From 10-11 November, CDA Collaborative Learning Projects, Search for Common Ground and Peace Direct will hold a two-day online consultation on ‘Responsible Transitions and Locally led Development’. We invite peacebuilders, practitioners, donors, activists, changemakers and anyone committed to locally led development to be part of the conversation.
Many partnerships between international and local development organizations have historically been characterized by hierarchical structures, paternalistic attitudes and top-down approaches to relationship-building. As partners engage in transitions, these dynamics can undermine the sustainability of local organizations and reinforce power imbalances across the development sector.
The Stopping As Success project documents alternative, more responsible ways of approaching partnerships and transitions – ones that prioritize equitable relationships between international and local actors, collaboration, trust and long term respect even beyond a transition period. SAS+, the second phase of the project, will accompany organizations going through or planning for their own transitions.
Based on the discussions in this consultation, the consortium will reflect on how best to accompany transition processes. Especially in light of the recent changes to the development sector since the onset of the pandemic and the global ‘Shift the Power’ movement, these conversations are crucial.
To further explore these dynamics, we will hold a two-day conversation from 10-11 November using Platform4Dialogue*, an online platform managed by Peace Direct. The consultation will invite discussions on how to effectively engage in responsible partnership transitions and move towards locally led development.
Over the two days, some of the key overarching questions will be:
- What do you understand by ‘transitions in development’?
- What should a successful partnership transition look like?
- How can different transitions lead to or exacerbate power asymmetries in their environment?
- How has COVID-19 impacted local leadership and responsible transitions?
- How can transitions genuinely shift power to local organizations?
Through this discussion, we hope to learn from practical, real-life examples and good practices. We will encourage participants to share their own experiences, examples and reference points, as much as possible.
Register for the consultation using this link, and please forward this to anyone you think might be interested.
How will it work?
The conversations will take place online on Peace Direct’s Platform4Dialogue discussion platform. They will last two days, on November 10th and 11th.
While the consultation will be available in English and French, there will also be the opportunity for discussions to be held in Spanish and Arabic. Participants who speak Spanish and Arabic will be able to use the automatic translation function built into the discussion platform. A public report will be produced from this consultation, but no participant will be quoted publicly without previous and separate consent.
If you have any questions about this consultation, please contact the Platform4Dialogue team at [email protected].
*Platform4Dialogue is an online text-based platform that allows participants to contribute at times most suitable to them. Therefore, it is possible to fit participation around your usual commitments and various time-zones.