Tag: Bond

New research explores the role of the INGO sector in decolonising economic development

Stuart Mitchell

Bond has published new research that delves into how far the international NGO sector has come in decolonising its work on economic development.   This report, commissioned by Bond and written by economists, Surbhi Kesar (SOAS) and Ingrid Kvangraven (King’s College) provides a historical overview of economic development theory, the role of international NGOs (INGOs), and offers a framework for decolonising economic development by addressing its structural issues. The report finds that while many INGOs have focused on reforming their operations and relationships with communities, they have largely neglected the deeper…

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UK civic space under pressure: findings from Bond’s first annual review

Stuart Mitchell

Bond, the UK network for civil society organisations working in international development, has released its first annual UK civic space review. Under mounting pressure, civic space in the UK has faced unprecedented challenges over the past year. Bond’s latest review details key trends that threaten civil society’s core functions, including harsher anti-protest laws, tone-policing of charity campaigns, restrictions on public scrutiny and an emerging trend on the expansion of the definition of extremism. More on the key trends: Protest rights Trend 1: There has been a move towards ever stricter…

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Bond, Choose Love, Restless Development and Ripple Effect team up to show how different business models could help INGOs support locally led development

Stuart Mitchell

Bond, the UK network of international development organisations, has put together a collection of case studies to help international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) consider alternatives to the traditional grant funding model to generate their own income and avoid funder restrictions whilst shifting both income and power to local communities.  As the funding environment for INGOs becomes increasingly difficult following the Covid-19 pandemic, cuts to the UK aid budget, the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and loss of funding from the European Union, organisations are increasingly forced to find new income streams instead of…

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Bond launches framework to support organisations build anti-racist practices and decolonise the international development sector 

Stuart Mitchell

Bond, the UK network of international development organisations, has launched the free online resource, Anti-racism and decolonising: a framework for organisations.  The framework maps out how systemic racism manifests across all areas of the international development sector and supports organisations to build anti-racist practices and to make steps to decolonise the sector.   The framework shows the necessity of an anti-racist and holistic approach to decolonising our organisations to create a fairer, more equitable and racially just sector. It demonstrates how and why an anti-racist approach must be embedded into any…

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Bond launches collection of stories to encourage donors and INGOs to put local partners and communities in the driver’s seat of development

Stuart Mitchell

Bond, in partnership with Recrear and The Local Trust, has launched a set of illustrations and stories to encourage INGOs and donors to use that support locally led development. The free online resource What makes a good “locally led” funder? Stories from your partners takes a storytelling approach rather than traditional case studies to capture the human relationships and creativity underlying strong donor and local partner relationships. The illustrations were created by illustrator, Liliana López. The stories demonstrate that a locally led approach to international development can build a more…

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