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Locally Led Action

Our work promotes the leadership of local civil society and community-based actors crisis response and development cooperation. We also highlight the role of local faith actors and women-led & rights organisations. We call for at least an equal footing in their partnerships and consortia with international actors. This includes fair access to resources & to advocacy and decision making spaces.

This requires proactive change: to funding, programming and accountability practices. It also requires proactive engagement with national and local actors based on trust, dignity and respect. We contribute to the increasing recognition and awareness of the indispensable experience and expertise of local civil society globally in aid, development and peacebuilding.

In a nutshell

ACT Alliance EU and its members raise awareness of approaches to localisation which build the autonomy and growth of civil society in countries affected by crisis. We seek a transformative change of the current system. Despite progress, a majority of local and national actors are excluded from funding, ownership of programmes and decision making.

The global context is shaped by the broad issues of global inequalities, rapidly shifts in geopolitical relations and to the space for civil society & grassroots organisations. National contexts also greatly vary.

Yet our members and their partners bring long-term experience of partnerships with communities and local actors globally and across programming sectors. We have developed approaches to partnership which are responsive to the capacities and needs identified together with our partners. In the case of the survivor and community-led response approach, in implementation for over 12 years, ACT EU members adopt a facilitating and support role enabling response entirely led by self-help groups and local NGO support.

ACT Alliance and ACT EU’s vision for localisation sees a crucial role for all actors in the humanitarian, development and peacebuilding sectors. The needs are skyrocketing and the funding gaps are growing. community actors & local, national & international civil society have crucial complementary roles to play.

A group of women in Jerusalem wearing patterned headscarves strategise over a large piece of paper covered in post-it notes.

current priorities

  • Ensuring feasible and accessible funding for local and national actors
  • Paying particular attention to gender and faith in locally led action
  • Advocating for commitments to accountability towards affected populations and local actors
  • Raising awareness of alternative, feasible models of accountability towards donors
  • Sharing models for mutual capacity exchange in civil society partnerships
  • Raising awareness of approaches to survivor and community action

Resources