Leaders at large bilateral donor agencies and the word “powerless” aren’t a common combination, but it’s how Sally Gear sometimes feels after a meeting with an impressive small organization.
Gear, head and strategic lead on gender for the Sustainable Energy Unit at the U.K. Department for International Development, shared why a good meeting can be frustrating at Thursday’s FHI 360 Gender Summit in Washington, D.C.
“It’s very hard for us to give small grants,” she said. “We are in a world where the incentives are to give big amounts of money — ideally to one organization — so there is less staff needed to operationalize … Great organizations will come and I’ll have a meeting ... I feel quite powerless [to help].”