Rethinking German Development Cooperation: A Three-Pillar Approach to Reconnected Bilateral Cooperation 🌍

In a recent post, I suggested that the development cooperation industry is like a cruise ship that has drifted far from the people it aims to serve and become trapped in a self-referential bubble. In order to reconnect, the ship must dock and rebuild. #FutureOfCooperation

There are many reasons why development cooperation needs a rebuild. One is often overlooked: It currently tries to balance conflicting goals that simply don’t align. The result? Vague objectives, overly complex processes, and a disconnect between ambition and reality that undermines credibility.

Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach in structures, methods, and communication, I propose clearly distinct “cooperation concepts”. Each concept must have clear identities, tailored methods, and defined stakeholder groups, ensuring streamlined implementation, sharper communication, and evaluation by appropriate metrics. This clarity is essential not just for efficiency but for impactful, meaningful results.

I currently see three distinct concepts of cooperation:

1. Cooperation from the Ground Up 🌱

This first cooperation concept deliberately moves away from traditional top-down approaches. Sustainable change requires local leadership, indigenous knowledge and ownership. Methodologically, it overlaps with the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus — success is measured by how well communities lead their own transformation, with external support strengthening local capacity rather than replacing it.

2. Responsible Business, Shared Success 🤝

This approach promotes ethical economic partnerships between European businesses and public/private sectors in partner countries. Prioritising responsible business conduct, fair trade, labor rights, environmental protection, and inclusive growth, it ensures mutual economic benefits. Success is measured by economic impact and shared prosperity, emphasising transparent, fair business practices.

3. Fair Representation, Amplified Impact 🗣️

The third cooperation concept is about fair global governance. So called Global South nations still often lack influence in international governance. This model seeks balanced global governance through capacity-building, institutional reforms, and advocacy support. Success involves shifting power dynamics, ensuring inclusive governance and effective representation.

Why This Matters

Breaking down international cooperation into clearly distinct concepts enables us to create a more focused and effective approach, generating powerful narratives. Proper implementation is key, and it would be made even easier if different institutions were held accountable. Political leadership must prevent scope creep and maintain clarity of concept. This will create real and lasting results, promote ethical business practices and inclusive global governance.

The Hidden Productivity Dilemma: AI Use in the Workplace 🤖💼

Using #AI tools at work can boost productivity ⚡, but it comes with social costs 😬. A study from Duke University, involving over 4,000 participants, reveals that colleagues often perceive AI users as lazy 🦥 and incompetent 🤷.

The crucial factor? The AI affinity of supervisors 👔.

In the study, fictional job applicants with AI skills were preferred only if the hiring manager also used AI tools – otherwise, they faced rejection 🚫.

„Evaluators who do not use AI regularly (less than weekly) evaluate candidates who do use AI as lazy.“

This highlights a critical point: Management plays a pivotal role in AI adoption within companies. Their own familiarity and comfort with AI tools can significantly influence how AI is perceived and integrated into the workplace. 🔍💡

For too long, the development sector has operated in a self-referential bubble — talking mostly to itself, reinforcing its own logic, and shielding itself from broader scrutiny. But the world has changed, and the gap between the sector’s narratives and the realities on the ground has become impossible to ignore.

On one side, citizens of donor countries — the very people whose (tax) money funds development cooperation — have been kept at a distance. In many OECD nations, public engagement has been low, and skepticism high. Even before populist narratives gained traction, surveys showed significant doubts about the effectiveness of aid. In Germany, for example, only 10% of respondents in 2017 believed development aid was largely effective, while a quarter considered it mainly ineffective. But because the system continued to work for its established players, these concerns were largely ignored.

On the other side of the system, communities in recipient countries — those meant to benefit from #InternationalCooperation — have been given limited ownership over their own development. Decisions remain largely top-down, dictated by donor-driven priorities, rigid bureaucracies, and external expertise that often overlooks local solutions. Despite decades of discussion on localizations, meaningful shifts in power and decision-making remain rare.

