Who holds the levers of design?: Insights and ideas for cash and locally led response
Christian Aid is committed to a locally led, partnership-based approach, and these CVA initiatives are all delivered with partner organisations. Drawing on their experiences in a wide range of countries and contexts, it is clear that international aid systems should start distinguishing between localising institutional CVA – which focuses on equipping local actors to work within international CVA systems – and enabling CVA as part of locally led response – which focuses on equipping international aid systems to support and strengthen endogenous responses. Both approaches have value, but they are distinct from one another, and should be recognised as such.
Many current approaches have the potential to enable locally led CVA, but are currently hamstrung by the application of standards and requirements that were designed for institutional CVA. The international aid system needs to adapt in order to enable rather than inhibit these programmatic approaches.
This flips the focus of the debate, asking how the international system can adapt to and fund locally led action, instead of how local actors can adapt to the international system.
