The Pledge for Change: uniting to build a stronger aid ecosystem

The genesis for the idea that became the Pledge for Change started in 2020. Frustrated by slow progress on commitments to locally led development, Degan Ali of Adeso (a Kenya-based non-governmental organisation (NGO)) convened the most senior leaders of some of the world’s largest international NGOs (INGOs) for a series of reflection sessions focused on learning, unlearning, and exploring how they could use their leadership power and influence to drive real change, in their organisations and in the wider humanitarian and development sectors.

This article will introduce practitioners to the Pledge for Change and the progress that has been made since the public launch in October 2022. It will share insights into why these pledges are so critical for the sector and offer explanations for why progress continues to be incremental. It will ask you to join the movement, in support of a shared vision of ‘a stronger aid ecosystem, built on principles of equality, humility, solidarity and self-determination’.

The Pledge for Change reflects an acknowledgment of the unequal power dynamics in the development and aid sectors and the need to ensure a fairer future, and particularly the role INGOs must play in ensuring civil society and communities in the Global South continue to grow and flourish. By signing on to the Pledge, we have committed to make partnerships our default, to change the language and imagery we use in communicating our work and raising funding, and to influence donors and others. The Pledge is not just a statement of solidarity, it is also a commitment towards transparently sharing progress and learning across the sector, with clear goals and measures on how change will happen between now and 2030. One main way of doing this is through an annual self-report by each INGO signatory, based on the agreed metrics in the Pledge Accountability and Learning Mechanism.

Why is the Pledge for Change needed?

The Pledge for Change seeks to build on, amplify and connect to the many system-change and localisation efforts in the sector. By partnering and aligning with – for example – efforts as diverse as the Grand Bargain, Charter for Change, RINGO, #ShiftThePower, the Movement for Community-Led Development, the Sherwood Way, NEAR and many others working to promote locally led development, the Pledge community seeks to leverage the role of the INGO and to use the pledges to support and elevate locally led efforts for changes in global solidarity. The Pledge was also created at a time of opportunity in the sector, and in recognition that – thus far – rhetorical commitment has been stronger than systemic transformation.

Degan Ali has been forthright in describing the myths about foreign aid that maintain structural inequalities and colonial and neocolonial practices in the aid sector. She believes that greater clarity around these misperceptions can shift the narrative around the work of international, national and local civil society organisations (CSOs) – and get crucial funding into the hands of those who need it most, working directly with affected communities. Civil society has had some success in shifting rhetoric and practice with philanthropists, led by donors such as MacKenzie Scott, but the largest amount of humanitarian and development assistance comes from governments through their bilateral funding mechanisms. Most of this still reaches local civil society organisations through partnerships with INGOs.

Myths and how the Pledge for Change tackles them

The first myth

‘Local and national CSOs are too risky to work with’. Because many local CSOs cannot meet the requirements of the complicated compliance systems of donors, passed on via their INGO partners, this has caused them to appear ‘risky’. This perception of local organisations means they continue to receive funds in shorter cycles with little or no indirect costs allowed, and as a result they lack the financial security to continue to employ their staff and build the capacity to manage risk. This traps them in a loop of disempowerment and erects a nearly insurmountable barrier for growth and maturity, leaving them unable to gain the respect and credibility they deserve. Investing in local organisations and ensuring a fairer distribution of resources are essential to challenging this myth.

Pledge 1: Equitable partnerships – Change the way we partner

Pledge signatories acknowledge that their current partnership practices are not in line with their organisational values and external commitments they made related to localisation. While some of these practices are a result of donor requirements, Pledge signatories commit to disrupt the status quo and work with donors to achieve more equitable partnerships, as follows:

We will prioritise and value the leadership of national and local actors and invest in making partners stronger and more sustainable.

• Equitable partnerships will be our default approach by 2030. National and local organisations will lead humanitarian and development efforts wherever possible. We will help them take control, and we’ll engage directly only when there isn’t enough national or local capacity to meet people’s needs.
• Where there is no partnership, or we’re responding to an emergency, we’ll find ways of working with national and local organisations at the first opportunity. We’ll then support them as they take over the decision-making. Wherever we work, our broad aim is to encourage a more resilient, independent, and diverse civil society that works in real solidarity with international organisations.
• INGOs competing for funds, facilities, and talent can unintentionally weaken civil society in the countries where we operate. In the years ahead, we’ll allocate more resources to help national and local organisations take the lead. We’ll work in partnership with them to make sure they benefit from our presence.
• There will be more collaboration between INGOs to reduce duplication of effort when local organisations are dealing with two or more of us. This should mean a common approach to compliance and due diligence. It could also mean pooling funds and taking other steps to achieve economies of scale.
• We’ll take a more collaborative approach to risk management. We’ll avoid applying stricter risk requirements to our partners than ourselves and look for ways of minimising the compliance burden on partners.
• We will share the burden of costs in ways that will make our partners stronger and more sustainable.

