10 Lessons in Localisation
Making aid work for communities
Many, if not most, international NGOs say they want to ‘localise’, to promote greater leadership and delivery by local and national actors. But are they serious and do they know how to do it?
This book presents ten lessons on localisation from the author’s 25 year career to date, working in and on NGOs in the development, humanitarian and climate sectors. These lessons are based on the author’s practice on the ground with NGOs and at global level as a donor representative, as well as her in-depth original field research. While written in an accessible style for the benefit of practitioners, with specific case studies of organisations presented, the book is rigorous and its findings are evidence-based.
Sinead Walsh’s experiences that feed into this book include volunteering with local NGOs in India, working for Concern Worldwide on partnership in South Sudan, and conducting PhD research on ActionAid’s accountability to communities in Uganda.
From these experiences, the author exposes structural issues that, time and time again, prevent international organisations from reaching their aims to ‘localise’. This book asks uncomfortable questions and challenges some deeply-held assumptions within the NGO sector. The book then provides recommendations for how NGOs can think and act differently in order to get serious about serving the communities where they work most effectively.
Published: 2025
Pages: 200
eBook: 9781788534116
Paperback: 9781788534093
This book presents ten lessons on localisation from the author’s 25 year career to date, working in and on NGOs in the development, humanitarian and climate sectors. These lessons are based on the author’s practice on the ground with NGOs and at global level as a donor representative, as well as her in-depth original field research. While written in an accessible style for the benefit of practitioners, with specific case studies of organisations presented, the book is rigorous and its findings are evidence-based.
Sinead Walsh’s experiences that feed into this book include volunteering with local NGOs in India, working for Concern Worldwide on partnership in South Sudan, and conducting PhD research on ActionAid’s accountability to communities in Uganda.
From these experiences, the author exposes structural issues that, time and time again, prevent international organisations from reaching their aims to ‘localise’. This book asks uncomfortable questions and challenges some deeply-held assumptions within the NGO sector. The book then provides recommendations for how NGOs can think and act differently in order to get serious about serving the communities where they work most effectively.
| List of acronyms | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chapter 1: Points of departure | |||
| Chapter 2: Partnership and how I came to it | |||
| Chapter 3: Context, context, context | |||
| Chapter 4: Partnership is not always the answer | |||
| Chapter 5: The problems with NGO accountability | |||
| Chapter 6: Enter ActionAid | |||
| Chapter 7: What I learnt about ActionAid’s accountability | |||
| Chapter 8: Who represents the community | |||
| Chapter 9: Staffing for localisation | |||
| Chapter 10: The centrality of power dynamics | |||
| Chapter 11: Trend-jumping | |||
| Chapter 12: Staff pressures and interests | |||
| Chapter 13: The retention of control | |||
| Chapter 14: The power of optics | |||
| Chapter 15: Accountability through governance | |||
| Chapter 16: Conclusion and the way forward | |||
| References |
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