by Guest Author | Jul 6, 2026 | From Where I Stand, FWIS
Living Solidarity: Reflections on Power and Humanitarian Practice July 2026 Disclaimer: One can only speak from where one stands. These reflections are about where power sits in humanitarian work, and where I believe it should move: closer to communities...
by Guest Author | Jul 5, 2026 | From Where I Stand, FWIS
A Structure Fit for the Future? We had to break the mold A story of Rebuilding the Anthills: Transformation Prototypes for the Post-Aid World Across our sector, all of us – from international NGOs to community-based organizations in the Majority World and...
by Guest Author | Feb 26, 2025 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Navigating Uncertainty and Change March 2025 | Michelle Helman “Change is constant.” “Things change.” “Go with the flow.” These seemingly helpful advisory quotes might be easy to offer when you are not experiencing unexpected upheaval. However, when you are amidst the...
by Guest Author | Feb 24, 2025 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Embracing Responsible Transition: Insights from Vassiliki Lembesis on DRC’s Localization Journey with Local Partners February 2025 | Tanja Holst Jensen The Danish Refugee Council’s (DRC) localization ambitions are driven by the recognition that the impact of...
by Guest Author | Dec 1, 2024 | CDA Perspectives Blog
The Radical Survival of DEI Work & Leadership in the Aid Sector December 2024 | Princess Bazley-Bethea Radical means grasping things at the root. – Angela Davis The roots of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work can be traced back to human rights movements...
by Guest Author | Sep 3, 2024 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Trauma-Informed Transitions: A Key to Transitions in the Peacebuilding Sector September 2024 | Kate Caisley This blog was originally posted on the Stopping as Success (SAS+) website. What is unique about transitions¹ in the peacebuilding sector? How does...
by Guest Author | Sep 1, 2024 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Children as Stakeholders in the Conflict Transformation Process September 2024 | Rachel Ansley When considering post-conflict processes—negotiating peace treaties, facilitating dialogue, conducting truth and reconciliation processes, among others—the stakeholder...
by Guest Author | Aug 15, 2024 | From Where I Stand
Youth Environmental Activism in the MENA Region August 2024 | Malak Altaeb The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been going through numerous events, not limited to revolutions, conflict, and political instabilities, that have contributed to shaping the...
by Guest Author | Mar 12, 2024 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Research for advocacy and systemic change March 2024 | Mara Tissera Luna Mara Tissera Luna is an independent consultant focused on forced migration and protection responses in Latin America. She is currently consulting for the Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues...
by Guest Author | Nov 15, 2022 | From Where I Stand
Shifting the Power with Power Footprints 11/2022 | Patrick Meier In 2015, WeRobotics set out to reduce the power asymmetries that exist in the social good sector by measurably expanding the space for locally-led practice. Naturally, we hardly did this on our own!...
by Guest Author | Oct 18, 2022 | From Where I Stand
On Statues, Robots and Shifting-the-Power 10/2022 | Patrick Meier When we hear the word “statue”, our mind conjures up a confident figure of a likely-important human of epochs past. This figure stands resolutely on top of a firm and heavy pedestal. But my absolute...
by Guest Author | Feb 28, 2022 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Reimagining Evaluation: Putting Equity At The Center as Global Peacebuilding Comes To The United States 03/2022 | Michelle Garred When it comes to how peacebuilders evaluate our work, equity has often not been at the forefront. And, as we know, both what and how we...
by Guest Author | Sep 8, 2021 | From Where I Stand
Donors can do better 9/2021 | Linda Mwesigwa If donors are very honest with themselves, they will acknowledge that their desire for credit may be greater than that for impact. Otherwise, they would not be competing with their implementing partners for publicity. They...
by Guest Author | Jul 28, 2021 | From Where I Stand
Character Development: The role of aid in building character for civic engagement and national development 07/2021 | Ato Kwamina Nkum Ghana has enjoyed and continues to make progress in strengthening constitutional and multi-party democratic governance under the...