The second myth

‘People and civil society organisations in the Global South lack capacity’. Colonialism created, and aid has perpetuated, narratives about capacity, expertise and values being situated in the Global North. White saviourism or saviour aid has maintained a discourse that insists that capacity is imported from the Global North, via the international system. Degan presents an alternative view: if local organisations didn’t have capacity, then why is it that in the most insecure and complex environments like humanitarian crises in Ukraine, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan, local organisations are doing the bulk of the implementation, and the international aid system relies so heavily on them to do the work? The humanitarian crises in Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza continue to show that community-based organisations are the most effective first responders to crises and those most accountable to their communities. In addition, it is increasingly recognised that funders’ inability to fund more directly and locally is a result of funders’ lack of capacity and not vice versa.

Pledge 2: Authentic storytelling – Change the stories we tell

In response to their learning about the narratives of ‘aid’ (itself a contested and problematic term, with many preferring ‘global solidarity’) senior communication and fundraising specialists representing Pledge for Change signatories jointly developed these pledges with input from Global South practitioners and colleagues in country programmes.

We will use our platforms to show people’s strength and amplify their stories by putting local people at the centre of the story. Some of the stories we tell and the pictures that illustrate them have reinforced harmful stereotypes. This kind of storytelling, sometimes associated with ‘white gaze’, distorts reality, and should be eradicated from our internal and external communications.

• Our fundraising and communications will reflect our commitments to anti-racism, locally led initiatives, gender equality and equitable partnerships. We will use our platforms to show the actions led by local communities both during a crisis and as they recover, and the impact made by local organisations.
• We will continue to show the harsh realities of poverty, conflict, hunger, and natural disasters because humanitarian crises should not be sanitised. But we’ll avoid exploitative imagery that portrays people as helpless victims. We will give credit to partners where it’s due.
• We will strengthen efforts to make all our storytelling ethical and safe, based on informed consent and accurate representation. We’ll amplify the stories people want to tell rather than merely speaking on their behalf. We’ll preserve the authenticity of a story all the way through our editorial process, from the gathering of words and pictures to editing, production and publication.
• We will stop using jargon that confuses our audiences, our colleagues, and the communities where we work. We’ll use plain words that can be easily translated and readily understood by all.
• We will regularly review our words and pictures, creating a culture of anti-racism, reflection and learning. As language evolves, we’ll invite views from colleagues and local organisations, and remove words that have become outdated or offensive.
• We will use language and imagery to inspire wider cultural change. We’ll co-produce stories, photographs and video with local organisations and talent. Wherever possible, we’ll put local people at the centre of the story.

The third myth

‘We have mutual understanding and are using the same definitions’. In fact, different views about what constitutes a local organisation – and therefore who should be eligible for ‘local funding’ – are at the heart of current debates about ‘untying aid’. Taking an ecosystemic approach to understanding different perspectives and building coalitions for change, rather than perpetuating binary and exclusionary norms, is central to the Pledge for Change community and commitment of the leaders within it, across their individual and organisational positionalities and identities.

Pledge 3: Influencing wider change – based on shared values and understandings of a wider ecosystem

The changes that signatories hope to achieve under Pledges 1 and 2 will not happen without an enabling environment within INGOs to unlock barriers and create new ways of working. Similarly, external advocacy and influencing is needed so that peers and donors start creating conditions for equitable partnerships and authentic storytelling to be possible.

Our leaders will publicly announce the pledge, spelling out to peers, donors, philanthropists and the private sector why we’ve decided to change the way we work and how we’re going to do it.

• We will argue for these changes to be made across the aid and development sector and we’ll create opportunities for Global South leaders to lead conversations and advocate for change in public platforms.
• We will speak out against any government policies or international action that perpetuate a colonial approach to aid and development.
• We will track our progress in implementing the Pledge for Change 2030 and report it publicly to show staff, supporters, partners, and the global aid system that we’re ‘walking the talk’.
• We will share what we learn and demonstrate how we’re shifting power and resources to the Global South with the aim of encouraging other INGOs to follow suit.

