Key issues in today’s context
In January, ODI Global hosted a two‑day dialogue session in The Hague on the timely theme “How to Be a Donor in a Post‑Aid World.” Stakeholders from ministries, development agencies, civil society, and research institutions gathered around to explore the future of the development sector. Partos participated to highlight the vital role of civil society and NGO’s in an evolving landscape.
On a similar topic, we were present at the launch of Eurodad’s recent report “How ODA reform has left the Global South behind”. The report examines the ODA modernisation process over the past decade, led primarily by Northern donor countries. The broadening of ODA criteria, such as in-donor costs and private-sector instruments, over the past decade has diluted the purpose of poverty reduction. A wider range of financial instruments that count as ODA inflates the budget without any real impact across borders. The growing preference for private sector instruments raises questions about whose priorities are genuinely served by this investment. Furthermore, the push towards lending rather than grants has deteriorated effectiveness and restricts true sustainable development. These loans serve financial institutions, and the shift is particularly concerning amid a growing debt crisis. The narrative of ‘mutual benefit’ has increasingly focused on the economic interests of donor countries rather than on an approach built on solidarity and equal partnerships.
Several questions emerged during both events: How can we translate the ambition of country‑led development into concrete steps within donor operations—and what long‑term shifts are needed to fundamentally transform Northern donorship? And how do we implement lessons learned from reforms in the past decade, which have led to a shift away from its core purpose?
For Partos, several conclusions were clear following the ODI Global dialogue and the Eurodad report. The development sector needs a long‑term, systemic mindset change. During both these events, the urgent need to rethink ODA as we know it stands out. Key barriers to country‑led development cooperation include:
- Donor risk aversion: A reluctance among donors to fund initiatives with a high risk of misuse of funds, reputational damage and political scrutiny.
- Dual accountabilities: Donors are simultaneously accountable to domestic stakeholders, such as taxpayers and parliaments, as well as to partner-country priorities.
- Divergent values: Inconsistencies and conflicting priorities regarding how aid is defined, allocated, and implemented by different donors and in different contexts.
- Entrenched power asymmetries: Between Northern donors and partner countries in issues such as agenda-setting and conditionalities, leadership positions, budget control and oversight.
During the dialogue, researchers stressed the need to prioritise “soft infrastructure”—local knowledge, culture, social capital, and place identity—rather than relying mainly on modalities and instruments geared toward economic productivity and growth. Partos sees an important role for civil society in this shifting prioritisation.
Current North–South relations, shaped by a decade of ODA reform, reveal significant gaps in legitimacy and meaningful participation for countries in the Global South. In addition to the efforts of Northern and Southern NGOs, we need to re-examine the governance structures underpinning ODA. This entails incorporating the perspectives of partner countries into the evaluation of the relevance and effectiveness of existing and proposed aid modalities, rather than relying solely on the viewpoints of DAC (Development Assistance Committee) members. At the same time, it is important to underscore that current commitments, most notably the allocation of 0.7 percent of GNI to ODA, should be upheld. These commitments provide the necessary stability, predictability, and financial baseline required to enable substantive structural reforms within the ODA system.
Highlighted recommendations
We need partnerships built on equality, sustainability, solidarity and stability. We need approaches that genuinely start from the priorities of Global South countries, and donor requirements that are less rigid and more responsive to realities on the ground. This also means creating space for flexibility and context‑specific solutions, and ensuring that agenda‑setting and decision‑making are firmly led by Southern partners.
For the past five years, shifting the power towards partners in the South has been an important focus for Partos, and we’ve developed many resources on this topic. Cuts to bilateral aid cannot be a reason to halt this work; in many ways, it presents us with an opportunity. Never waste a good crisis.
Redesigning the aid system cannot be left to European Civil Society organisations alone. Meaningful participation and truly democratic governance of ODA reform are needed. It is up to Northern NGOs to share their space and relinquish part of their power to generate true change and equal partnerships. Such fundamental change requires participation of all sectors, not just the CSOs, but also institutional donors.
Partos continues to emphasise the power of partnerships, in which civil society can bring about impactful, long-term change in a turbulent world. Read 27 stories in the Power of Partnerships publication about the work that is already being done among Partos Members.
Within Partos, we continue to bring together the perspectives of members and partners. We invite members to stay involved and contribute to this conversation.
This article was written by Ida Kuijper and Sabien Rouwenhorst on the basis of their participation in the ODI Global Dialogue in a Post-Aid World session and in the Eurodad Launch of the Aid Off Course report.