A lot of the industry is like a ship drifting far from the shores where the people are. Passengers onboard are happy on their own and engaging in ever more sophisticated pursuits.

So, before we can talk about what can be done, we need to recognise that there’s a problem. The ship has to dock again and needs to be rebuilt! Because not only do populists ask the question already: Do we even need this ship anymore?

#FutureOfCooperation #DevelopmentReform #Localization

Feeling a bit doomsday-ish? Then this post is for you!

#AI is advancing at warp speed, and researchers are still grappling with how these models really work. 🤖💨 Research revealed some creative strategies of these models (see my previous post), but what if constant training leads to hidden capabilities that suddenly erupt? What if the model goes rogue? 😱

Researchers warn of an intelligence explosion, power accumulation, disruption of democratic institutions, and more. Scary stuff, right?

But wait! They’ve also proposed a number of measures to address these challenges, but these are based on the sense of responsibility of the companies behind these large-scale models. So hopefully the paper will get some attention there. 🤞

Full research paper

Ever noticed how we struggle with rapid, non-linear change? 🌪️ Fasten your seatbelts, because groundbreaking AI-based developments could make your head spin!

Enter superhuman AI 🤖. Experts predict its impact over the next decade could outstrip the Industrial Revolution. Yeah, you heard right.

The team at AI Futures Project has crafted scenarios backed by trend extrapolations, wargames, expert feedback, and their previous forecasting wins. And the best part? It’s presented in a super intuitive way.

Don’t expect a crystal ball prediction. Think of it as a turbo boost into very near futures!

Great resource to dive in and get those mental gears turning! 💡

A more sovereign AI software setup

I I am experimenting with a "sovereign" software setup that leverages AI technology while strengthening data sovereignty and privacy. This setup combines the power of local frontend tools with advanced AI models hosted in Europe.

Key Components:

1. Local Frontend Tool: I am using AnythingLLM, a versatile tool that allows me to interact with AI models locally. This ensures that key data remains on my device, enhancing privacy and control.

2. OpenAI Compatible API: The frontend tool interfaces seamlessly with an OpenAI-compatible API, making it easy to integrate with various AI services.

3. IONOS AI Model Hub: For the backend, I leveraged the recently introduced IONOS AI Model Hub, hosted in Germany. This ensures that the data I transmit to the model remains within European jurisdiction, complying with stringent data protection laws.

4. European LLM: At the heart of the stack is OpenGPT-X / Teuken-7B, a European, open, multilingual large language model developed by Fraunhofer IAIS. Its a 7B class model, so has seven billion parameters and was trained from scratch with the 24 official languages of the EU.

Why This Setup Matters:

• Data Sovereignty: By keeping data local and within European servers, such a setup ensures compliance with GDPR and other data protection regulations.
• Performance: The combination of a local frontend and a robust backend has the potential to deliver high performance and low latency.
• Innovation: Using European-developed AI models supports local innovation and reduces dependency on foreign technologies.

Future Potential:

This setup is an experiment. The model is not on par with the latest models of global competitors, but as AI continues to evolve, maintaining technological sovereignty will become increasingly important.

By using local tools and European AI models, we can build resilient and compliant AI solutions. There must be sufficient resources for AI research and development in Europe to have a realistic chance of catching up with the best models!

But not every use case needs a huge LLM, so it's also important to understand how this setup works in the real world.

#AI #DataSovereignty #Innovation #EuropeanTech #DigitalTransformation #TechTrends

🌍 Reimagining Development Cooperation: A Moment We Can’t Waste #FutureOfCooperation

I posted yesterday about ODI’s Donors in a Post-Aid World Dialogue #2, and it contains many thought-provoking points.

Set against the backdrop of shrinking aid budgets, a weakened multilateral system, and political shifts across the North, the Dialogue offered a bold yet grounded exploration of what a new international cooperation model could look like.

