This research examines the extent and nature of concrete actions undertaken by Northern NGOs and Southern NGOs to tackle power asymmetries, explicitly comparing their understandings, perspectives and initiatives.
It comes as no surprise that most NGOs, whether from the Global North or South, believe that there is a significant power imbalance between NNGOs and SNGOs, with both sides reporting that their own partnerships are performing ‘better’ regarding power imbalances. Also on both sides, organisations see ‘the bigger system’ as problematic.
This research reveals a shared understanding of and frustration around a global aid system founded on colonial legacies of inequality that raise serious questions about whether it is fit for purpose. Global agendas and priorities are seen as dominated by Northern actors and interests, with funding systems maintaining this hierarchy. Across all actors, funding is considered the primary source of power imbalances and dominates the priorities of NGOs in the North and South.
This raises the question of how to progress towards more equitable relationships between SNGOs and NNGOs (and the processes and outcomes in policies, programmes and funding within these) while simultaneously balancing this with the need for deeper systemic change.