🌍 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.