Are INGOs ready for the future?

With the murder of George Floyd in 2020, and the Black Lives Matter movement that it ignited, cuts to ODA budgets across the world, the disparate impacts of Covid-19 and the increasing momentum of the #shiftthepower movement, calls for change from activists from the global majority and diaspora have never been louder.

This has forced the international development sector to look inwards to fundamentally examine its approach and the structural inequalities that the current development system promotes.

Future-focused INGOs – and what we can learn from them

At a time when the sector is facing intensifying questions about its purpose, power and relationships, the current INGO model no longer seems fit for purpose. 

In response, many INGOs are actively considering what their role will be in the future. Peace Direct has identified nine roles that intermediaries can play. The Reimagining INGOs (RINGO) project has worked up prototypes which it is using as it seeks to transform INGOs. And Impact Works has published 2038: Four Possible Futures for the world, civil society and INGOs, which are future scenarios to help the sector see how using a futures approach can help its strategic thinking.

Some organisations are focusing on participatory grant-making as an inclusive way to shift power by ensuring that funding decisions sit with the groups the funding aims to serve. ADD International and Transform Trade are both trailing this approach.

Last year, we published a collection of case studies on how INGOs are already transforming. This includes Avert which has closed down and transferred ownership of its brand and approach to its partners.

The support Bond can provide as INGOs transform

Supporting organisations to transform remains at the core of what Bond does. Our unique role means we can step back and look at the development eco-system, and create a space for strategic collaboration between INGOs, communities, governments and funders to bring around change. 

Our guide to supporting INGOs to become more locally led is as relevant now as it was when it was published in 2022, and has stimulated many a discussion within our member organisations. The same goes for our decolonising and anti-racism framework which shows how systemic racism manifests in and across the work of INGOs.

Our language guide supports organisations to consider how language and terminology can reinforce colonial or outdated thinking.  This is the Work is designed to help policy and advocacy teams embed a different approach to working, and address the common barriers to change. While our case studies on how generating income can support locally led development give insight into how different operating models can help organisations achieve their strategic objectives.

A collective vision for INGOs

While there has been progress within the sector, there is still more work to be done – and this is where Bond comes in. We want to create a positive vision for INGOs, one that centres communities, which we can all get behind. INGOs need to understand that today’s decisions on structure, purpose and leadership will shape their relevance and legitimacy in the years to come as well as what the future INGO will look like. 

Over the coming months, we will be bringing the sector together to understand the key challenges you face, and supporting organisations to think more strategically about the future.