International nongovernmental organizations don’t need to disappear and they don’t need to become locally led, localization experts told an audience of development professionals last week.
Instead of trying to localize themselves, INGOs should focus on the unique role they can play as international organizations while handing power and resources to groups that are already operating locally, the experts said during a Devex panel discussion.
Ironically, they added, a lot of the conversations around localization are happening without local voices in the room, and INGOs and funders need to take steps to make sure this changes.
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About the author
David Ainsworth@daveainsworth4
David Ainsworth is business editor at Devex, where he writes about finance and funding issues for development institutions. He was previously a senior writer and editor for magazines specializing in nonprofits in the U.K. and worked as a policy and communications specialist in the nonprofit sector for a number of years. His team specializes in understanding reports and data and what it teaches us about how development functions.
