Seven recommendations
The resulting recommendations are rock-solid. More international cooperation, not less. Human rights and the international legal order as our guiding principles. New coalitions, equal partnerships, policy coherence, strong institutions, global citizenship. These are points we can defend with conviction, and which send a clear signal to The Hague about what is needed to keep development cooperation effective and credible.
What is still missing
And yet, now that we’ve gone over the whole thing again: something is missing. Our recommendations are primarily written with the world as it is right now in mind — and as it is likely to develop in the coming years. This makes sense, of course, because that is the world in which our members work every day, in which projects are carried out, and policy is made. But the question posed to us by the AIV goes further. It is not just about how we maintain the current system or tweak it slightly, but about what development cooperation will look like in a world in the midst of a fundamental systemic transition — a transition that extends beyond the four or eight year horizon we so readily assume.
Yet we do see that transition — geopolitical shifts in power, climate change, shifting global dynamics — whilst the recommendations themselves are still primarily a translation of these into the policies of tomorrow, not into the world of 2040. That is a pity, because we are in a good flow. And an advisory process that looks so emphatically to the future also deserves a network that dares to break free from existing frameworks: from the current donor-recipient relationship, from current funding models, perhaps even from the very concept of ‘development cooperation’ as we know it today.
Next step
So we’re going to take another step. We’re organising a session that doesn’t start with the question ‘what needs to happen in the coming years’, but with ‘what will equitable, global cooperation look like in fifteen years’ time, and what does that mean for our role in it’. Not just fine-tuning existing policy, but really taking a step back from the details — together with members, partners from the Global Majority and people who are used to thinking in terms of systems and transitions.
This requires something different from all of us compared to the previous round. It’s not just about responding from our own position and practice, but also allowing ourselves to be challenged to question that practice. It’s precisely the kind of discomfort needed to truly look ahead. We’re incredibly pleased with the energy and commitment the network has shown so far. Now it’s time to take it a step further.
The session is scheduled for 26 August and we’ll be preparing for it over the coming month. If you’d like to attend, please send an email to Sabien.