by Guest Author | May 19, 2021 | From Where I Stand
Responsible Transitions to Local Ownership: Reflections from the 3D Program for Girls and Women 05/2021 | Sia Nowrojee As the COVID pandemic continues to spread around the world, the 3D Program team stands in solidarity and love with our partners in India, where cases...
by Guest Author | Apr 14, 2021 | From Where I Stand
Sharing the keys to the localization house 04/2021 | Oheneba Boateng and Claudia Meier EU Commissioner Janez Lenarčič’s recent musings that “the biggest barrier to localization is the capacity of local actors” attracted a good dose of well-deserved criticism. But one...
by Guest Author | Mar 24, 2021 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Bringing more equality into aid and development studies: a view from Makerere University, Uganda 03/2021 | Farida T. Bena Share this article This blog was originally published on Kiliza on March 11, 2021. A few months ago, I wrote about...
by Guest Author | Mar 24, 2021 | From Where I Stand
Why Do I Make the Case for Equitable Partnerships with Local Actors? 03/2021 | Koenraad Van Brabant Friends and colleagues ask me why I am so persistent in what is referred to as ‘localisation’ i.e. supporting and reinforcing rather than replacing or instrumentalising...
by Guest Author | Mar 17, 2021 | From Where I Stand
The Global Standard: Going Global, Acting Local March 2021 | Bao Han Tran Le Civil society organisations (CSOs) practising a different kind of accountability towards their stakeholders is at the heart of the Global Standard’s mission and purpose. The kind of...
by Guest Author | Mar 3, 2021 | From Where I Stand
If you want to support, vacate the space March 2021 | Sudhanshu S. Singh After having worked for over three decades, mainly with international NGOs (INGOs) within India and elsewhere, and feeling disillusioned with the international aid architecture, I decided to...
by Guest Author | Nov 2, 2020 | From Where I Stand, FWIS
Partnerships in humanitarian action 11/2020 | Lizz Harrison Equality in partnerships There are ‘partnerships’ all over the world between international, national and local organisations working together towards a mutual goal. That mutual goal is meeting the immediate...
by Guest Author | Oct 16, 2020 | CDA Perspectives Blog
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel in exit planning – let’s use what’s already out there 10/20 | Rachel Hayman Share this article This blog was originally published on INTRAC’s website on October 5, 2020. Responsible exit planning is as vital now as it has...
by Guest Author | Oct 7, 2020 | From Where I Stand
Localisation four years after the Grand Bargain: What is still missing? 10/2020 | Mary Akugizibwe Before starting a career at the international level, I had worked at the country level and founded the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Global Refugee Initiatives...
by Guest Author | Sep 23, 2020 | From Where I Stand
Can we put the rhetoric into action? 9/2020 | Alex Carle As a mother, a New Zealander, a woman, a white person, a person who has lived on every continent but often as a privileged minority, I am excited that others are ably expressing a frustration and unease I have...
by Guest Author | Sep 9, 2020 | From Where I Stand
The case for a joint degree in comparative development 9/2020 | Farida T. Bena Before Covid-19, before Black Lives Matter, the aid and development sector was already grappling with massive challenges – the ‘Aid too’ movement, the full-on attack on multilateralism, the...
by Guest Author | Sep 2, 2020 | From Where I Stand
Exploring the gender lens on Localization: Working on GBV issues in northern Nigeria 9/2020 | John Ede Farida* 30, recounts how she was sexually abused by close relatives and friends before the age of 2. A situation of sexual harassment and abuse she has endured...
by Guest Author | Aug 27, 2020 | From Where I Stand
Can better programme adaptation, defined by strong community participation and engagement, strengthen our contribution to local ownership? 8/2020 | Gabriel Mukoloka The experience of World Vision DRC These are deeply challenging times for people like me who are...
