What Does Local Leadership Need to Last? Building the Infrastructure Behind the Commitment
About the Session
The case for locally led development has largely been made. Across philanthropy and international development, there is growing agreement that communities and local organizations should have greater control over decisions, resources, and the work affecting their lives.
But agreement has not necessarily created the conditions for local leadership to last.
International aid is contracting. Cross-border philanthropy is becoming more difficult in some countries. Civic space is tightening. Local organizations that were told the sector was shifting power toward them are now navigating an environment in which international support may be less reliable, while the systems needed to sustain their leadership remain underdeveloped.
This raises a harder set of questions about what localization requires beyond moving grants. How can local organizations build resilient institutions and adapt their operating models? What roles can domestic philanthropy, local capital, and community-centered private-sector partnerships play as Western support contracts? How can Global South-rooted intermediaries, networks, knowledge systems, and collaborative infrastructure help local actors influence decisions and lead collective action?
The enabling environment matters too. Regulations, cross-border funding rules, civic freedoms, access to domestic resources, and relationships with governments can determine whether local organizations are actually able to lead. And localization means little if rural women, young people, and grassroots communities remain absent from the decisions supposedly being moved closer to them.
This session will explore what it takes to build an ecosystem in which locally led organizations can not only receive resources, but survive uncertainty, mobilize support closer to home, collaborate, influence policy, and lead over the long term.
Discussion Group Leaders
Chilande Kuloba is Founder/CEO at Warande Advisory, advancing locally led development and equitable partnerships that shift power and resources toward Global South communities.
Jonathon Fairhead is Senior Director, NGOsource & Global Partnerships at NGOsource, strengthening global philanthropy by supporting equitable and efficient cross-border grantmaking to NGOs.
Lucy Minayo is Co-Chief Executive Officer at AMPLIFY Girls, advancing locally led solutions that strengthen girls’ agency and address systemic barriers to their well-being and opportunities across Africa.
Willis Ochieng is Executive Director at Creats International, Inc., advancing sustainable agriculture, food security, and resilient livelihoods for smallholder farmers.
Natacha Weiss is World Connect UK/Europe Executive Director at World Connect, advancing community-driven development, grassroots initiatives, refugee rights, and gender equity.
Aisha Tambajang is Senior Program Manager at Humentum, strengthening systems, localization, and institutional transformation to shift power and advance more equitable global development.
Bowel Diop is Chief Impact and Development at Baobab Institute, advancing organizational impact and sustainable development through strategic growth and partnerships.
What to Expect
A practical conversation about the next phase of locally led development. Rather than debating whether localization is desirable, participants will examine the institutional, financial, political, and collaborative conditions that make local leadership possible.
The discussion will connect organizational resilience with domestic resource mobilization, Global South-rooted intermediaries, civic space, networks, community participation, and the role international philanthropy can play without recreating dependence.
Who This Is For
This session is for locally led and grassroots organizations, Global South funders and intermediaries, philanthropists, development agencies, civil society leaders, governments, private-sector partners, community leaders, and others working to build stronger locally led development ecosystems.
What You Will Get Out of It
A broader framework for localization that goes beyond shifting grant funding
Approaches to strengthening the organizations, networks, and infrastructure local leadership depends on
Perspectives on mobilizing domestic capital and resources as international aid contracts
A clearer understanding of how civic space and regulation affect locally led organizations
Ideas for ensuring grassroots communities have meaningful influence within locally led systems