Among the many powerful insights, one was especially interesting because it echoed a recent discussion in Germany: Institutional reform.

🇩🇪 In #Germany, discussions around merging development with foreign policy recently gained traction (again), however new government decided to keep an independent Federal ministry. The Dialogue’s call for a rethink of donor institutions is therefore timely.

Highlights included: • Streamlining multilateral agencies to reduce inefficiencies. • Integrating development mandates into broader government ministries. • Investing in localisation and public trust, not just program delivery. Very important - will also post on this one! • And imagining globally pooled systems / improved coordination that reflect today’s interconnected challenges.

This isn’t just about saving „aid“ — it’s about reshaping how we show up in the world.

Germany and others now have a chance, more than ever, to take the lead in building institutions that match our values with today’s realities. Unfortunately, some decisions have already not followed this line, but there is still room to improve these structures. The will to invest some political energy is needed. I hope we see that!

Find a summary of the discussion here, with the discussion on institutional reform on p. 5.

#PostAidWorld #InstitutionalReform #DevelopmentCooperation #Localization

🌍 Using this moment of disruption to transform development cooperation  #FutureOfCooperation

As the development sector grapples with profound shifts in both its architecture and public perception, we find ourselves at a pivotal moment. Rather than simply weathering the storm, we must seize this disruption as a catalyst for transformation.

That was the spirit behind a recent dialogue hosted by ODI, bringing together key voices to explore what it means to be a donor in a post-aid world.

While understandably focus for many is on immediate crises, this moment also holds space for bold, forward-looking visions. We now have the chance to not only improve how aid is delivered, but also to reimagine the system itself. The suggestions discussed “represent long-standing proposals within the development community that have a unique opportunity to be advanced in the current context; other suggestions are more ambitious and could form part of the future “post-aid world”.

But will these ideas truly gain traction?

Or will the major players once again assume this is just another passing storm?

For far too long, the industry has failed to realise that there were signs of many hairline cracks in the foundations of the sector a long time ago - not to mention criticism of fundamentally undesirable developments by academics and practitioners. Basically, nothing has changed. Now the industry as it stands is clearly juggling on the edge, but it would be foolish to underestimate the inertia of the sector, even if it’s hard to believe.

Here, you’ll find a summary of the discussion, packed with interesting and thought-provoking points.

🌍 For an #OpenSource project to be sustainable, it must be embedded in a healthy ecosystem. What that ecosystem looks like varies widely, but it is possible to look at the health status through key data and vitality indicators.

👉🏻 Open Source Observer #OSO is building a public good that measure the impact of open source software contributions to the health of the ecosystem.💡

🔑 Metrics go deep: 📊 Funding 👩‍💻 Developer Activity 🔗 Software Supply Chain 📈 User Analytics

To unlock the full potential of OSO’s datasets, one can explore OSO data with Python - tapping into the entire data lake. 🌟

#OpenSource #DataTransparency #CommunityDriven #TechImpact

People may miss the innovative energy that is still very strong in the web3 space, even though the hype train has moved on to the next station, artificial intelligence. #GetInspired #FutureOfCooperation

🚀 Excited to share DeepFunding — the future of project funding?

It is a groundbreaking decentralised funding platform that is changing the way projects are funded! Unlike traditional rounds that rely on committees or donors to pick winners, DeepFunding uses a smart combination of expert jury votes and data science competitions. 🤖✨

Here’s the twist: community members vote on a few selected projects, creating test data that drives an AI model competition. The best models - those that closely match the judges' preferences - then decide how funding is allocated to all projects. This innovative approach combines human insight with machine intelligence ("#AI"), promising to make funding smarter, fairer and more transparent.

DeepFunding isn’t just about funding #OpenSource projects; it’s about empowering communities and unleashing innovation through cutting edge decision making. Is this the future of project funding? 🌍💡 #DeepFunding #DecentralizedFinance #AI #Innovation #Blockchain