Faced with fierce competition for funding, dwindling U.K. aid contracts and now the impending Brexit, one organization told Devex that mergers are the best way for smaller NGOs to evolve and stay relevant.
Concern Universal announced today it will merge with sports charity International Inspiration and rebrand itself as United Purpose. The new entity’s CEO Kathryn Llewellyn told Devex she believes such partnerships are the way forward for small to medium-sized development organizations now faced with funding uncertainty in the United Kingdom and Europe.
“The world is changing rapidly, donors’ priorities are shifting, the types of contracts we were getting are now going to management consultants and much larger private sector organizations,” she said. “Coupled with that, there has to be a bit of a realization as a whole sector we haven’t evolved fast enough.”
About the author
Molly Andersmollyanders_dev
Molly Anders is a former U.K. correspondent for Devex. Based in London, she reports on development finance trends with a focus on British and European institutions. She is especially interested in evidence-based development and women’s economic empowerment, as well as innovative financing for the protection of migrants and refugees. Molly is a former Fulbright Scholar and studied Arabic in Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco.
