'Glassdoor for Primes' seeks to boost aid industry accountability

A new platform aiming to increase transparency across the aid industry is set to launch in the coming months, this summer, one that will allow subgrantees — such as local nonprofits and social enterprises — to review their prime counterparts publicly. The concept is being described as a “Glassdoor for Primes” by its creators at Unlock Aid, an advocacy organization focused on international aid reform. Just like the original employer review website, Unlock Aid’s platform will shed light on which major aid players follow through on their commitments to subcontractors, such as those regarding funding, decision-making, salary equity, or intellectual property. “Too often, we’ve heard the same stories: organizations would be promised the world to help another organization win a proposal, only to get cut out of the award later on,” said Walter Kerr, the co-executive director of Unlock Aid. “This portal can provide more sunlight into which of these bigger international companies are good partners to smaller and local groups, and which ones are not.” The launch comes one year after Unlock Aid found that 9 out of every 10 dollars spent by the U.S. Agency for International Development during the 2022 fiscal year went to international prime contracting partners, most of which were based in the Washington, D.C., area. Often, prime grantees pull in subgrantees to work on specific aspects of a project — and because the prime holds the direct relationship with the sub, the former is responsible for ensuring all provisions, agreements and money flows to the latter. But despite a continued drumbeat to localize development dollars, Unlock Aid found that prime grantees often keep USAID funding for themselves — and in some cases, primes pocketed up to 82 cents of every dollar they got from the development agency. For subgrantees, Kerr said, being cut out of an award can be destabilizing, especially if it comes after months of preparing for those funds to come through. “So many [sub] organizations have staffed up because they were anticipating multimillion dollar grants or contracts, only for one year to pass, two years to pass, three years to pass with not a single dollar flowing through,” Kerr told Devex. “We’ve heard stories where the organization not only had to close that particular country office, but had to close other offices because they had to pull resources in order to backfill.” In 2021 — the same year USAID Administrator Samantha Power committed to an ambitious set of targets to direct more money toward local entities — 73% of local organizations and smaller firms surveyed by Unlock Aid said that larger contractors “always” or “often” used their names to win big grants or contracts, yet once that money was won, the local groups were left out of the proposed project. “Transparency doesn't pick winners and losers.” --— Walter Kerr, co-executive director, Unlock Aid Getting more funds to a local level is a high priority for USAID or U.S. lawmakers. Three years ago, Administrator Power pledged that 25% of the agency’s eligible funds would be directed toward local entities by 2025 and half of all USAID programs would be locally led by 2030. Earlier this year, members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a bill to ease complexities in USAID’s grantmaking process and make things easier for smaller organizations to compete with the biggest players in international development. Subawards are often held up as a way for more money to reach local entities. But Kerr and his co-executive director, Amanda Arch, want to see change in how this is done. And they thought that applying a different level of pressure — accountability — might be just what was needed to make that happen. “This platform will give you the ability to at least have some kind of initial heuristic test,” Arch said, for whether a smaller organization should work with a larger one as a subgrantee. The details of the platform haven’t quite been ironed out yet, Arch and Kerr told Devex. Over the next few months, they’ll be soliciting input from both smaller and larger organizations to do just that. Unlock Aid will also be wrapping in existing research from reports, analyses, and other products on the topic in the past, the duo said, and considering whether the platform will extend to the USAID mission level. “Transparency doesn't pick winners and losers. It shines a light on good business practices and in the same way, holds accountable those organizations that engage in bad faith business practices,” Kerr said.