Posts in: International Cooperation

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.

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

🌍 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.

🚀 The Africa Impact Web3 Report is here! 🌍

A major milestone for the Web3 and blockchain ecosystem in Africa — this in-depth report showcases 130+ blockchain solutions driving real change across 13 countries.

From financial inclusion to sustainable agriculture, digital identity, climate resilience, and carbon tracking, the report highlights how Web3 is already transforming lives and shaping the continent’s future.

A must-read for anyone working in or curious about the intersection of technology, impact, and innovation in Africa.

👏 Huge kudos to the incredible team behind this initiative: PositiveBlockchain and the Africa Centre of Excellence in Blockchain Research (ACEBR) at the Africa Blockchain Institute, in collaboration with BC100+, and with the support of Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA) and Berlin Partner – Cluster ICT.

This is more than just a report — it’s a powerful call to action for builders, investors, and changemakers in the global Web3 community.

🔗 Get the full report here!

#AfricaWeb3 #BlockchainForGood #Web3Impact #DeFi #Sustainability #DigitalIdentity #ClimateTech #TechForGood #PositiveBlockchain #AfricaBlockchain #Innovation #FutureOfCooperation

#FederatedLearning #FL, a decentralised #MachineLearning approach, enables banks to gain insights into customer behaviour without centralising sensitive data. This technology, while challenging to implement, offers personalised services, improved fraud detection, and accurate risk assessment.

While this is good for banks, it also opens interesting perspectives also in #InternationalCooperations handling of data! #FutureOfCooperation

See an example from finance here.

Thanks to Khang Vu Tien for pointing this out!

tl;dr: Without genuine empowerment and meaningful local ownership, the promising concept of the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) nexus risks becoming a façade that reinforces entrenched structures rather than catalysing the transformative change urgently needed in an era of diminishing resources.

In the current context of drastic changes in the international cooperation architecture, it is important for my development colleagues to draw inspiration from transformative initiatives in adjacent sectors in order to increase the impact of the now reduced resources available. The Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) nexus can, in my humble opinion, serve as an inspiration to embark on a path of truly transformative work in this regard.

Coming across an article entitled The Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus - a Compelling Way Forward for Fragile Contexts on the website of a German government-funded evaluation institute, written by a senior government official responsible for development cooperation, one might at first feel encouraged.

A closer look, however, calls for caution. Behind promising headlines, there is often a familiar pattern: a strong emphasis on harmonising government policies; technocratic language, in this case about “improving joint analysis and coordinated planning”; and a new structure established within the vast UN network, a Nexus Academy, now apparently integrated into the Crisis Academy, and the key word “synergies”, with examples of rather heavy coordination mechanisms, such as “joint programming with UN agencies and cooperation in Team Europe Initiatives at the European level”.

So-called ‘local structures’, which are crucial for the real impact of the nexus, are mentioned only once in passing.

I question whether sufficient thought and commitment has really been given to the credible and sustainable empowerment of local actors to promote genuine local ownership - essential for successful HDP nexus work.

Without this focus, the HDP nexus runs the risk of becoming a façade that reinforces existing structures (which may even grow as a result of this coordination impetus) rather than transforming them, which would ultimately cause a valuable and necessary concept to disintegrate under the weight of entrenched interests. #FutureOfCooperation

Sound points about the industry’s current approach to localisation and local cooperation!

In the carousel, Marie Pessiot shares how “transitions towards authentic local leadership are messy and complex”.

Marie Pessiot at LinkedIn

#FutureOfCooperation

⚠️ #PeakAid might be upon us — International Cooperation should shift focus towards investing in local power, sustainability, and resilience. #FutureOfCooperation

👉🏻 More on this in my blog, also on #transformation, #web3, and #AI.

The future of Germany’s Development Ministry (BMZ) is more uncertain than ever as discussions intensify about integrating its functions into the German Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt). As reported by Entwicklungspolitik Online, a German news platform for the international cooperation sector epo.

I wrote about what that might mean the other day, so have a look

#FutureOfCooperation

Full article in German: “Entwicklungspolitik: Die Zukunft des BMZ steht mehr denn je auf dem Spiel”