A Year of Reckoning for #DevelopmentCooperation #InternationalCooperation: This year has shaken the development sector to its core. For decades, the industry operated in a self-satisfied bubble, largely disconnected from both the people it aimed to serve and the taxpayers funding it. Now, under immense pressure—shrinking public budgets, the dissolution of major agencies like USAID, and rising populist scrutiny—the sector faces an existential question: How can it remain relevant and effective?

In Germany, the new government made a bold move earlier this year by retaining a standalone ministry for international cooperation, bucking the global trend of merging it into foreign or economic affairs. But the real test lies ahead: Where is the bold new vision to ensure this isn’t the last German government with such a ministry? The much-anticipated masterplan is still missing.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll revisit and expand on my mid-year posts, sharing my perspective on the urgent need for reform—both in German and with English summaries.

#FutureOfCooperation #GlobalPartnerships