CDA is happy to announce that Time to Listen: Hearing People on the Receiving End of International Aid has been published!

Time to Listen summarizes the experiences and analysis of nearly 6,000 people in 20 aid receiving countries, as well as the reflections of aid workers themselves, on the effectiveness of international aid efforts as captured through The Listening Project.

The evidence presented here shows that people in countries that receive aid want smarter aid, not necessarily more aid. They want to be more engaged and to have more voice and decision-making power in how aid efforts are conceived, funded, carried out and evaluated. Local people describe how the current international aid system delivers things, techniques, approaches, and ideas that are developed in donor countries without a sufficient understanding of the local context, and without much involvement of people whose lives will be affected. While they do appreciate international assistance, cynicism among people in aid recipient communities is high and they are eager to see real efforts to make international aid more effective and for the results to be sustained.

Time to Listen captures their experiences and ideas on how to do just that. Whether you are a policy-maker, aid worker, procedure-alist (a new term explained in the book!), funder, researcher, or activist, you can help shift the paradigm from the current externally driven aid delivery system to a collaborative aid system that truly supports local people as drivers of their own development.

We invite you to continue the conversation by posting your feedback, comments, and reactions!