few years. And not just on aid — on a whole range of ideas, from artificial intelligence to net zero/climate neutrality to gender and race. But the weird thing is, no one really disagrees with the core ideas behind aid. The research suggests that even the most right-wing groups are relatively happy to spend money on providing food, health care, and clean water for everyone on the planet. It’s just that they don’t think that’s where the money is actually going. Oh, and maybe we want to think about the name. “Official development assistance” scored 35% on the trust-o-meter, just above “foreign aid” at 34%. UN hatey. It’s safe to say that United Nations officials have not really gotten behind UN80, the job-cutting reform program introduced by Secretary-General António Guterres in response to U.S. funding cuts. Or at least, maybe they have got behind it, but only so they can repeatedly and enthusiastically sink knives into its back. Particular scorn appears to have been reserved for Guy Ryder, the bagman sent out to deliver the reforms. Following a recent interview in which Ryder painted a picture of the cuts as an opportunity for reform, one anonymous staffer penned a long, savagely funny takedown of the whole thing. “In the face of unprecedented budget cuts, massive staff reductions, and systematic institutional failure, we’ve managed to create a story of renewal and transformation,” the masked assassin wrote. “It’s like describing the Titanic’s final moments as an innovative approach to underwater exploration.” The writer was similarly dismissive of claims that this reform would be different from previous, failed efforts. “This is like claiming your fifth marriage is different from the previous four because this time you’re really committed to making it work,” they said. Civic strength. It’s been a disruptive few months — to say the least — and many development organizations are thinking again about how to move forward. One key question is whether to shift your business model. And one key question within that potential shift is whether to merge or form a joint venture. To help with this, a group of nonprofit advisers has formed a new organization called Civic Strength Partners. And if you’re really interested in this topic, check out two recent events we held on the subject — one for for-profit entities, and another for nonprofits. Beyond the headlines. Think you know what happened in globaldev this month? See how well you’ll score in our monthly news quiz. It’s a particularly good one this time around. In memoriam Dr. David Nabarro, an award-winning global health veteran who worked for decades to tackle some of the biggest challenges confronting global health, died last month in his home at the age of 75. His long-standing career gave him front seats to some of the world’s biggest crises. He was appointed by U.N. top diplomats to lead the body’s handling of the cholera epidemic in Haiti, coordinated the U.N. response to the global threat of bird flu and the world’s largest Ebola outbreak, and served as special envoy of the World Health Organization director-general on COVID-19. “His career spanned war zones and boardrooms, epidemics and bureaucracies. Whether responding to Ebola, cholera, or COVID-19, David brought clarity where there was confusion, and humanity where there was despair,” Paul Polman, business leader and campaigner, wrote in a tribute. Read our obituary. + We believe the impact of the lives of the members of our global development community is worth remembering. As we expand our obituary section, we invite you to help us pay tribute to those who have passed. If you’ve recently lost a colleague, friend, or loved one, or know someone in the community who has, please consider letting us know via editor@devex.com. Moving on Wade Warren, chief strategy officer for international development at Deloitte, has announced plans to retire on Aug. 8 after seven years at the company. “I am proud of the firm’s accomplishments in international development – and of the brainpower and cutting-edge tools we deployed to tackle challenges around the world,” Warren wrote in a statement. “My Deloitte colleagues are deeply committed professionals who, through their conscientious stewardship of public funds, helped improve the lives of millions. I’m now moving on to new adventures – some defined, others still unfolding. “I will continue to serve as Chair of the Board of the Society for International Development, United States for the next two years, through August 2027. Our sector is undergoing a historic transformation, and I look forward to continuing to work alongside many of you as we navigate the changes ahead.” Ann Hollingsworth has joined The Nonprofit Alliance as vice president of government affairs. Hollingsworth previously worked at International Crisis Group and has a quarter century of experience in government affairs. She will develop the organization’s advocacy strategy. Marcia Wong is starting a new position as distinguished fellow at the Food Security Leadership Council, a nonpartisan policy organization dedicated to reimagining U.S. leadership in global food security. Wong previously served as deputy assistant administrator in the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance at USAID. Dutch funder Dioraphte has announced the appointment of Cate Nyambura as its new adviser for reproductive rights in Africa. She will lead the development and implementation of a new strategy on sexual and reproductive health and rights. “Her arrival marks a next step in sharpening our strategic direction and approach,” the foundation said. “We have sharpened our focus on what is relevant and needed and have committed to ensuring that decisions about our work in Africa are no longer exclusively made from the Netherlands. Instead, we are building a model based on regionally grounded expertise and proximity to the communities we aim to serve.” Job of the week Your Devex Pro membership includes access to the world’s largest global development job board. Here’s the latest opportunity: • Country director, CARE Search for more opportunities now.