Development cooperation is a complex process involving various stakeholders, such as government agencies, international organizations, and local communities. Especially the in-country offices play a key role in determining the level of involvement of local staff in development cooperation projects.

Unfortunately, the involvement of local staff in development work has been limited, leading to a lack of representation and inclusion in decision-making processes. In this article, I discuss practical ideas that can improve access to decision-making and generally higher levels of involvement of local staff in development cooperation.

Current Level of Involvement

National staff often lack understanding of how development cooperation works, leaving them unaware of how money is allocated, how government negotiations are conducted, and how anything pre-delivery is decided upon and put into gear. Reforms such as the BMZ 2030 in Germany could worsen the situation since more programs are likely to be programmed and “carried out administratively” in the donor countries. It is crucial to improve local staff’s understanding of development processes and involve them in decision-making. It is not so much a question of quantity but quality.

Practical Steps Toward Better Involvement

To improve local staff’s understanding, one practical suggestion is to create a series of short explainer videos with examples from the real world of cooperation and policymaking. These videos could explain how a project comes into existence and at which junctures local staff can have influence over how a project is set up. Another approach could be to create videos on the overall principles of development cooperation, geared toward local staffers and their involvement in actual processes. These videos should allow local staff to join the trail from the beginning.

Impact of Country Portfolios on Involvement Levels

The composition of country portfolios can have a profound impact on the level of involvement of local staff in development cooperation projects. For instance, in some rural development portfolios, modern ideas such as multi-actor platforms and sectoral approaches are often non-existent, and the composition, as well as management styles, reflect a foregone time. As a result, local staff may be less clued up on broader institutional processes and miss out on opportunities to engage with other parts of the spectrum, such as the private sector, civil society, and the scientific community — but also the higher echelons of the institutions they work for.

Need for Change in Involvement Approach

Agencies must take an active role in shaping sociopolitical processes and becoming change agents in a much broader than just technical field of development cooperation. One approach to achieve this is by creating explainer videos and webinars with Q&A sessions that explain how processes work in reality. However, to establish a higher level of involvement, agencies must acknowledge that it is necessary, they want it, and they must work towards achieving it. Fortunately, there are some examples from Asia and South America where national staff are actually highly aware of the surrounding development policy processes beyond their own projects and countries.

What is Keeping Local Staff from Taking Their Own Steps?

Often, the broader picture is beyond the scope of local staff. They may not ask sensible questions on something that would be conducive to underlying cooperation processes simply because they lack sufficient information. As a result, it is crucial for explainer videos and webinars to provide an overall picture of the development cooperation process, including broader processes and the agency’s objectives.

Fundamental Questions Agencies Need to Ask Themselves

Development cooperation implementers must recognize that policy advisors who are well-informed about broader processes acquired their knowledge from prior engagement with other institutions. Therefore, agencies must hire and support individuals to improve the local staff’s knowledge of the surrounding development policy processes, just as it is critical for international staff.

Development cooperation is a complex process that involves multiple stakeholders, including government agencies, international organizations, and local communities. However, the involvement of local staff in development work has been limited, leading to a lack of representation and inclusion in decision-making processes. In this article, I discuss some ideas on how to improve access and involvement of local staff in development cooperation.

The current level of involvement of local staff

National staff usually does not understand how development cooperation works, which leaves them unaware of how money is allocated, how government negotiations are conducted, and how anything pre-delivery is decided upon and put into gear. Reforms like the relatively new BMZ 2030 for example can potentially worsen the situation since more programs will be programmed and carried out in the donor country.

Practical steps toward better involvement

One suggestion here is to create a series of short explainer videos, possibly animated, with examples from the real world of cooperation and policymaking. For example, these videos could explain how a project comes into existence and at which junctures local staff can have influence over how a project is set up. Another approach could be to create videos on the overall principles of development cooperation, geared toward local staffers and their involvement in actual processes. These videos should allow local staff to join the trail from the beginning.

The impact of country portfolios on involvement levels

The setup of country portfolios can impact the level of involvement of local staff. For example, rural development portfolios in some countries are very conservative, with composition reflecting a foregone time, and modern ideas such as multi-actor platforms and sectoral approaches are often non-existent. There are suggestions for more dialogue with other parts of the spectrum, including the private sector, civil society, and the scientific community, rather than only with ministries.

The need for change in the involvement approach

Agencies need to be active actors, change agents in the broader field of sociopolitical processes. Here as well one can create explainer videos and webinars with Q&A sessions on how processes work in reality. For this, it is essential to establish that a higher level of involvement is necessary, that the agency wants it, and that it must work on ii to achieve it. There are examples from Asia and South America where national staff are very aware of surrounding development policy processes beyond their own projects and countries. So it can be done.

What is keeping local staff from taking their own steps?

The broader picture is mostly beyond the scope of local staff. They are often in a position where they cannot ask sensible questions on something that would be conducive to the underlying cooperation processes simply because they don’t have enough information in the first place. Therefore, the explainer videos and webinars need to provide an overall picture.

Fundamental questions agencies need to ask themselves

The development cooperation implementers must rectify the fact that policy advisors who are well-informed about broader processes got their knowledge from prior engagement with other institutions. By the same token the agency must acknowledge that hiring and supporting individuals to improve local staff’s knowledge of the surrounding development policy processes is just as critical as it is for so-called international staff.

Importance of Guiding Development Policy by Interests

Development policy should be guided by the interests of all stakeholders. It is important to be transparent about these interests to ensure that there is no hidden agenda. Local staff needs to be aware of the interests of all parties involved in development work. This can be achieved by providing more information on the meta-level through websites, newsletters, and other communication tools.

Improving Access to Resources

National personnel should be involved in new business acquisitions and resource allocation phases to increase their involvement in decision-making processes. This will require more involvement of locals in the conceptual and pre-conceptual phases, which are currently managed solely by Germans. Senior policy advisors should also be involved in portfolio formation, which can impact the strategic positioning of development cooperation organizations. By involving more locals in these processes, we can attract more resources and have a greater impact on the ground.

Decoupling of Regional and Bilateral Portfolios

The exchange between countries is currently limited to technical levels, and there is no politico-strategic agenda setting. It is important to exchange ideas and learn from each other’s experiences to create innovative solutions to development challenges. For example, a visit by the Namibian minister led to the decision to make substantial additional German funds available for drought resilience-related programming in agriculture. This highlights the importance of involving local staff in decision-making processes to create more direct and effective development programs.

Importance of Language

Language is a barrier that limits the involvement of local staff in higher-level positions. Reports still have to be in German, and knowledge of German is essential for higher-level positions. However, this should not be a glass ceiling, and efforts should be made to support those who are interested in pursuing a career in development cooperation.

Bringing Back Local Staff

GIZ and other development cooperation organizations should actively seek to bring back local staff who left the organization in the past. This will help to create a network of experienced professionals who can facilitate the projects and provide guidance to junior staff.

Conclusion

Improving access and involvement of local staff in development cooperation is essential to create more effective and sustainable development programs. By involving local staff in decision-making processes, we can attract more resources and create innovative solutions to development challenges. Development cooperation organizations should actively seek to bring back experienced local staff and support the professional growth of current staff to create a more diverse and inclusive workforce

NB: The article was created with support of chatgpt and the visual with DALL-E