Grassroots Giving

Field Note: New Data on the "Economics" of Localizing Aid

March 2025

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Proximate

November 2024

March 2025

|

Proximate

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The first Passing The Buck report, released in 2022 by the Share Trust and Warande Advisory Centre, was a unique effort to put a dollar amount on the cost of bureaucracy in international aid.
The report found that local leaders receiving dollars directly could deliver programming that is 32% more cost efficient than iNGOs, by stripping out overhead and salary costs. That would equate to roughly $4 billion dollars in annual savings.
The latest iteration zooms in on four countries: Ukraine, Nigeria, and the Middle East. Speaking about the report at the DevEx World conference in October, the Share Trust's Courtenay Cabot Venton told the audience the aid world needs to read this data: “It’s still politicians or celebrities showing up and saying 'Here’s how we’ll solve your problem.'"

- BW

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