Humanitarian and International Development NGOs

While I have some qualms about the methodology behind the data, it seems clear that private resources for international development are growing rapidly, and are beginning to rival official development aid (ODA).

This could portend a shift in the relationships between NGOs and the governments and key multi-lateral institutions that traditionally set the framework for how development aid works. As I mentioned in the previous post, increased scale means power to influence an agenda.

These private resources are dispersed among different sets of groups. There are private grantmaking foundations, NGOs, church missions, and faith-based organizations. The Gates Foundation alone is responsible for a significant portion of the growth, and the interests of other mega-philanthropists in reducing extreme poverty could quickly add up.

Whether there exists enough of a common perspective and agenda among these groups to put them in the driver’s seat of development remains to be seen. Is there a day coming when governments will see themselves as trying to leverage the money being made available through private sources, rather than the other way around?

Complicating matters is the entry of new players.  While historically ODA has been the domain of the 22 OECD countries, middle-income countries are increasing the amount of development assistance they are making available.

China, for instance, is investing significant sums in Africa.  What does this mean for the western philanthropic dollars and NGOs at work there?  Especially when China’s money has fewer strings attached (theirs is not an anti-corruption or strengthening local governance agenda) and they’re happy to invest in basic public infrastructure that is sorely needed.

Development aid is becoming an increasingly fragmented, competitive marketplace while more money enters the system.  The interests of a wide array of donors and influential actors are jockeying for position.  Harnessing this and using it to improve the impact on people’s lives in developing countries will be a challenge indeed.  NGOs should seek to play a leadership role as these shifts occur, but to be a positive force will require collaboration as well as taking risks that give voice to the aspirations of the people they are serving in the poorest communities around the world.