From Where I Stand: Unpacking "local" in aid

Across all our work, we are hearing increased calls for greater local leadership and enhanced localization of aid. In April 2020, CDA launched the From Where I Stand virtual learning forum with this guiding question: What if the evidence base for local leadership, aid policy, and INGO practice was based on the diverse experiences and ideas of those leading humanitarian, aid, and peacebuilding efforts in their own contexts?

Over the course of the year, we published over 25 articles from practitioners from over 17 countries who shared their experiences about what localization of aid looks like in practice. We heard from partners in their own contexts – as well as those seeking system-wide shifts in power – about what works, what doesn’t, what questions we should be asking, and what changes we as a global community need to make.

In December 2020, we published a two-part reflection after 8 months of listening: What we’ve heard and From where we stand. Through this reflection process, we recognized that a space to share and listen to the stories of how people are leading in their own communities is still quite rare. Therefore, we transformed the forum into an avenue less focused on the ‘localization agenda’ and more for people most affected by aid to explore and amplify their leadership experiences, stories, and lessons for the aid sector.

Download the blog submission guidelines and email Becca Fogel to contribute.

Disclaimer: Guest authors featured on the From Where I Stand forum write in their personal capacity and the opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of CDA or of the other authors who participate in this forum. Blogs and reflection papers by CDA staff represent CDA’s analysis of themes and insights from all contributions to this forum.

Decolonizing the aid sector: How the Global Minority is holding onto power through language

by Carla Vitantonio | Oct 17, 2024 | From Where I Stand, FWIS | 0 Comments

Carla Vitantonio, host of the podcast Living Decoloniality, identifies the risks of a process she calls “occupation of semantic space” by Global Minority actors, and suggests alternatives to begin decolonizing the aid sector.

Youth Environmental Activism in the MENA Region

by Guest Author | Aug 15, 2024 | From Where I Stand | 0 Comments

The MENA region is one of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Amid conflict and political instability, youth have emerged as powerful activists, advocating for more government action to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change. Although there is huge potential for youth-led environmental activism, achieving impactful and meaningful progress requires concerted efforts from governments and communities to create an enabling environment for climate action.

Deconstructing Decolonization: The Case of Language

by Ammaarah Nilafdeen | Jul 31, 2024 | From Where I Stand, FWIS | 0 Comments

Ammaarah Nilafdeen highlights the hidden presence of a hierarchical and exclusionary mindset among “locals” within the international development sector in Sri Lanka, arguing how this mindset conflicts with the goal of achieving true localization in practice and how “locals” working within this sector may inadvertently counter the localization process.

Communities of resistance – Why we need more of them

by Themrise Khan | Feb 8, 2024 | From Where I Stand, FWIS | 0 Comments

Some of the biggest changes in the world have been because of people’s resistance against power and injustice. But no longer do we witness such era-defining challenges to power, which are now being met with equal measures by the state against its own people. Themrise Khan shares examples from Palestine and Pakistan, underscoring the necessity for community-led resistance to shift the power.

Can Storytelling Fuel Community-led Development?

by Emily Kombe | Aug 2, 2023 | From Where I Stand, FWIS | 0 Comments

In international development, stories are often used only to fundraise. They’re about the community, not for the community. Emily Kombe's research with the Movement for Community Led Development reinforced what she experienced as a community organizer in the US, where she saw storytelling emerge as a powerful tool to facilitate and evaluate community-led development.

Is The Aid Sector Tèt Anba?

by Marie-Rose Romain Murphy | May 23, 2023 | From Where I Stand, FWIS | 0 Comments

In Haitian Creole, tèt anba means upside down or absurd. Haitians say “bagay saa yo tèt anba” – things are upside down – to describe a chaotic situation or just the state of the world gone wrong. Marie-Rose Romain Murphy discusses four reasons why the aid sector is tèt anba, arguing that a new ‘global solidarity sector’ should focus on community-led prevention and proactive planning, targeting communities’ short, medium, and long-term needs, thereby ensuring the just and effective redistribution of power.

Shifting the Power with Power Footprints

by Guest Author | Nov 15, 2022 | From Where I Stand | 0 Comments

Patrick Meier, executive director of WeRobotics, discusses the work of Flying Labs, a network of independent and locally-led knowledge hubs that combine local expertise and leadership with emerging technologies to drive locally-led action in the social good sector. He also reflects on the ways Western INGOs can take proactive steps to reduce their power footprints - the amount of authority, control and influence that an organization exerts in a given system.

On Statues, Robots and Shifting-the-Power

by Guest Author | Oct 18, 2022 | From Where I Stand | 0 Comments

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 favorite statue has no such VIP...

All-of-government all-of-society; a view of localization from Narok

by Elly Maloba | Sep 27, 2022 | From Where I Stand | 0 Comments

In the second part of his blog series, Kenyan peacebuilder Elly Maloba discusses local efforts he spearheaded that compelled major policy decisions to be rescinded and examines how new localization structures are being exploited to the disadvantage of locals.

HOW LOCAL IS ‘LOCAL’? A Bottom-Up Perspective of Localization From Narok

by Elly Maloba | Aug 30, 2022 | From Where I Stand, FWIS | 0 Comments

Kenyan peacebuilder Elly Maloba weaves together his personal journey into peacebuilding with his reflections on conflict and localization in Kenya’s Narok County. He argues that the word “local” means different things to different groups and that these competing understandings have fueled ethnic violence.

Donors can do better

by Guest Author | Sep 8, 2021 | From Where I Stand | 0 Comments

Linda Mwesigwa calls on donors to improve their practices and support for implementing organizations. She shares an example of what organizations can do with the right kind of support, based on her experience in Uganda.

Character Development: The role of aid in building character for civic engagement and national development

by Guest Author | Jul 28, 2021 | From Where I Stand | 0 Comments

In this blog, Ato Kwamina Nkum shares his perspectives from Ghana on the future of his country and the role international aid can play in promoting civic engagement. He highlights the need for adaptive programming and strong partnerships that enable local Ghanian organizations to grow and thrive.

Localization – ‘Us vs Them’

by Hasangani Edema | Jun 22, 2021 | From Where I Stand | 0 Comments

Drawing on her experiences as an international and local aid worker, Hasangani Edema describes how the current concept of localization creates division and reinforces an 'us vs. them' mentality. She describes the deep inequities that she has witnessed and experienced and offers some recommendations on how to bridge these divides.

Responsible Transitions to Local Ownership: Reflections from the 3D Program for Girls and Women

by Guest Author | May 19, 2021 | From Where I Stand | 0 Comments

In this blog, Sia Nowrojee reflects on the successful transition of ownership of the 3D Program for Girls and Women from the UN Foundation team to local partners in India. She shares key lessons in the transition process including building strong partnerships and allowing for complexities, and highlights a three-phase transition process that accounted for an effective and efficient transfer of the program to local partners.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and… Supremacy, Neo-Colonialism, and International Development

by Ann Hendrix-Jenkins | Apr 21, 2021 | From Where I Stand, FWIS | 0 Comments

In this blog, Ann Hendrix-Jenkins reflects on how the narrative surrounding Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs can help explain international development's power imbalances and offers suggestions on how to upend the pyramid by authentically partnering with people and communities in the spirit of global solidarity.

From Where I Stand: Unpacking "local" in aid

Made possible in part by support from Humanity United