Small Is Beautiful...Grants, That Is (Part 1)

Larger-scale support of local initiatives, grassroots leadership and small, often “informal” movements is a key reform needed in the international development aid sector. I shared this view in a post entitled, “What’s missing from the DIY aid debate? Overlooking the Capacity of Local Organizations” and in a virtual discussion on aid effectiveness from a gender perspective sponsored by UN-WOMEN at the end of last year. This is the first of two posts to attempt to answer the important follow-up questions posed by fellow blogger, Dave Algoso, “So what’s that look like? And who, if anyone, has done this well?”

There is indeed a growing number of development donors willing to offer and build alternatives to business as usual in the international development and philanthropic sectors by directly supporting local organizations and movements by creating broad guidelines, focus areas, and selection criteria to respond to what local stakeholders view as important. When grassroots groups are the setters of priorities, the controllers of resources, and thus the drivers of development, donors can help build local sovereignty through small grants programs…

Read more at: how-matters.org