by Guest Author | Aug 20, 2020 | From Where I Stand
A network of global action starts locally: Scouting in response to a global pandemic 8/2020 | Frederic T. Kama-Kama As the Africa Regional Director of the World Scout Bureau, I feel privileged to witness at a relatively close range the initiatives of many local Scout...
by Guest Author | Aug 6, 2020 | From Where I Stand
Elevating local knowledge for sustainable impact 8/2020 | Sheena Adams and Nyema Richards Walking around Monrovia, Liberia it’s hard to escape Hipco music. From supermarkets and dress shops to small, battered radios attached to motorcycle taxis, the music floats all...
by Guest Author | Jul 8, 2020 | From Where I Stand
From a rectangle to a circle: It’s time to turn the turn tables on aid 7/2020 | Ada Ichoja Ohaba I am the coordinator of the Do No Harm Humanitarian Development Initiative, a Nigerian NGO that trains civil society across the country about conflict sensitivity. I...
by Guest Author | Jul 1, 2020 | From Where I Stand
Liberation starts at home 7/2020 | Cecilia Milesi Northern and Southern actors need to work towards a radical renewal of the international cooperation business In the midst of a unifying global humanitarian and political crisis, as it is with the Covid-19...
by Guest Author | Jun 11, 2020 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Difficult Conversations: Why International Practitioners Must Do More to Address Racism at Home 6/2020 | Dost Bardouille Dear Colleague, We’ve worked together for years on peacebuilding, conflict resolution, human rights, social responsibility, and sustainability....
by Guest Author | Jun 3, 2020 | From Where I Stand
Equity and locally led development in times of COVID-19 6/2020 | Alex Martins Since the global effects of COVID-19 became apparent, the question at the forefront of my mind has been will this crisis finally convince the aid sector that locally led development is...
by Guest Author | May 27, 2020 | From Where I Stand
Power and accountability: Lessons from Nepal about the value of community ownership and devolution of power 5/2020 | Ujjwal Amatya On April 25th, 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal – the strongest earthquake to hit the country since 1934. An estimated 8.1...
by Guest Author | May 20, 2020 | From Where I Stand, FWIS
Who is Local? 5/2020 | Paul George Tracing the origins and changing meanings of the word in the lexicon of humanitarian aid through my experience My first paid job was doing research on the post-conflict recovery strategies of communities in India’s...
by Guest Author | May 13, 2020 | From Where I Stand
Part 2: Illuminating the Rhetoric-Reality Gap: What Really Counts as Locally-Led Development? 5/2020 | Ann Hendrix-Jenkins PART TWO BLOG TWO OF A TWO PART SERIES In the first part of this series, I made the case that the international aid sector recognizes the value...
by Guest Author | May 6, 2020 | From Where I Stand
Illuminating the Rhetoric-Reality Gap: What Really Counts as Locally-Led Development? 5/2020 | Ann Hendrix-Jenkins PART ONE BLOG ONE OF A TWO PART SERIES Are we stuck in a rut? Across international aid, calls are increasing for “localization” of interventions....
by Guest Author | Apr 20, 2020 | From Where I Stand
COVID-19: The Importance of Investing in Local Humanitarian Leadership 4/2020 | Vincenzo Bollettino, Allyson Brown Kenney, Ngo Bibaa Lundi Anne, Farman Ullah, and Angela Wiens More than any other humanitarian crisis in recent history, the novel coronavirus pandemic...
by Guest Author | Nov 13, 2019 | From Where I Stand
My beloved Lebanon – Joining the revolution, virtually 11/2019 | Ziad Al Achkar Note from CDA: From Hong Kong to Bolivia, Iraq to France, South Africa and the Global Climate Strike, people around the world are in the streets to demand change. CDA is keenly interested...
by Guest Author | Jun 25, 2019 | CDA Perspectives Blog
What is required for a conducive space for local agency and power? June 4, 2019 | Isabella Jean Share this article This article was originally published at www.stoppingassuccess.org, the dedicated website for the Stopping As Success research initiative. In this...
