Foreign Aid Reduction and Local Civil Society: Recent Research and Policy Guidance for Donors and International NGOs

Abstract

The impact of foreign aid reduction on local civil society organizations has gained a growing amount of scholarly attention over the past several years. However, most research has focused on the experiences of local CSOs and their adaptations to reduced donor support. In this piece, we review the extant literature to offer a comprehensive perspective on the role of donors in the aid reduction process. We highlight the ways that donor planning and management of aid reduction can enhance or undermine civil society sustainability and offer six prompts for donors, designed to improve the aid reduction process. These include inventorying donors' original development objectives; leaving behind an appropriate legal framework; facilitating local philanthropy; developing a framework for government support of CSOs; communicating aid reduction plans transparently; and supporting local adaptions to funding withdrawal.