Localization has been a major theme in the development community over the past several years. But recently I’ve noticed a change. After moderating a session last week on the topic, writing an op-ed and speaking with a number of people at the center of the issue in some of the biggest development institutions, I have sensed that we may be reaching a new moment in the localization debate. Here’s what I’m picking up and I’m hoping to hear from the Devex community on what you see wherever you may be around the world.
In 2010, the world’s largest bilateral development agency — the U.S. Agency for International Development — set a target to dedicate 30 percent of its contracts and grants directly to local implementing partners. That was an inflection point. International nongovernmental organizations and contractors who typically implement such programs found themselves positioned as “middlemen” and felt scapegoated and pitted against local NGOs and contractors — causing heated debate about what localization is really all about.
But while USAID’s push toward localization may have been particularly aggressive, it fits within the context of a larger trend that dates back further. The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, the European Commission, and numerous European bilateral agencies had long sought to get money directly in the hands of developing country governments through budget and sector support. The core idea behind direct support to governments and local contracting were the same — development efforts are most likely to succeed when countries themselves are in the driver’s seat, setting their own priorities and building up their own capacity, and when local organizations and citizens are implementing their own development programs. The frame of the argument has largely stayed the same: local versus global. But that may now be changing.
About the author
Raj Kumarraj_devex
Raj Kumar is the President and Editor-in-Chief at Devex, the media platform for the global development community. He is a media leader and former humanitarian council chair for the World Economic Forum and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. His work has led him to more than 50 countries, where he has had the honor to meet many of the aid workers and development professionals who make up the Devex community. He is the author of the book "The Business of Changing the World," a go-to primer on the ideas, people, and technology disrupting the aid industry.