by Guest Author | Mar 21, 2019 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Collective Impact in Peacebuilding – What Have We Learned? 03/2019 | Polly Byers Share this article By Polly Byers, Former CDA Executive Director Collective Impact in Peacebuilding – What have we learned? As challenges for humanitarians, peacebuilders, and development...
by Guest Author | Jan 10, 2019 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Daily Nudges: Using Community Feedback for Problem Solving 01/2019 | Isabella Jean Share this article This reflection about daily nudges in adaptive humanitarian programs was first presented at the ALNAP London Workshop “Making humanitarian response more flexible:...
by Guest Author | Jan 8, 2019 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Do No Harm for Faith Groups – What is it? 01/2019 | Dilshan Annaraj and Maya Assaf-Horstmeier Share this article This post was originally written by Dilshan Annaraj and Maya Assaf-Horstmeier for World Vision International and is reposted with permission. Why we...
by Guest Author | Dec 6, 2018 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Participation in Decision-Making Would Truly be a Revolution 12/6/2018 | Isabella Jean Share this article So how are we doing when it comes to participation of crisis-affected people in decision making processes that affect their lives? “Participation is a buzzword....
by Guest Author | Sep 28, 2018 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Commentary to the Colombian case studies developed by CDA and Fundación Ideas para la Paz on the role of businesses in peacebuilding August 28, 2018 | Laura Bernal-Bermúdez and Catalina Irisarri Boada Share this article These comments were published previously in...
by Guest Author | Aug 28, 2018 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Getting to Locally Led Development: What We Can Do to Move the Needle August 6, 2018 | Share this article This post was originally written by USAID LEARN and posted here on the USAID Learning Lab blog, on August 6th, 2018, and is reposted with permission. To watch the...
by Guest Author | Jun 11, 2018 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Do humanitarian agencies really NEED to be accountable to communities? June 12, 2018 | Sharon Reader This post was originally written for and posted here on the CDAC Network blog, on June 11, 2018, and is reposted with permission. By Sharon Reader, Community...
by Guest Author | Feb 28, 2018 | CDA Perspectives Blog
The big shift that police and justice professionals need to make in fragile states February 28, 2018 | Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church Share this article When operating in fragile states, donors and implementers working in the police, justice and corrections space need to...
by Guest Author | Jan 30, 2018 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Two Insights from an Experiment in Collective Corruption Resistance January 30, 2018 | Kiely Barnard-Webster and Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church Share this article With every experimental action, there needs to be feedback (informal and formal monitoring and evaluation),...
by Guest Author | Jan 23, 2018 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Third Party Monitoring in Volatile Environments – Do the Benefits Outweigh the Risks? January 23, 2018 | Lauren Kelly and Marie Gaarder Share this article The use of third party monitoring as a risk management tool in volatile countries raises important quality,...
by Guest Author | Jan 19, 2018 | CDA Perspectives Blog
What Worked: Fighting Corruption Through Collective Action January 19, 2018 | Kiely Barnard-Webster Share this article “The central contribution of the Network [for its members] is that members no longer feel alone in the fight against corruption during their...
by Guest Author | Dec 16, 2017 | CDA Perspectives Blog
The Risky Business of De-Risking in Fragile and Conflict Affected States December 16, 2017 | Brian Ganson Share this article The need for conflict sensitive policy for private sector development by Brian Ganson, Head, Africa Centre for Dispute Settlement Our two-year...
by Guest Author | Dec 13, 2017 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Towards a Corruption-Sensitive Conflict Analysis December 13, 2017 | Michelle Garred Share this article In this blog post, Michelle Garred, conflict sensitivity practitioner for 15 years, challenges herself to rethink her hesitancy to approaching corruption...
by Guest Author | Nov 29, 2017 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Do No Harm: Meta-Trends November 29, 2017 | Dilshan Annaraj and Maya Assaf-Horstmeier Share this article World Vision Shares Internal Learning Process on their Conflict Sensitivity Programming In this blog post, World Vision’s Associate Director for...
