Opinion: How intent for locally led development will turn into practice

2023 has been the year of the three Cs — climate, crisis, and community — and a growing realization that we cannot tackle these crises without community leadership. This recognition of the centrality of the community and the local ecosystem was strengthened in 2021 when USAID Administrator Samantha Power committed to providing 25% of USAID funds directly to local organizations and 50% to programs that put communities in the driver’s seat. Since then we have seen a reinforcement of this intent toward locally led development, or LLD, not just through events and conferences, but through the Donor Statement on Locally Led Development with 20 bilateral government agencies and 15 major foundations as signatories. Yet, as the U.S. presidential elections loom ahead in 2024, the fate of locally led development seems to hang in balance. If 2023 was the year when the world stated its intent to localize, 2024 will be the year it translates this intent into practice, or not. Personally, I believe 2024 will be the year we begin to transform the unjust, colonial systems that shape our world. My optimism stems from the local organizations and networks from the majority world — typically, and incorrectly, referred to as the global south. Today, when majority world groups are speaking up at international events and global fora, we are no longer “speaking truth to power,” we are exercising our own power. We are telling the international community that we are ready to tackle the fear that has held us back; the fear that this unjust, colonial system will deny us the resource flows to fulfill our responsibilities to our communities. It is not that we no longer have those responsibilities: We know that we will never be able to fulfill them within this current system. We have no choice but to step into our own power to change this system. 2024 will be a watershed year for our world. The following four trends will shape it: 1. The emphasis on the local ecosystem will continue USAID has generated momentum around LLD. While a change in the U.S. administration could slow progress within the agency, the call for change has become too widespread to be contained: Policy changes have been made, joint declarations signed, and many groups involved. Bilateral agencies, foundations, and INGOs have inked a variety of commitments from the aforementioned funder statement to the Pledge for Change. The OECD Development Assistance Comittee is developing toolkits to implement LLD. This does not guarantee that a new establishment will not throw LLD out, but it does mean that whatever happens in the U.S., the world will not cease to think local. This time the majority world will not accept a reversal silently. 2. The real test will be translating intent into action While there has been the intent to center communities in 2023, the practice has left much to be desired, from the definition of who counts as local, to actual funding flows and where decision-making power rests. The very groups that designed the current system that blocks majority world organizations are now claiming to speak on behalf of these organizations. Conferences on LLD and decolonization are hosted by minority world — “global north” — groups in Europe and America, which keep out the very majority world groups for whom they are designed. In November 2023, over 1,300 majority world organizations and individuals penned a letter outlining the visa humiliations, language barriers, and complete lack of respect they encounter in these spaces and presenting an alternate way of structuring conversations around LLD. True locally led development is not about adding a few seats for majority world groups to the existing table, but about designing a new table with them. 2024 will determine whether LLD will be the transformative change that it promised or just another series of well-intentioned, albeit too-little-too-late incremental fixes. 3. The democratization of funding mechanisms will continue The democratization of funding mechanisms offers both hope and support for local players. Between 2018 and 2020, remittances grew by 19% while official development assistance, or ODA, and philanthropic outflows both decreased marginally. While remittances are primarily used for family purposes, they put money directly into the local ecosystem. Unlike ODA, remittances go up in response to economic shocks and increasingly we are seeing communities pool together these funds to meet their collective needs. Moreover, as the barriers to giving for the diaspora communities go down with online crowdfunding platforms — there are over 2,000 such platforms globally — digital technology tools, and now cryptocurrency, this funding stream is set to expand. While ODA and philanthropic outlays may still be needed, these alternate sources of funding along with community philanthropy provide funding that is less politically motivated and more flexible. 2024 is also likely to see an increase in pooled funds, trust-based philanthropy, and innovative models for funding such as directly funding local networks. 4. Majority world solidarity will be the game changer The real game changer for 2024 will be the ability of majority world groups to come together. We already see an effort for greater coordination. Funders are coming together in new alliances, as are international NGOs and governments. It is time for the majority world networks to do so as well. If we want funders and the people in minority world nations to trust us, we have to first learn to trust one another and to stand with each other. If we stand for systems transformation we cannot remain silent as genocides continue, LGBTQI+ communities are targeted, and civic space is closed by governments. If we want a just and equitable system that centers communities, we have to demand justice and equity for everyone, at all times. We are already seeing this coming together of the majority world networks. The Shift the Power Summit in Bogotá, Colombia, this December marks one such attempt. The fate of locally led development in 2024 will indeed depend on the majority of world players coming together to create a movement of movements. Because that is what systems transformation requires: Courage, vision, allyship, and above all, trust. Editor’s note: This article is the personal opinion of the author and does not reflect the views of MCLD or any affiliated organization.