Are we there yet? Localisation as the journey towards locally led practice - Baguios, King, Martins and Pinnington (2021)

This paper reviews the barriers and challenges to localisation and locally led practice, with a view to informing a campaign for systemic change. Based on a rapid review of the literature and evidence, consultations with over 100 participants, and analysis of 28 existing models and approaches, the paper highlights the existence of numerous positive examples of localisation and locally led practice, while unpacking the power imbalance that has stalled progress overall. It offers four main recommendations: (1) learn from and accelerate initiatives that already exist – especially from the Global South; (2) transfer greater resources, including by tackling root causes of risk aversion and redesigning funding flows; (3) reduce encroachment of local actors’ agency and respect their ways of being by rethinking organisational roles (and stepping back if appropriate) and shifting one’s mindset, and; (4) let Global South actors lead the campaign to promote localisation and locally led practice.