Where we are now – accountability and learning

The Pledge for Change community currently comprises 13 INGO signatories and 55 supporters from across the aid ecosystem. Working groups for each of the three pledges, led by co-chairs from the signatories and supporters, are meeting regularly, alongside a Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Accountability (MEAL) working group. MEAL colleagues have developed a Pledge Accountability and Learning Mechanism (PALM) that aspires to support a new paradigm for mutual accountability and collaborative learning in the sector, by shifting the accountability equation towards the needs of local and national CSOs, rather than INGOs and donors, through applying a decolonised approach to data collection. We recognise that there are multiple different ways of knowing, and that there is a strong Euro-colonial influence currently on data management in the aid sector, with a heavy emphasis on written and counted data. Understanding how power is experienced as part of measurement and accountability is central to creating a new paradigm. For this reason, the PALM will actively complement traditional data collection with other means of data analysis, such as videos, voice notes and audio recordings of people expressing their personal views, analysis of relationships and meetings proceedings, annual curated review conversations, etc.

The PALM includes:

1. Partner and local feedback – A partner survey designed and carried out by the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) to allow partners of signatories to feed back on whether they can see any changes or shifts in power because of the Pledge for Change (and related commitments). The survey findings will triangulate with self-assessment data from the signatories. Funding permitting, this will be complemented by a longitudinal video filming key partners over time to document from their perspective how their partner INGO is implementing the three Pledge commitments. 
2. INGO self-reporting and reflection – Signatory INGOs will report on progress made and actions taken to advance the Pledge commitments using an agreed set of quantitative and qualitative metrics and will report against these on an annual basis. Each signatory can report in line with their own Pledge journey, but the aim is that by November each year, all signatories will have submitted their report, so that it can be assessed as part of the Global Advisory Review Panel. This will be complemented by a discourse analysis of retreat agendas/minutes and other conversations with Pledge signatories, to assess emerging changes in organisational culture and intent.
3. Southern-led assessment – Contributing to the self-reporting as above, an Authentic Storytelling Review Panel will conduct a remunerated audit of the 10 most seen/representative communications and fundraising products, to assess to what extent these are ethical and in line with Pledge commitments.

In addition, a Global Advisory Review Panel will undertake an annual curated review conversation with each of the Signatories, to discuss the findings in the self-assessment report, partner surveys and communications product audits, creating a space for reflection and dialogue between signatories and supporters for genuine accountability and learning.

What comes next?

We know that across the Pledge community, activists, champions and leaders are making progress towards a more equitable and just aid ecosystem. And we know that the normative discourses and incentives to maintain the status quo of power dynamics are strong. Now is the time that we need to demonstrate progress, show learning and support leadership to be the difference that makes the difference. This means:

• Securing more independent funding for the Pledge Accountability and Learning Mechanism.
• Mainstreaming pledges into INGO projects, proposals, policies, practices, business and operating models.
• Promoting and supporting existing country- and regional-level mechanisms for local leadership.
• Connecting leaders and sharing learning, and especially leaders working ‘at the edges’ of the system.
• Collaborating with system-change actors, including RINGO, Shift the Power, NEAR and others, to amplify and accelerate change.

If you want to join this community and be part of the movement for a stronger aid ecosystem built on principles of equality, humility, solidarity and self-determination, or if your organisation is already signed up as a Pledge signatory or supporter and you would like to talk about how we can work together, please email: pledgeforchange@adesoafrica.org.

Degan Ali is a global thought leader at the forefront of the movement to reinvent the international development system so that it is more just, humane and effective. She is Executive Director of Adeso, a Nairobi-based organisation that is breaking down the barriers to locally led development by ensuring that communities in the Global South have the resources and power to drive their own destinies. Under Degan’s leadership, Adeso has co-created the Pledge for Change – in partnerships with many leaders and organisations across the global – to reimagine the role of INGOs in the humanitarian aid and development sectors.

Kate Moger is the Director of the Pledge for Change, based in Nairobi. Prior to joining Adeso, Kate spent over 20 years working in humanitarian and development contexts, primarily in francophone Africa. Kate is a feminist who believes that it is possible, and necessary, to transform the humanitarian sector to be congruent with our stated values. She is excited about working with Pledge for Change on disrupting power dynamics to contribute to an aid ecosystem based on principles of equity, solidarity and self-determination.