by Guest Author | Nov 29, 2017 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Corruption : résister à tout prix ? November 29, 2017 | Gabin Bady Kabuya, Florence Liégeois Share this article Resisting corruption is not easy, not even when supported by a collective effort. The Kuleta Haki Network, now numbering more than 100 individuals, has made...
by Guest Author | Nov 15, 2017 | CDA Perspectives Blog
The Biggest Paradigm Error in Tackling Corruption, Not Dealing with Organized Crime November 15, 2017 | Eric Scheye Share this article International organizations, donors and policy analysts have, over the past few years, recognized how organized criminal networks...
by Guest Author | Nov 7, 2017 | CDA Perspectives Blog
First: Prevent the Misallocation of Funds. Then: Strengthen the Rule of Law November 7, 2017 | Liz David-Barrett Share this article I have argued elsewhere that corruption causes two distinct types of harm. It has a primary impact – the effect of a particular corrupt...
by Guest Author | Oct 25, 2017 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Embedding Social Norms for Effective Anti-Corruption Interventions October 25, 2017 | Ben Cislaghi Share this article In this post Ben Cislaghi draws our attention to two points that might contribute to our thinking about norms and corruption. The first is that social...
by Guest Author | Oct 19, 2017 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Why the International Community’s Efforts to Reform Police and Justice in the Central African Republic Might be Making the Situation Worse October 19, 2017 | Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church Share this article In this post Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church shares evidence to...
by Guest Author | Oct 11, 2017 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Pity the Man Who Stands Alone October 11, 2017 | Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church Share this article In this post Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church shares findings on how: (1) Acts of jealousy and revenge fuel the manipulation of the criminal justice system in the Central African...
by Guest Author | Oct 10, 2017 | CDA Perspectives Blog
How the Séléka/anti-Balaka crisis has been gas on the fire of corruption the Central African Republic October 10, 2017 | Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church Share this article In this post Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church shares findings from our new research examining corruption in...
by Guest Author | Sep 21, 2017 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Reflections on Using Most Significant Change in An Anti-Corruption Program September 21, 2017 | Sandra Sjogren and Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church Share this article In this post, Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church and Sandra Sjogren reflect on their experience using Most...
by Guest Author | Sep 19, 2017 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Why We Need to Kill the ‘Corruption is Cancer’ Analogy September 19, 2017 | Paul M Heywood Share this article In this post Professor Paul Heywood gives three reasons to why the analogy of corruption as cancer is not just misplaced, but positively unhelpful for efforts...
by Guest Author | Sep 14, 2017 | CDA Perspectives Blog
The value of a stereotype: Women resisting corruption September 14, 2017 | Kiely Barnard-Webster Share this article How we almost discredited an important piece to understanding the dynamics of resisting corruption in Democratic Republic of Congo, when we were...
by Guest Author | Sep 12, 2017 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Research Methodology for Identifying Social Norms that Catalyze Corruption September 12, 2017 | Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church Share this article We believe that social norms are one of the causes of resiliency in corruption systems which is why they require more...
by Guest Author | Aug 25, 2017 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Anti-Corruption Awareness Raised – but to what effect? September 7, 2017 | Caryn Peiffer Share this article In this post Dr Caryn Peiffer discusses her research on the impact of anti-corruption awareness raising programs. Findings, she argues, defy intuitive...
by Guest Author | Jul 25, 2017 | CDA Perspectives Blog
When Discussing Political Corruption July 25, 2017 | Kelsey Goodman Share this article In this post, Kelsey Goodman draws out key lessons from a survey of research on political corruption. Researchers and policymakers would be well-served to “get specific” when...
by Guest Author | Jul 18, 2017 | CDA Perspectives Blog
Using the Participatory Monitoring Approach, Most Significant Change, for an Anti-Corruption Program July 18, 2017 | Sandra Sjögren and Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church Share this article In this post, Sandra Sjögren and Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church discuss why they chose to...
